Brand new strategy
Faced with enormous choice in a competitive market, what makes a customer
choose us? Customers look to a brand for reassurance that the product or service
is right for them and meets their expectations. So it is vital to get our positioning
exactly right to attract our targeted customers.
Market perceptions
shareholder value.
The time has come to give Rabobank's wholesale
aetivities a stronger and more recognizable pres-
enee in the glohal market. While Rabobank remains
the number one bank in the Dutch retail market,
Rabobank wholesale units are increasingly strong
contributors to the Group's balance sheet. People in
the Rabobank International (RI) network will surely
agree with Rabobankers in Rabo Securities, Group
Treasury and Corporate Clients, that the resources
within the wholesale units are vital to the continued
success and growth of the Group.
Disarmingly however, research has revealed that the
market's understanding of the total offer of Rabobank
products and services (based on its branding) is unclear.
In the Dutch market, perceptions are distorted by the
fact that the retail brand is so dominant. This has led
to a lack of recognition of the Rabobank wholesale
offering. 'The retail brand's reach does not extend to
all those groups we aim to target,' explains Roel van
Veggel, recently appointed head of Wholesale Com
munications, 'including wholesale customers, the in-
vestor community and those looking for employment.'
Furthermore, it turns out that a majority of RI's target
market does not perceive RI as part of a larger group
of wholesale offerings. This means we need clearer
positioning of the Group's various products and services
and an easily recognizable wholesale brand to reach
our target market.
The Word I 21