News
The Battle for Share of Consumers' Minds and Wallets Heats Up As New Banks Continue to Enter the Baltimore-Washington Markets
November 2007
PRESS RELEASE
For More Information or a Copy of the Report, Contact:
Steve Markenson, WB&A Market Research, (410) 721-0500 or smarkenson@wbanda.com
The Battle for Share of Consumers’ Minds and Wallets Heats Up As New Banks Continue to Enter the Baltimore-Washington Markets
Crofton, Maryland, November 13, 2007 – WB&A Market Research has released findings from an independent study using their MarkeTrakTM public opinion survey. Baltimore and Washington area consumers were asked to assess their perceptions of leading financial services companies that serve the Baltimore and Washington markets.
Area residents were asked to rate the companies that they had some level of familiarity with on a series of twelve image attributes.
In the Baltimore Market:
Bank of America continues to be a strong presence in the Baltimore area enjoying the highest level of awareness and familiarity of all the financial services companies. Bank of America ranked among the top five companies on all twelve of the attributes. In fact, consumers rated them highest for eight of the twelve including being an industry leader, being secure and stable and being trustworthy.
M&T Bank entered the Baltimore market in 2003 and through marketing efforts such as the naming rights to Ravens Stadium, appears to have successfully established itself as part of the community. Consumers familiar with M&T Bank rank it in the top three banks on eleven of the twelve attributes. Importantly, M&T Bank receives the highest ratings for supporting the local community, an important attribute to Baltimoreans.
Wachovia also made its appearance in the Baltimore market in 2003 with the acquisition of First Union. And, while Wachovia has a similar awareness level as M&T Bank, it does not appear to be perceived as closely to the local community. In fact, Baltimore consumers’ ratings of Wachovia place it outside of the top five banks in terms of being important to the local community and supporting the local community.
PNC has only recently completed the change-over of its recently acquired Mercantile Bank & Trust and while many consumers have heard the name, few know much about the PNC. As a result, a large proportion of consumers have no real impression of the personality of PNC or its strengths and weaknesses. Like M&T and Wachovia before it, PNC will need to begin building an image for itself in a market that is already extremely competitive.
In the Washington Market:
Bank of America is a leading force in the Washington market with strong levels of awareness and familiarity. However, unlike the consumers in the Baltimore area, Bank of America is rated highest for only two of the twelve key image attributes – being an industry leader and being innovative.
Wachovia may have entered the Washington area after Bank of America, but it appears to have made a positive impression on consumers. Wachovia is viewed by area consumers as leading the competition on most of the twelve attributes including being a company you would consider doing business with, being customer-focused and having an overall positive corporate image.
Chevy Chase Bank has strong roots in the Washington market and consumers perceive the Bank as being closely tied to the local community and being important for the local economy.
SunTrust Bank has gained relatively high awareness and familiarity among Washington area consumers but appears to have been less successful in carving out a unique position for itself in the minds of consumers. However, the Bank is ranked among the top five financial services companies on eight of the twelve attributes.
WB&A Market Research is a full-service market research firm located in Crofton, Maryland. The company works in a wide variety of industries including financial services, healthcare and transportation. WB&A’s MarkeTrakTM is a quarterly multi-client omnibus study conducted among a random sample of adults in the Baltimore and Washington MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas).
For a comprehensive report of the findings or more information, call us at (410) 721-0500 or e-mail us at info@WbandA.com.
