SWOT Ideas for a Small Bank
Smaller financial institutions often face challenges in terms of their perception of financial security and lack of reach and global coverage. Larger financial institutions are much stronger brands, more sophisticated marketing analysis and tools, lots of locations, and are perceived well internationally.
Small banks need to focus on geographic areas, niche target markets, exceptional customer service, and even innovative product design.
Here is possible ideas for a Small Bank to feed into a SWOT analysis.
Strengths for a Small Bank
| Great customer experience delivered |
| Good understanding of the customer journey |
| Good fit to customer’s needs |
| Effective niche marketer |
| Effective sales and service culture |
| Valuable customer database information |
| IT/software expertise |
| Highly agile |
| High service levels |
| Good understanding of the market |
| Effective online channels |
| Successful online sales channel |
| Success with online comparison websites |
| Strong social media engagement |
| Digital marketing expertise |
| Positive attitudes to the brand |
| Good local market knowledge |
| Customer-centric strategy |
| Easy-to-use products |
| High level of customer loyalty |
Weaknesses for a Small Bank
| Many product gaps |
| Limited product range |
| No structured CRM program |
| Limited number of new customers |
| Limited market share |
| No real economies of scale |
| Unable to truly understand where the market is heading |
| No use of marketing-mix models |
| Limited ability to keep up with technology |
| A market follower |
| Strong existing competitors |
| Many emerging new entrants |
| Cost disadvantage |
| Broad competitive set |
| Weak bargaining power with suppliers |
| No expertise in creating engaging online content |
| Limited online advertising experience |
| Limited sales area coverage |
| Limited access to key locations |
| Seen as a product follower |
Opportunities for a Small Bank
| Broaden our geographic reach |
| Expand our product mix |
| Broaden our product range to target new segments |
| Map out and target the steps in the customer journey |
| Develop and implement a CRM program |
| Pursue greater economies of scale |
| Use cross-functional teams to streamline processes |
| Develop a customer relationship culture |
| Data mining of our customer database |
| Build our IT/software expertise |
| Low inflation outlook |
| Introduce new, modern technology and/or systems |
| Become a disruptive innovator |
| Expand our use of social media platforms |
| Build/acquire digital marketing expertise |
| Advertise on online comparison websites |
| Utilize key sponsorships to broaden our brand |
| Create/build “consumer love” for our brand |
| Build online engagement with our brand |
| Redesign our key stores/outlets |
Threats for a Small Bank
| Ongoing weak social media engagement |
| Increased media fragmentation |
| Excessive cost of big data |
| Too slow in the development of new products |
| Becoming a me-too player, due to product mix |
| Weakening customer relationships |
| Declining share-of-customer |
| Slower growth due to the inability to raise funds |
| Inflexible internal processes |
| Being leap-frogged by competitor’s technology |
| Disruptive technology |
| Breach of data/privacy issues |
| Many emerging new entrants |
| Disruptive new competitors |
| Competitors targeting our product gaps |
| Competitors more able to diversify income streams |
| Competitors introducing better/improved products |
| Being outperformed by data-driven competitors |
| Being perceived as slow and outdated |
| Poor marketing ROI |
Summary SWOT analysis for a Small Bank
Also see: SWOT analysis ideas for a large bank