Mumbai: Neokred Technologies, which offers technology-enabled banking and fintech solutions, collaborated with Mumbai-based strategy-first company, Sam & Andy, to undertake a business-to-brand transformation. Neokred’s objective for doing this transformation exercise is to create a lasting impact on customers in both B2B and B2C segments in a highly regulated and cluttered financial category.
The Objective: To raise cognizance of Neokred and clearly communicate its value proposition to potential customers. With over 4,390 start-ups already operating in this space, the goal is to establish a distinct and sharp recognition for Neokred and highlight the competitive advantage of its products & services, ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework.
It is easier said than done…
Identifying The Hurdles To Neokred’s End Goal: Neokred’s Problem Of Perception – PERCEPTION <<< REALITY of the kind of work done being for businesses. It is considered as a TSP, while the truth is that it works like the backbone for a bank’s transaction business.
The regulatory uncertainty in this category makes it risky to operate. While the category is growing, it is highly chaotic with around 4,930 Fin-tech startups in this space. This means there are too many players offering the same service with little differentiation.
A small pie with bloodbath for loyalty – whether B2B or B2C, most companies are focused on just 1/3 of urban population to generate revenue, thereby resulting in cut-throat competition.
So, the question was what should be done?
It was decided that it was high time to Re-stage the brand Neokred to dial up mindfulness for its promise in a manner that delivers competitive advantage for a longer span of time.
The Strategic Approach Devised By Sam & Andy: The parties further explain that it is not just about creating awareness (push), but generating demand (pull) – hence, the transformative need to SHIFT from being a Service Provider to a Product Company.
Sam & Andy took a thought-through in-house research & stakeholders’ de-cluttering sessions to identify the bottlenecks, to decode the present customer journeys, to explore the expanse of segmentation, to construct competition grid mapping to figure out the white spaces, to nudge human truths around the category, to learn from the best practices of domestic & international brands.
This led to pegging the strategy from going beyond the limitation of cold technology company, to becoming a brand that stands for – HUMANENESS WITH TECHNOLOGY.
The End Solution Delivered: Sam & Andy arrived at the brand positioning through an insight mapping framework. The positioning being arrived – AT THE HEART OF BUSINESS!
This positioning led to the crafting of a New Brand Tagline “POWER TO YOU”. The brand identity was extensively designed.
The new brand colour palette was crafted to signify the business transformation.
The Way Forward:
The BRAND’S CUSTOMER-CENTRIC CHARTER was crafted as the guiding force for the business – “NEOKRED YOUNIVERSE”.
Customer Journey Mapping was done with the help of the Segmentation Approach – this was done for the BD team to design the relevant business pitch.
The Brand Archetype was identified so that it helped to cascade down into the company culture.
The brand strategy helped the Founders to answer many questions being sought by the Investors.
Sharing his thoughts on the business growth witnessed by implementing strategies devised by Sam & Andy, Tarun Nazare, MD, Neokred Technologies said, “Working with Sam & Andy has been transformative for Neokred. They didn’t just redesign our logo; they truly understood our Ideal Customer Profile and crafted a brand identity that resonates deeply with them. Their team’s insightful approach, combined with their creative prowess, has resulted in a brand that not only looks great but also speaks directly to the needs and aspirations of the businesses we serve. It’s been a true partnership, and we’re thrilled with the results.”
“It was indeed a stimulating experience for us to break through the clutter of the industry and achieve an innovative business-to-brand transformation for Neokred Technologies. Working closely with the team at Neokred, we discovered the depths of their business and attempted to develop a tailored solution, which encapsulates their values in the most authentic way possible, ultimately boosting revenue growth. Looking forward to doing a lot of amazing things together in the times ahead,” commented Sameer Joshi, founding partner, Sam & Andy.
Anindya Ghosh, founding partner, Sam & Andy said, “Business-to-Brand strategy is all about being relevant with time, being sharply structured with the category sense & sensibility in place, being clear and focused on what to do and what to avoid, and importantly, being future-proof with future-fit portfolio. In the financial category, the more we stay close to the fundamentals the more we will be able to untangle the knots of complexity. We applied this very logic at every stage of Neokred’s transformation process. What a learning, for the entire team!”
