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Despite critical acclaim, Cahoot admits it has failed to deliver customers, but the online bank insists it can build on the brand. By Catherine Turner
When Cahoot launched six years ago, it promised to cut out the middle man and give customers what they wanted, when they wanted it. Now the Abbey-owned online bank is looking at how to market itself in an age when most banks offer web-based services and almost one- fifth of all banking in the UK is conducted online.
Managing director John Goddard says the days when brands could use online as a unique selling point are over: strategies must change.
Despite critical acclaim for its products and high rates of interest, Cahoot has been derided for failing to build a viable consumer base. It has about 650,000 customers, of which 180,000 are current account holders.
Goddard says the brand has not evolved. "People aren't looking for online brands; they're looking for products. We haven't kept up," he concedes. "This is a fast-moving environment and it needs a lot of marketing focus. There is a fundamental opportunity to create definition around the brand and become a much more efficient direct marketing organisation."
Goddard was recruited as managing director six months ago from Prudential, where he was marketing director of the M&G brand. Cahoot had been through...