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In 1997 ING Direct disrupted the Canadian retail banking with a very narrow positioning: “the bank of choice for those who want to save money”.

The product offering was very simple: a savings account that paid significantly higher interest than all Canadian major banks, and no service charges.

How was ING Direct able to deliver on such an ambitious promise?

ING Direct pioneered the concept of online banking in North America. This strategy allowed the bank to achieve significantly lower operating costs versus its big competitors that service customers through a network of brick and mortar locations.

The savings were then passed on to customers.

Externally, the bank’s “actions” focused on communicating a single, very motivating message: save your money (with ING). The high interest rate and lack of transaction fees were very strong reasons to switch.

The banks’s bold strategy paid off: currently over 1.9 million Canadians save their money with ING.

To answer the question above, ING Direct’s success was possible because of strategic consistency.

Think of your business like a puzzle game: you can only get the beautiful picture if all the pieces fit nicely together.

Your brand’s positioning is the beautiful picture you are trying to paint to your customers. Delivering on it depends on what your company does internally, and how it acts externally.

Strategic Consistency Defined

A firm’s strategy is consistent when its internal and external resources support its positioning. That is, strategic consistencies are achieved when all the pieces of the business puzzle are properly in place to achieve the firm’ strategic goals.

Internal consistency is achieved when the firm’s internal resources (financial, technological, human) work together to support the overarching strategic goal.

In order to maintain its competitive advantage, your firm should invest in resources that are valuable, rare, and difficult for your competitors to imitate.

Internal Consistency at Apple

Let’s think for a moment at how Apple achieved internal strategic consistency to deliver on its “Think Different” brand positioning. A few key resources come to mind:

-a world class design team who is able to constantly deliver product innovation

-an almost complete vertical integration

-company-owned network of retail stores, offering the ability to control the customer experience

-a highly secretive company policy that makes it hard for competitors to anticipate its next moves

External consistency is achieved when the firm’s external behavior and strategic moves are in line with its overarching brand message.

Decisions such as moving the brand into a new segment, or up and down the price ladder, have to be analysed from a strategic consistency perspective.

In other words, the question should be asked “How will this decision reflect on my brand positioning?”

External Consistency at Amazon

The Amazon brand has become synonym to online shopping. Some of the external strategic consistencies Amazon has implemented to deliver on its brand positioning include:

-a vast product selection that cannot be matched by any retail chain

-a website that is easy to navigate

-a brand name known to everybody

-a reputation for doing things right

Amazon continues to be the e-commerce leader by implementing strategies that makes sense given its positioning.

ING Direct becomes Tangerine

In 2012 ING Direct Canada was acquired by one of Canada’s big players, Scotiabank. The new company’s first moves reflect poorly on its ability to maintain the strategic consistency that made the ING Direct brand successful in North America.

The first move was to change the company’s slogan from the very focused “Save Your Money” to the generic “Forward Banking”.

The second was to introduce a chequing account, at a time when the bank’s ATM network was non-existent. 

Is the ING Direct brand (now Tangerine) losing its focus? As an ING customer I believe so, but only time will tell.