What’s in a name?
According to research by valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance, Ping An has overtaken Allianz to become the world’s most valuable insurance brand, with a value of US$16 billion. Ping An reported net profit of $9 billion in 2016, its largest since 2003.
A number of factors underpin this success. Despite a slowdown, its core market of China is far more dynamic than the US and Western Europe, where the other leading brands are based.
“Ping An … has been extremely successful at cross-selling based on excellent core products,” said Brand Finance. “The firm offers a limited number of free products and services to potential customers via its online platform. This has generated goodwill and significantly expanded Ping An’s user base, creating a platform for cross-selling. It is just as focused on its brand as its revenues; Ping An is the first Chinese financial firm to deploy a Net Promoter Score (NPS) model to track customer feedback and brand loyalty. This commitment to tracking and tweaking the brand is paying off, with very high customer equity scores on Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index.”
CEO David Haigh noted: “Ping An has lofty ambitions, aiming to become the world’s leading provider of personal finance. Based on this evidence, in the long term it may not be an unrealistic goal.”