1. People are bored with our traditional industry marketing and they don’t believe it.
  2. People actually want to hear the truth, even when it’s not pretty.
  3. Humor is appreciated, even when we’re talking about money.
  4. Being a little disruptive will make people interested enough to learn more.
  5. Visuals are important, as people are dull to more common imagery.

The next stage of our research

So we need to be different, but how? Good marketing is far more than pretty advertising or a nice website – it’s all about knowing your consumer better than anyone else. Following the research on visuals and voice, we embarked on two more in-depth research projects that have reshaped our brand, even changing our terminology for what we do from wealth management, to Financial Life Management.  I’ll talk about those findings next month with a lens on how to apply the insights to your marketing practices. 

For now, my advice to you is to look at your own marketing with a fresh eye. Is friendly and reassuring working for you? Do your visuals grab people’s attention or blend in? Put up a bulletin board, pin your collateral pieces with some others, perhaps ads cut out of financial magazines. Do you stand out from the crowd the way you want to? If you’re really curious, keep this idea board and ask friends, family and clients to give you their option. After all, we are our own breed with our own biases, which is why research is so important if our industry wants to move forward and reach the real people out there.

Stay tuned for part two: Why financial planners have it all wrong from a marketer’s view.

Gail Graham is Chief Marketing Officer at United Capital, an innovative and fast-growing financial life management firm with a unique approach to the market. Having earned awards in retail investor and advisor marketing, Gail is driving United Capital’s brand development, marketing and lead generation across all channels. Follow her on Twitter: @GailGrahamUC.

 

First « 1 2 » Next