In the marketing history books, some case studies stand out for the lessons learned. The “Cola Wars” between Coke and Pepsi are legendary, as each company spent hundreds of millions on advertising, built captive distribution systems and taught sales representatives to literally fight for shelf space in stores across the world.
What can we learn from this in our industry? The lesson here is about the power of “Un-Cola.” That's right, instead of having a better message or sales pitch than your competition, be willing to declare yourself out of their game, in a category that sets you apart. Take that Coke and Pepsi, meet 7UP!
Wealth management is a giant sea of sameness, even the robos. The way I see it, most robo-advisors are just automating traditional thinking about saving and investing, taking traditional models and formulas and delivering through a scalable, digital interface. The whole model relies on averages. It’s still cola—but in a convenient can versus a bottle.
Whether it’s true or not, the robos can claim to be “new and improved” simply because they have a great price tag, a cool digital interface and lots of fun marketing. For many people, they are a great solution. Standard wealth management firms not only have to compare themselves to robos, but to each other—and that’s hard! Claims about expertise, research and service quality don't convey much to the average consumer. Basically everyone is promising the same things—thus we are seeing a Cola War.
What can you do? Be “Un-Cola.” Start fresh, from the ground up, by listening to real people and discover an unmet need—like the soda drinkers who prefer the sweet, clear and crispy flavor of 7UP. There are plenty of studies showing consumers are less than thrilled with the financial services industry, so it’s ripe for true reinvention, beyond replication or automation. Instead of building a strategy based on the averages, look to the rich differences that exist in the human beings we serve.
Here’s a case study. After a lot of proprietary research and testing, we’ve been building a financial life management company. It’s a way to help people juggle time, energy, money and their values. There are specially trained advisors, a clear and consistent client experience and a wow factor including digital tools. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but if you are tired of cola we’ve got something pretty great to show you.
The best part of creating a new category is when people ask you to compare yourself to the colas of the world, it’s easy. All you have to say is, “We’re in an entirely different business.” To which they say, “Tell me more!” That makes marketing easy.
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, Graham is driving United Capital’s brand development, marketing and lead generation across all channels. Follow her on Twitter: @GailGrahamUC.