A Dickensian hot mess
Andrew Carrier
Strategic marketing and communications leader | Financial Services | Fintech
Why marketing’s first job is to represent your customers.
This week
?????Read on?to learn why:
①?Empathy is the litmus test?for effective communications.
②?Marketing?should be as close as possible to your customers.
③?Fintech?has Wall Street stalwarts spooked.
④?Your marketing channels?must be optimised for mobile.
⑤?Earning your audience’s attention?will be harder than ever.
⑥?Financial B2B social media?can?be witty, fun and…daring.
⑦?Fostering your people?will take you from good to great.
What's new?
This week, an energy supplier advised its customers, without even a hint of irony, to cuddle their pets to stay warm. If I hadn’t first seen it on Twitter, then the following morning been woken by it featuring on Radio 4’s Today before?reading the details in the FT, I might not have believed it…
In short:
Why does it matter?
Where to start with this Dickensian hot mess? Well, let’s look for the positive, shall we? In theory at least, the email gets some things right by following advice you’ve heard me offer here before:
① So how did what started as an innocuous - and seemingly helpful - customer communication end in universal condemnation from British politicians, a shaming in the headlines of the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme, and a scathing piece of coverage on the front page of the world’s most respected business newspaper? Simple: it lacked even a modicum of empathy.
As I concluded when?we discussed Revolut’s disastrous menstruation campaign a couple of months ago, the most important check before a communication goes out the door is ‘how will the recipient feel when reading this?’ No one who actually was concerned about rising energy costs would find the contents of this email anything other than condescending and disrespectful.
What's next?
Take action
② I would argue that your marketing team’s most important role is to be the voice of your customer across your organisation - in all discussions about any interaction a customer might have with your brand.
That means they should be completely in touch with your customers’ passions, problems and preoccupations. And, if you have even an inkling that they may not be, it’s time to:
Get help
Visit InMarketing, my resource library?for leaders in finance or technology who want to innovate, interact and influence.
If you have a question, just hit ‘reply’ or?send me a tweet.
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Can I ask you a favour??If you found this useful?or know someone who would, please share it. It really helps me to grow the community of regular IMTW readers.
What else?
Three other articles?that are worthy of your time.
FINANCE
③?Fintech?has Wall Street stalwarts spooked.
TECHNOLOGY
④?Your digital marketing channels?must be optimised for mobile.
领英推荐
MEDIA & MARKETING
⑤?Earning your audience’s attention?will be harder than ever this year.
“The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism publishes predictions every year based on interviews with news industry leaders to share knowledge about trends publishers need to pay attention to in the year ahead. For its 2022 report, it surveyed 246 news leaders from 52 countries or territories, including 57 editors-in-chief, 53 CEOs or managing editors, and 31 heads of digital or innovation. The nine trends you need to know about are:
Well said
⑥?Veera Dagbagli, Intern Group Communications & Marketing at Deutsche B?rse, when?posting a text message from her boss to the company LinkedIn account:
“whatever.”
One more thing...
⑦?Hubert Joly, the former chairman and CEO of Best Buy, and a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, argues this week that?the secret ingredient for thriving companies is what he calls ‘human magic’. You achieve it by creating a workplace with:
Off cuts
The stories that?almost?made this week’s newsletter.
FINANCE
TECHNOLOGY
???? While?the stuffy Lords Committee pours cold water on UK CBDC,?the Swiss quietly complete wholesale CBDC trial
MEDIA & MARKETING
About
Written for CEOs, marketers and other leaders in the financial sector,?InMarketing This Week?is a showcase for news likely to impact them - delivered with insight on why it matters and ideas on what to do about it. It’s published every Sunday to give you a head start on the week. Read it?here, or?subscribe?to?have it delivered straight to your inbox at six, before it's available anywhere else.
Global Head of Marketing and Client Experience | Connecting Clients with Capability | Marketing - FCIM | Digital - CITP
3 年Thanks for the excellent round up and weekly insights as usual. This particlar quote around JP Morgans incredible $12bn global technology spending plan vs all fintechs caught my eye too… “that’s an astonishing number,‘ said James Shanahan, an analyst with Edward Jones. ??'That probably blows away the cumulative dollar value of investment of all the fintechs in the world that are trying to disrupt them’.” There’s a lot of money chasing the same prizes. Brand and capability will be more important than ever.