How embracing the uniqueness of the financial sector can help marketers succeed.

Most industries have their own codes, habits and language. A successful marketing approach in any of them must take full account of these particularities. Financial management is an example and the focus of this discussion. In fact, the work is twice as hard because the marketing effort must take place at two levels: inside the organisation and outside. The outside - customers, advisers and prospects - immediately comes to mind when we talk about marketing, because the ultimate objective is to attract and retain customers. But the inside is no less important: your message will only be strong, clear and consistent if it is embraced internally. So, the first people the marketer needs to convince are... his colleagues!

Here we present some of the peculiarities of the financial industry, some of the implications for marketing and how best to deal with them, both internally and externally.

Making the intangible tangible

When we buy a pair of trousers, we see them from every angle on an online site, or we try them on in a shop and look in the mirror. We can try on several pairs and compare them before deciding. When we buy a watch, we put it on our wrist and check how it looks and feels. When we buy a car, we can test drive it, look under the bonnet, check the quality of fit and finish. For each of these tangible products, we have the advantage of being able to experience in advance what the actual experience is likely to be like.

There's nothing like that when we entrust our money to a financial organisation. Nothing tangible, just history (a track record) and trust (confidence in the people and processes behind the numbers). The financial services provider must therefore work hard to build that trust and demonstrate the value to the customer of choosing them. The great weakness of the financial industry is that it too often focuses on the way the product is built, rather than the value to the customer.

Other industries don't make this mistake. Would it occur to a toothpaste manufacturer to advertise his product by saying: "My toothpaste is the best because it contains dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, hydrogenated starch hydrolate and decyl glucoside"? Certainly not. He'll say, "My toothpaste will give you a dazzling smile and fresh breath". Emphasising customer benefits is always better than showing a list of formulas.

Creating emotion in a sector that seeks to avoid it

For your marketing to be effective, you need to create emotion. This is a revolutionary idea in financial management. This is a world of facts and figures, but buying decisions aren't based on measurable data. On the contrary, customers base their decisions on emotions - trust, confidence, comfort, even hope - and they use the hard data to support those decisions. You can read more about this in our article "It's all about emotion ".

The first people you need to convince of this counter-intuitive truth are your fellow managers. And you'll be leading them into uncharted territory. Financial management requires hard facts, formal structures and reliable processes designed precisely to avoid making decisions based on emotion. Expect some initial discomfort. But if you can't agree internally on the central power of positive emotions and the need to evoke them in marketing, don't plan for real success externally.

Successful marketing also needs data and reliable, repeatable processes. In this case, not to prevent or pre-empt emotions, but to create them in a way that is justified, logical and relevant. With the right development structure and methods, managers and marketers can arrive at a clear, shared, benefit-driven, fact-based story that builds trust, confidence and comfort with customers and prospects. The gap between financial facts and buying decisions is bridged by emotion.? You can build that bridge by taking your colleagues out of their comfort zone and into the emotional zone of the client.

Making yourself understandable

The financial industry has its own jargon. Technology and healthcare also have their own jargon. You can always tell when insiders are talking to each other because they know what they're saying, and you don't. Jargon may work for insiders, but it confuses and excludes outsiders.?

Apple knows this. It grabs the attention of iPhone customers by saying, "Personalise. Share. Create. It's up to you".? Not "A17 pro chip, 6-core CPU, 48MP lens, 2000 nits brightness, UMTS / HSPA+".? The first slogan emphasises the benefits. The second is just a collection of numbers and letters.

Novo Nordisk introduces itself with "Driving change for future generations". They don't start the conversation by showing the formula for Wegovy, their anti-obesity drug. They know how to make a lasting impression, even as their product range evolves.

Here's an unfortunate example from the financial industry: "The investment philosophy applies a systematic, liquid and transparent risk-premia methodology, complemented by a distinct risk budgeting approach that includes a dynamic downside management mechanism designed to limit excessive losses." Actually, the fund in question could have real benefits for investors. We just don't know what they are.

Making regulation your friend

The financial sector is heavily regulated. Instead of seeing regulation as a constraint, we can make it our ally. By setting out a clear promise based on customer value, marketing fulfills one of the primary objectives of regulation: to be transparent about what the customer can expect. In this way, compliance and marketing, often pitted against each other, should be the best of allies.

Marketing: your best asset in an industry where added value fluctuates

If you buy a watch from the best manufacturer, it will tell you the time with extreme precision for decades. If you invest with the best manager, he'll eventually underperform, hopefully for as short a time as possible.

That is why marketing is more important in the financial sector than in any other: highlighting customer value, being transparent about the objectives of the product or service, building trust. These are the things that will help you bridge the gaps that will inevitably arise.

For the past seven years, H-Ideas has been working with its clients to turn the peculiarities of marketing in the financial industry into a strength, enabling them to position themselves in a genuine and distinctive way. We believe that success is as much about the outcome as it is about the way in which you involve your colleagues in the process to achieve a marketing solution that is shared and supported by all. I would be delighted to discuss this with you. Please don't hesitate to contact me at Jean-Francois Hirschel