Manifestos

Differentiating your brand can be based on issues rather than selling points.

This is an extract from IMTW № 86.

Read on to learn why:

① Taking a stand will get you noticed and build rapport with customers.

② You should identify what you’re fighting against.

③ Sustainable growth demands strategic investment and cost containment.

④ We've reached the tipping point for artificial intelligence.

⑤ You should be producing short, visual content for your employees to share.

⑥ Following is sometimes harder than leading.

⑦ You’ll never do your best work unless you’re interested in it.

Whats new

Beleaguered asset manager abrdn launched a manifesto this week, reports Money Marketing.

In short:

• “Abrdn has launched a new manifesto in a bid to ‘get Britain investing’.It comes after research from the company revealed that only 16% of UK adults favour pensions over property as an investment. Abrdn’s research also showed only 19% hold shares outside of their pension and out of that figure, four in ten do not hold them in an Isa.”
• “Abrdn’s manifesto, ‘The Savings Ladder: A Manifesto to Get Britain Investing’ was published in response to the growing savings crisis and has been welcomed by the London Stock Exchange. The manifesto recommends the government’s advertising campaign around the NatWest share sale should be broadened to include tax-efficient investing.”
• “Abrdn also believes Isa simplification should be implemented – something AJ Bell has been campaigning for too. It added stamp duty on UK shares and investment trusts should be scrapped and there should be a ‘radical reimaging’ of what minimum pension contributions should look like.”

Why it matters

Just last week, Citywire reported that 60% of asset managers share the same brand positioning, writing:

“The vast majority of firms have little or nothing to say that could be regarded as relevant, motivating, and differentiating or they’re simply unwilling to devote sufficient focus, expertise or budget to the development of their brands.”

Simply put, the asset management sector’s products are all very similar. What self-respecting fund house would’t claim to offer strong returns, responsible investing, and a client focus?

So, abrdn’s manifesto matters because it shows us one solution to the perennial problem of differentiation. When your product is broadly similar to your competitors, you need to find a reason for customer to choose you over them.

① Finding an issue to champion gives you a story to tell, a purpose, it means you have a reason to exist that people can easily understand and it serves as a way to start conversations about what makes you special. In doing so, it also pushes your audience into getting off the metaphorical fence, they have to take a side. By taking a stand on an issue your customers are likely to care about, you have an opportunity to be noticed and to build trust and rapport with them.

What to do about it

Take action

Developing a genuinely differentiated brand is never easy. The process starts with a highly immersive examination of your organisation’s most defining attributes, coupled with in-depth, qualitative research to establish which of those attributes matter most to your audiences.

If you can do that by talking about how your particular product uniquely addresses problems your customers are experiencing, so much the better. If you can’t - and if you work in financial services, it’s increasingly hard to do so - then taking a position on issues they care about is an excellent alternative,. As far back as May 2021, we’ve talked about how having an enemy can help you stand out. By defining your enemy, you’re also defining what you stand for. And people readily relate to that.

② When thinking about your purpose, I encourage you to define it in terms of what you’re fighting against. What problem, broken system, inefficient incumbents, outdated technology model are you delivering salvation from? Then, articulate that in a way that is positive and aspirational for your clients.

Help me

If you found this useful?or know someone who would, please share it. It would really help me to grow the community of regular IMTW readers.

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For the rest of this issue, including points ③, ④, ⑤, ⑥ and ⑦, visit my Substack >

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.