LT Public Relations

The title of today’s blog sounds like a Rolling Stones remake of Sympathy for the Devil.  We’re not implying that today’s investment advisor is the devil.  No way!  But as a public relations firm for investment advisors, LT Public Relations can sympathize to the incredible demands of this unsung profession.

Not that investment advisors and financial planners have enough to worry about these day—e.g. a tumultuous economy, anxious clients, over saturation of advisors/planners, etc.—but they’re now up against aggressive online competition too.

Last week, Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg introduced us to the San Francisco-based Cake Financial and its automated, robot-like service, Cake Premium, to help folks meet their retirement goals. Is this the future of retirement support? See Mossberg’s video…

 

Today’s blog isn’t about touting the benefits of Cake Financial.  Quite the opposite, really.  In fact, Mossberg didn’t seem 100% about the service, as he ended the article with the following statement, “But its limitations make it an incomplete solution that’s no real threat to a really good, honest investment adviser.”  Score one for good retirement specialists!

No, this blog posting is to underscore that today’s investment advisors are under intense pressure.  They must  prove their value to their existing (and prospective) clients, while showing how they are truly different from “those other advisors” and better than anything available online (e.g. Cake Financial, E*TRADE, etc.)

Aside from the recent downturn in the economy, the retirement services industry has been forced to evolve for quite some time now.  It’s not enough to just be good friends with their clients or share their angst during these rough times—and its never enough to simply be an intimate custodian to their money.  Today’s retirement specialist must be SUPER HUMAN.  It’s not uncommon for them to posses a hybrid of the following (unrealistic) characteristics: 

• A financial specialist with a secret economic crystal ball
• A personal counselor that can listen and has all the answers (e.g. a bartender with a financial game plan)
•  A technologically savvy geek that knows all the new online tools and gadgets to help a client’s portfolio
• A voracious reader that stays three steps ahead of the financial trends and services that are available to their clients
• Etc., Etc., Etc.

The investment advisor or financial planner is wearing way too many hats–and oh yea, they must be out there marketing themselves and increasing their “PR” in the quest to garner more clients and increase their AUM.

Can we get an amen from the advisors and planners?

It’s clear you need help…and you need help fast. 

So LT Public Relations has a sweet deal for the financial services world….We’ll let you continue to be super human and wear all the superhero capes and hats–because after all, this is in your DNA…it’s who you are. 

The deal is that we’ll let you be you and you let us be us.  That is, we’ll help you to differentiate and brand yourself and/or your firm through a smart, targeted, cost conscious public relations effort.

Interested in this deal?  Give us a call (503-477-9215) or send us a note (pr@ltpublicrelations.com).  We’ll be pleased to meet you and hope you remember our name…What’s troubling you is the nature of our game.

 

BusinessWeek recently proposed a question in Dean Foust’s article, “We’re just so authentically grateful,”…should banks and other troubled financial institutions receiving federal bailouts run “thank you” campaigns to taxpayers?

The article goes on to say that PR and marketing strategist have long encouraged companies seeking to regain favor with the public to be open, honest and humble…and grateful. 

The topic/question raises an interesting and timely point for all financial (e.g. banks, credit unions, etc.) and professional (e.g. wealth managers, financial advisors, etc.) institutions –not just those involved in the bailout craziness….

When is a good time for a “Thank You” campaign?  At LT Public Relations, we say ALWAYS.

Now more than ever, it’s time to show customers the love.  It’s time to thank them for their business, partnership and trust.  Right now, customers are questioning everything about who is handling their second most prized possession (money is a distant second to family-we hope!).  Customers are taking a closer look at their financial institutions and the professionals who are custodians to their finances.

Being proactive by sending them a thank you opens the doors to communications and allows the financial institution or professional to further connect on a personal level.

Also, this shouldn’t be considered a “campaign” or some “PR stunt,” but rather a genuine act of gratitude toward the valued customer.  Also, get creative on how you say thank you.  We recently uncovered a very cool Inc. 500 company, Send Out Cards, that offers personalized cards with company logos, photos, and much more… just a thought.

Do it now…place a call, send an e-mail, stamp a letter, fly a Goodyear blimp…do something to say, gracias.

One of the most famous ads in the past 30 years ended with, “and we thank you for your support.”  Now that’s memorable!

It seems everywhere we look, Ally Bank is there.  From print ads to commercials with kids and ponies, the ubiquitous bank is obviously spending a truckload of money to introduce their brand/bank to the mainstream–but is the bank’s timing right?

Branding a bank in any economy is a challenge, as banks are aggressively competing with each other on best products, rates, ”best” customer service and uniqueness.  But branding a new bank during a recession is outright crazy…but it is absolutely the right thing to do.

Ally Bank claims it is “launching a better kind of bank” with such benefits as no minimum deposits, no monthly fees, no minimum balance and no “sneaky disclaimers.”  Those are nice benefits that will certainly grab the target audiences’ attention…especially customers fed-up with their current bank or depository.  The proof is when Ally Bank can truly differentiate itself from other banks making similar claims during this down economy.

On the bank’s site, the mission statement says that it will “always be open, accountable and honest.” Great words, but nothing truly different than what other banks are saying–especially local banks and credit unions.

Where Ally Bank appears to be different is in its progressive technology to help its customers maximize their money with such things as “Sleeping Money Alerts“–a tool that alerts the customer that their money could be working better somewhere else.

Bottom line, LT Public Relations applauds the tenacity of Ally Bank to be a “better” bank during this turning point in the economy.  We also applaud the aggressive spending on public relations and branding–when other financial institutions are hiding and waiting for the storm to blow over. Our PR firm continues to counsel our clients that, although painful, now is the time to take advantage of this economy (through cheaper mediums) and spread the word about their uniqueness.

This is the time to crank-up awareness (not necessarily when things are bountiful).  This is a time to attract customers, differentiate and develop, well, allies.

Nice work, Ally.  We’ll be monitoring your progress.

“Where there’s chaos, there’s opportunity,” says A.G. Newcomb & Co.’s President Anita Gentle Newcomb.

LT Public Relations agrees…specifically when it comes to large banks (i.e. the chaos) and community banks and credit unions. As large banks (e.g. Bank of America, Chase, etc.) are getting devoured in the media for their questionable business decisions, credit unions and community banks need to do a better job of capitalizing on this negative publicity of their larger competitors and prove how they’re different.

This is directly where public relations comes into place for banks and credit unions.  Now is the time to communicate loudly and often about how they’re different than “the big boys.”

In a recent Entrepreneur magazine piece, BancVue’s Don Shafer quoted an alarming figure…Over the past 15 years, community Banks owned 70 percent of the market share in terms of deposits…now it’s down to 34 percent.  What happened? 

Shouldn’t the opposite be happening right now in favor of community banks?  There are several fundamental reasons why community banks and credit unions are facing this issue, such as inadequate technology or the inept ability to process checks electronically.  But the core problem, we believe, rests in the community banks’ and credit unions’ inabilities to communicate effectively during these extraordinary times.  This is the time to build strong relationships with the public (i.e. public relations).

Yes, there are some banks that are taking the lead in the technology and communications efforts–and being handsomely rewarded by enjoying a significant increase in deposits (mostly coming from customers fed-up with the larger banks). But the majority of these small financial institutions are missing a golden opportunity to gain marketshare.

We’ve preached this idea of communicating NOW in many, many recent blog postings (see just a couple postings below), but we wholeheartedly believe THIS IS (not when things get better) opportunity time.  We  truly hope more banks, credit unions and financial institutions heed our advice–but more importantly–contact LT Public Relations to work on a tailored solution (503-477-9215).

http://ltpublicrelations.com/blog/?p=15

http://ltpublicrelations.com/blog/?p=22