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The COVID-19 crisis has placed unprecedented challenges on financial firms, but uncertain economic times doesn’t mean you should halt your marketing efforts. The financial strain on businesses and consumers is a reminder that everyone is wading through this challenge together. Now is the time for you to find how your financial business marketing efforts can support your customers and prospects most immediate needs. We’ve provided 3 tips to integrate into your financial business marketing strategy during challenging times.
Marketing Tip 1: Be A Resource
COVID-19 has paved an uncertain path for so many businesses and consumers. Those who have been less impacted by this crisis may continue to seek out the same services, but many are hyper-focused on putting their family, businesses and employees’ needs first. Engaging with a new financial product or service is not always at the top of their to-do list.
Instead of hard-core selling, focus on providing actionable tips on how your customers can navigate their own economic challenges, or unforeseen financial issues. Provide guides and tips on what they can do to help protect their financial health from additional threats that tend to surface during economic downturns, such as financial fraud. Be a trusted advisor and remind your customers your team is available to answer questions and address concerns as needed. Provide this help without a hidden agenda.
Being a resource to your customers can have long-term brand benefits that last far beyond the short and long-term impact of this crisis. This period will pass, and financial firms that focus on marketing through a customer-centric lens will stand out to those who need your services in the future. Now is the time to advise and protect their financial health. Be that resource, and let that theme be prevalent in your financial business marketing activities.
Marketing Tip 2: Stay Top of Mind — But Less Intrusively
During times of economic uncertainty, consumers want a sense of normalcy and certainty. Remind your customers that, despite circumstances, your business is operating as usual. Be transparent about how your firm is navigating the challenges and remind customers and prospects that your financial brand is built to withstand turmoil, regardless of how long a period of economic downturn, or uncertainty, lasts. Providing certainty during these times can help build brand awareness and trust, which can benefit your firm’s brand value in the long run.
Of course, there’s a delicate balance to keeping your brand top of mind. Instead of focusing your financial business marketing campaigns on the products and services you offer, provide insight into your team’s leadership, along with your brand’s value and mission. Giving your customers a sense of strength in leadership translates into a vision of stability. Marketing your financial brand during challenging economic times is more about showcasing the people and resources available to help, and less about the products and services offered.
There’s a fine line between staying top of mind and bombarding your customers and prospects with too many marketing materials. When sharing your marketing materials, particularly now, it’s important to ask yourself the intended outcome of a specific asset. Remain authentic to what makes your products and services important and focus on the true benefits to your customers. Instead of intrusively sending branded product sheets and sales brochures, the focus now should be on educational materials that position your brand as a trusted advisor. Be conscious about how often you reach out to your customers and be mindful of their state of mind when you do.
Marketing Tip 3: Take Time to Build Your Future Strategy
Another best practice during uncertain economic times is to pump the breaks on your current financial business marketing strategy and re-evaluate your efforts. Perhaps you’ve wanted to take the time to refresh your financial brand strategy and build new marketing assets. Now is the ideal time to take a step back and assess what’s working, what might not be, and what’s needed to achieve your future strategic marketing goals. Take into account the impact from the COVID-19 crisis and what it means for the future of your brand.
Now is the perfect time to evaluate the challenges your customers are facing and incorporate that into your future financial business marketing strategies. Times of economic uncertainty create trickle-down effects that may change how your customers choose to engage with your products and services in the future. Take time to get pulse on the market and determine how that may serve your firm to better serve your customers — and more effectively attract new prospects. Analyze your customers’ financial behaviors and determine how your current and future marketing strategies can best fit into their changing needs. Internally, this an ideal time to craft new content and assets that will help continually give your financial brand a fresh competitive advantage once the period of downturn passes.
By determining how your services fit into the market, and where they might need to pivot from a financial business marketing standpoint will serve your firm well when the dust settles, and customers revert to their normal lives. Being in tune to your customer’s concerns and spending habits today will help your team better position the brand for tomorrow’s needs. Take the time to evaluate your strategy now and you’ll be better poised to come out stronger in the future.
Performance Marketing Pros is a financial industry marketing consulting and services business. We help financial businesses achieve next level growth through proven marketing strategy and tactics designed by marketers with over 20 years each of experience in the financial industry. Reach out for a free consultation.
