Marketing in today’s world is difficult. The sheer number of touch points and channels that marketers are required to manage is a challenge, but marketers in the financial services industry have some extra challenges to overcome.
Here at Brandworkz, we work with many clients in the financial services industry and have an understanding of the unique challenges finance marketers face. We are helping them to overcome these and to build strong consistent brands. Here are the top five challenges we believe finance marketers face.
1. It is a highly regulated industry
There aren’t many other industries that are as regulated as the financial services industry. These regulations mean marketers must follow sanctioned processes and ensure any content whether that is a customer letter or an advertising campaign, has been approved for publication. Brandworkz helps marketers manage these processes with our Brand and Digital Asset Management Software platform which can automate marketing production, enable sharing and collaboration, and can align internal teams behind the brand, all within the rules and regulations of the industry. Marketing teams can focus on the strategic tasks of marketing rather than worrying about the processes.
2. Legal and Compliance are a fact of life in the financial services industry
For finance marketers, this challenge goes hand in hand with my first one. Before any piece of marketing or communications can leave the office it must first be checked for compliance. This is often a barrier to getting the marketing and communications material out into the public. Brandworkz acts as a bridge between the marketing teams and the legal and compliance teams. The Approval Workflow module is so flexible it is configured to fit your organisation’s marketing production processes. The whole process, no, matter how many stages and how many people or departments are involved in sign-off, is automated so that nothing can happen without the appropriate authorisation. There is also a digital trail so that compliance audits can happen easily. Annotation of artwork is also done in the system, increasing accountability and reducing the risk of errors. Automating the workflow process enables your marketing and communications material to go to press faster while minimising compliance problems.
3. Consumers have a lack of faith and trust in financial services
Consumers can be wary of financial services providers. Levels of consumer trust in Financial Services globally was only 48% according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, with financial advisory and insurance sub categories least trusted. A strong brand that communicates a consistent message is key to solving this challenge. Brandworkz Brand Management Software allows all internal employees to have 24/7 access to brand guidelines, policies, processes and all the brand positioning material they need to create consistent, on-brand and on-message marketing communications. By enabling your employees to be engaged and informed about your brand, you turn them into an army of brand ambassadors.
4. It can be difficult for consumers to differentiate brands and their offers
There are so many brands and so much choice of financial products and services in the marketplace. Consumers view Financial Services brands as homogeneous. Amongst millennials, 53% think their bank offers nothing different from other banks. A strong, consistent brand and strong, consistent messaging helps consumers to differentiate you from your competitors, enabling your brand and your offer to be stand out which leads to brand loyalty. As for millennials, engaging them in the channels they use such as social media, is key.
