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Written by: EXT Marketing
When it comes to financial services marketing, deep product knowledge matters. Why? Because the industry is undergoing constant regulatory and product change, and knowing how it all fits together is essential to continued success.
We believe that continuing education is important for your long-term growth. This post illustrates, however, why deep product knowledge is essential for you and your company right now.
The changes
We’ve identified three key areas where industry changes are taking place:
1. More regulation
Nowadays – with CRM-2, point of sale and debates about fiduciary duty happening all at once – it seems that a significant regulatory development occurs almost every week. Staying on top of these changes is important in order to keep your business – from your sales and marketing teams to your advisors and clients – moving forward without any unwanted surprises.
2. Greater complexity
Investment solutions – and services for that matter – are getting more complicated, and having insights into the competitive landscape is more than just helpful, it’s mandatory.
3. Audience diversity
“One size fits all” does not work anymore. Whether they are retail investors, institutional investors, advisors or executives, people want solutions to help them meet their unique needs.
The need for knowledge
Last year we wrote about SAVE marketing. SAVE stands for “solutions, access, value and education.” We think that, in many ways, it’s a more effective way for financial services marketers to think than the traditional 4P (product, price, promotion and place) approach.
So how does deep product knowledge inform the SAVE marketing approach? These four questions make it pretty clear:
1. How can you frame a solution if you don’t know the audience?
2. How can you ensure effective access without a thorough understanding of operations?
3. How can you offer true value if you don’t know the competitive landscape?
4. How can you educate clients without a deep knowledge of your solutions?
What does this amount to? Before planning a product launch, drafting a creative brief for a web series or starting any other important project, make sure that the people at your table know the industry – where it’s been, where it is today and where it’s going.