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Branding is about definition. It’s crystallizing, in words, exactly who you are and what you believe in. Branding is also about using that simple definition to inform everything you do – from your color palette to the content you create.
Every branding process begins by asking questions: Who are we? Who do we want to be in the future? What is our driving purpose as a business? What makes us unique? Who is our target customer? In a typical branding process, you use the answers to these questions to shape your brand positioning and messaging.
But there’s a single question that nobody asks. It’s one that unlocks immense value not just for your brand, but also for the entirety of your business.
You need to be asking:
Why aren’t we winning business?
As much as branding is about defining who you are, it’s also about overcoming barriers.
An example outside the financial industry: Early in my marketing career, a client I worked with was one of the world’s most popular furniture brands (bonus points if you can guess who they are). This company was renowned for having incredibly low prices. The problem? Everyone thought their low prices meant they had low-quality products. This became known as the brand’s “quality barrier.” Because we knew this barrier existed, we spent time in our marketing “chipping away” at the low-quality perception through a collection of messages and stories that showcased the quality promise behind their products.
Barriers are tremendously important because they are a bottleneck on your future growth. If a set of people won’t buy from you because they think “X” about your brand, you will never be able to grow your market share.
Here are some examples of barriers you might uncover in your practice, and what you could do about them:
Barrier:
Clients don’t think they can trust you with their assets.
What to do about it:
Create a list of client testimonials and reviews (yes, this is now allowed); Apply for industry awards that create a stronger sense of legitimacy for your firm; engage with more charitable work, and make sure your potential clients know about it.
Barrier:
Clients don’t think you’re sophisticated enough about the markets.
What to do about it:
Commit to writing one market commentary article per month and promoting it via email and social; Post on social two times per week about the markets; hire a PR firm to get some targeted press with your thoughts about the economy into the news.
Barrier:
You keep losing opportunities with high net-worth women because they think you don’t understand them.
What to do about it:
Have better gender representation in your ranks; Create targeted content and communications for high net-worth women.
Barrier:
Ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) clients don’t think you can service them.
What to do about it:
Redesign your brand’s look and feel to be more premier and “white shoe”; create a clear and targeted service model (and corresponding communications) for UHNW clients; create content that specifically speaks to the needs of UHNW clients.
Do you see the power of thinking in terms of barriers? It immediately crystallizes your objective and the activities you should be focused on to find a way to help your business overcome that barrier.
Once you overcome it, you’ll unlock more business than ever before.
What should you do next?
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Look inward: On an annual basis, ask yourself and your team why you aren’t winning business. Keep a careful log of why you’re getting passed over for opportunities and review it during the annual review. But most of all – watch carefully. If you’re humble enough, you can spot that one shortcoming in your brand perception that is holding you back.
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Write it down: Write a clear and simple statement that defines the problem – “We aren’t winning business because…” Remember: It’s your job in the year(s) ahead to change “aren’t” to “are!”
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Create an action plan: Commit to three things in the next 12 months that will help you overcome your brand barrier. This might be a set of regular activities – i.e. creating monthly content – or it might be a big strategic initiative, such as a new website, a rebrand, or hiring new talent.
Phil Edelstein is the founder of PHL Branding, a branding firm with a focus on the financial services sector. In addition to a multi-year tenure as head of advertising, public relations and internal communications for Hartford Funds, Phil has brought his expertise to bear for financial firms like the Maples Group, DLL, Beneficial Bank, Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, Sun National Bank and a number of other wealth management and fintech brands.
Read more articles by Phil Edelstein
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
