When you send out a holiday card or an email to everyone you know
expressing gratitude for their friendship or business, it is nice and well-intentioned.
I believe, though, that the most powerful way to truly show that you are thankful is by sending an individual email, making a call, or writing a meaningful note in a card to your friend, associate or client.
This holiday season, I am making a point to call people that I am truly thankful for or writing a note in a card to tell them personally.
How do some firms and ideas go from nowhere to everywhere in a few short months? All of a sudden a restaurant becomes popular, a gas station gains a cult following, or a Broadway show becomes too popular to get a ticket for years. Wouldn’t it be great if our businesses could do that? Here are 3 lessons on branding that I think we can apply.
1. Exploit Your Uniqueness. Being different is risky.
The industry discussion of advisor fees realistically is not really an issue with fees. The issue is with the communication of the value associated with the fees. Most advisors provide value beyond the assets under management fee structure. But in many cases, the fees are presented only in relationship to assets under management.
When fees are presented only as AUM-related than the only value really is the investment process that drives the investments.
Value is in the eye of the beholder. The problem is, the beholder – your client or prospect – may not know the value you are delivering. Most of the advisors I have worked with over the years are providing significant value through investment advice, investment selection, planning for the future, retirement income planning, advice, guidance, and above-and-beyond service. So, what’s the catch?
I believe advisors need to message their value more succinctly,
When a business states that they “provide exceptional service” do you think people actually believe this? It is like saying, “trust me” or “the check is in the mail.” Empty statements void of facts are a waste of words today.
Consider, are you standing out by sharing things about your firm that are truly compelling and different? Or, are you telling people – in so many words – that you will be ‘better’ than their last financial advisor?
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