3 branding steps to supercharge your finance business

Getting your brand done right is not easy. Branding can be misunderstood, and difficult to do well. Some might say that it’s a burden, like regulation for financial services. An added expense. The cost of doing business.

But as with regulation it would be a mistake to play simple lip-service to your brand. You run an ethical business. Good consumer outcomes were always your goal, no matter the regulation.

You don’t exist to turn a profit, that’s not your purpose. You exist to improve people’s lives. To coin a phrase, you exist to deliver good outcomes to the consumers you serve. Regulation builds consumer confidence. You build trust. Your brand will help with both.

In 2024 it’s a vital part of a financial service business like yours.

1. Protect your reputation

Brand consistency reinforces your reputation with every client interaction.

We’ve always believed that a company should be more than ‘a group that works together to make money’. And our purpose aligns very much with yours. We’re all working toward the same goal, and that is the best possible outcome for your clients. That’s the chain that links us together.

You cannot deliver on the promise of high quality financial advice without trust. It’s the very foundation of the relationship you have with your clients. You work hard to build and nurture this trust over many years. Your clients may recommend you to their network of colleagues, friends and family. This is a big part of your reputation. This is why your brand needs to be consistent across all your touch-points.

Your brand includes all your client facing communications – your website and client portal app, your written communications: brochures and documentation, your social media output. It’s not just about your logo and corporate colours – that’s your identity. It’s your company tone-of-voice and personality too. It reminds a client who they’re connecting with, and reinforces your reputation out there in the world.

2. Clarify your communications

Give appropriate information at the appropriate time.

Clarity has ever been king. It’s taken on an increased significance with the introduction of consumer duty. It might sound like a semantic trick, but don’t think of this as a burden but an opportunity. A close examination of all your communications can be a real benefit. Increased client understanding leads to increased trust, and ultimately more clients. It really is a win win.

We believe that good outcomes for clients begin at the very first contact. Start as you mean to go on, essentially. First contact will overwhelmingly take place online. Even referrals do their research first. They’ll visit your website. Knowing what to say, and how to say it is vital. Get this right and it’s a key part of your consumer duty evidence.

Consideration should be given too to how, as well as what, is said. Using the same clear and simple language works well for everyone. It doesn’t need to be dumbed down to be understandable. But it does need to be accessible to everyone. In print that means large text and braille. Online it’s screen-readers, alternative text, subtitles for video, etc.

Reputation and clarity are going to make a difference in the sector over the next 10 years or so. Well over £3bn is due to be passed between generations in the coming decade. Research suggests that 9 in 10 financial service providers are worried about the loss of assets. Meanwhile the majority of investors polled said they would seek alternative providers upon receipt of an inheritance.

3. Future-proof your business

Great wealth transfer strategy. Exit strategy. Future strategy.

The total amount of wealth that’s due to be transferred between generations over the next 2-3 decades is estimated to be £5.5tn. That’s an astonishing figure. Certainly enough to transform the financial services sector. To those that can retain the assets passed between generations go the spoils.

What’s brand got to do with it? As discussed it will improve your communications, and reinforce your hard-won reputation. Remember too that the next generations – Gen X and Millennials – range from highly tech-savvy to natural born digital natives. The computer generations. If you’re not communicating effectively through your website, social media channels and client portals, then you’re not connecting with these generations. At all.

A strong brand encompasses your business, brings together your digital assets and collateral, speaks consistently to your clients across touch-points, attracts next-gen clients, and should be a major part of your Great Wealth Transfer strategy. Ultimately, a strong brand increases your value, making your company more attractive. This should be a major part of your exit strategy.

Putting it all together

Define your purpose. Improve your messages. Protect your reputation. And ultimately future-proof your brand. Easy, right? Wrong. Easy to say, hard to do. Doing something great is rarely easy. But now is the time to make sure all this is in place. The introduction of consumer duty makes this the ideal time. My advice? Just what you’d say to your clients.

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