Released 17 September 2006
Research by Gold
Coast-based, IMI Trust –
www.imitrust.com, shows that financial
service providers are keen to utilise
cost-effective, targeted forms of marketing.
“When you look at the
marketing trends of financial companies you
realise how little they get for their dollar”,
said Steve Torso, Managing Director of IMI
Trust. “Using traditional media by itself is not
cost effective and many ignore the internet, or
simply don’t understand how it works. Our
research indicates there is a willingness to
change this mindset”
Financial Services Groups
are more than willing to give out financial
advice to anyone showing poor spending habits.
Most financial companies preach that a dollar
saved is a dollar earned. When you look to the
companies themselves to see how they act you see
a different model. IMI Trust’s research shows
that players in the industry realize a change is
necessary for success.
“Baby boomers represent a
large part of the finance market, but so do
Generation X, Y and the rest. A poorly focused
message will not appeal to any of these groups”,
said Torso while flicking through Money
Management, the leading industry magazine for
financial services in Australia. “These messages
blend into one but their core markets are
completely different. This advertising becomes
white noise over time. You need to speak
directly to your target market. Consistently”
“Baby Boomers, for instance,
want to have a connection with the company they
are doing business with. They want the human
touch”, Torso says referring to the market
feedback received by IMI Trust.
Financial groups now begin
to see the benefit of building relationships and
not just seeking business. The website, the
marketing, the staff, the systems are there to
build rapport and feed information to these
information savvy investors.
"The internet has opened the
door for smaller and larger firms to compete for
clients on a level playing field and the larger
firms are taking note. Success in online
advertising doesn't rely on massive promotion,
but on focused, benefits-driven campaigns and
good branding" says Dominic Dirupo, a Director
at IMI Trust. “The investors are becoming more
educated by doing their own research, but still
need that voice of experience to guide them
through. The issue investors have is who to
ask.”
Standing out from the crowd
has always been difficult in finance but there
are emerging ways to achieve this. Strategies
such as Blogging have become very popular for
companies to communicate their message as has
Podcasting. "The internet allows companies to
reduce their marketing spend, generate the
loyalty of their clients and increase referral
business generated from clients. However, ask a
financial planner about the last podcast they
issued and they’d think I was talking about
fishing", Dirupo says with a wry smile.
IMI Trust is a leader in
helping Financial Services organisations build
relationships with their clients and streamline
their systems. The emphasis is results through
education, training and research. -
www.imitrust.com.
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