Developing a simple yet effective marketing strategy will go a long way to supporting you with Consumer Duty.
This does not mean you need a strategy that is fancy or complex.
Therefore, in this article I will simply cover:
- Why marketing is important or Consumer Duty
- Some communication tips
- How to use marketing to give that all important evidence
1. Why is Marketing Important?
Marketing is important because Consumer Duty is about designing products and services that customer want – this is what good marketing is all about.
It’s about identifying and knowing your market – this is what good marketing is all about.
It’s about really listening to your clients. Understanding them. Capturing and recording this insight and turning it into actions. This is the heart of good marketing.
It’s about delivering marketing communications that are relevant and understood –again this is what you expect from good marketing.
2. Marketing Communication Tips For Brokers
I must start by re-iterating that communication is just one part of the marketing mix; it is the part most people associate with marketing, which is why I am focusing on it here.
- Be clear – the best communication has clarity. Keep your messages simple, easy to understand and jargon free. Talk less about products and more about how you can help. Be human. Be helpful.
- Be concise – people are busy. Get to the point quickly. Keep sentences short. Keep paragraphs short.
- Be consistent – say it, say it and say it again. Be consistent with your messages, because that helps with memory structures and gets you front of mind.
- Be timely – it is important to stay in touch with clients often. This does not have to be every week but should certainly be more than once a year. Keep them informed of what is going on in the market – your area of expertise.
- Be relevant – humans have a great ability to filter out communications that are not relevant to us. The more you put yourself in the shoes of the client, the more you can create relevant communications. Perfect for Consumer Duty.
- Be targeted – know your target audience and the best way to communicate with them. Tik Tok may not always be the answer.
3. With Good Marketing You Have Evidence
If you use email marketing tools (e.g., Mailchimp) then this is a great way of testing and learning. It is a great way of evidencing how effective your messages are. Because high open and click through rates show that you are delivering the right message to the right client at the right time. You may also be able to see which clients are more engaged than others and rectify this.
And if you are lucky enough to have access to Google Analytics, take a look at things like Time Spent on Site and Bounce rates. Again, good indicators of consumer understanding.
So, there you have it. Focusing on good marketing will not just grow your business – it helps you deliver key parts of Consumer Duty.