We frequently hear that Savings is Earning! This habit saved many homes in the last two years, and even those who ignored it realized its importance. Today we are going to talk about a perceptually complex category that plays an important role in our daily life.
With the changing times we are seeing that the consumer is also changing, how new categories are emerging and what changes are taking place in the existing categories. Financial Services Industry: from depositing money with lenders to para-banking, depositing money in the bank, keeping money in the post, from stock market to mutual funds to insurance and now crypto currency, many such dimensions of money management have been given by this industry till date.
What started with savings turned into investment with the help of marketing, and people started talking about investment. Investment was adopted by the people as second income or in case of future troubles. Today, people are starting to look beyond savings and investment and think about “WEALTH CREATION”. The term is attributed to the startup economy which speaks of valuation. Your goal should not just be to save, but to create wealth. Growth appetite is on the rise, behaviour is changing, and hoping to get more returns; the instruments of new investments are increasing.
In the last year and a half, we have seen many new individual investors started investing in stock market and mutual funds. Today, this type of investment, which was limited to a few people, has become the support of the common man. According to SEBI data, retail investors are coming from small towns and urban areas. 1.3 crore investor accounts for lower income class with annual income up to Rs. 5 lakh; and 1.65 crore accounts with income up to Rs. 10 lakh have been opened. According to AMFI data, new SIP accounts have increased by 53% and demat accounts in CDSL have increased by 148%.
The implication is that this category is growing with investors from the smaller cities and the youth segment. Need is established, solution is ready. But who will serve them! At such a time, financial brands, be it bank, mutual fund, insurance, stock broking or wealth management, they should consider this as a great opportunity and take responsibility to keep this customer in the category.
From a marketing and branding standpoint, there are many opportunities for these brands to expand. Individual players are always striving to get their share when there are such huge opportunities at the industry level. But the biggest problem of this industry is that of a parity, all the products and services are almost the same. The biggest challenge at such times for the brands is to create a differentiation.
When these brands study the consumer’s lifestyle, dreams, desires, the process of differentiating them will begin. In this industry which offers similar services and products, if one wants to establish their brand and be a part of the consumer’s life, they have to consider the following “7R’s”:
RETURN:
When an investor invests in any product, s/he aims for the better returns. Tangible benefits will be seen, and in this case, returns are the benefits. So, plan your offers and commitments accordingly. Talk About Rational Returns, Not Rash Returns.
REACTIVITY:
Today’s consumer does everything in her/his own way and expects a quick response. How your brand reacts to any situation is important. Your Reaction Should Not Be Situational Based, But Wisdom Based. For e.g. If you are a stock brokerage company and you see that your competitor has reduce the brokerage. In this case if you too will reduce your brokerage in its reaction, it will be a situational based reaction but if you give value addition and promote your brand, it will be wisdom based.
ROBINHOOD EFFECT:
Make your customer aware that you are working in her/his interest, and planning your activities and products keeping her/him in mind. Instead Of Being A Monopolistic Leader, Try And Be An Empathetic-Approachable Player To Gain Customer Sympathy.
RELY ON RESEARCH:
People don’t need you if they think investment or wealth creation is a matter of luck. Build Your Product And Brand Research Based, Data Based. Study the cross categories for how they use the research to promote the brand. For e.g. today, the food delivery & hyper-local apps build a campaign based on its own study, saying that in 2021, people ordered biriyani every 5 minutes. This gives the consumer confidence and authenticity on the brand. Make your campaign research based at times.
REASSURANCE:
This category functions more on tech today. They will create an app and will ask you to deal with the brand through it. Finally, When It Comes To Money, The Consumer Wants To Talk To A Human Face. At such times, your communication will play an important part. Put the human aspect in front of her/him, and reassure her/him that s/he is dealing with the right brand.
REFRAME:
This category is dynamic. As we have seen before, new consumer segments are coming from different cities, there is app-based dealing, few offering zero paise brokerage, etc. At Such Times, Redefine Or Reframe Your Brand From Time To Time, And Make The Customer Realize That You Are Moving With The Times.
RE-HABIT:
The most important point. Make Investment A Habit. Just as mutual funds changed people’s habits through SIPs. Think about how you can change consumer habits through your brand so that they stay loyal to your brand. If s/he is interested only in spending money, get in the habit of saving, then get in the habit of wealth creation by focusing on raising money. So, focus on nudging/changing her/his habits.
Strengthen Your Product Experience In Addition To The Above Points. In addition to the basic offerings, value add basis personalization. Seize the opportunity to enter their life at a young age; and plan a life-cycle for her/him in a such way so that s/he stays with you for the rest of her/his life. Satisfy her/his other needs by cross-selling your other products/services. If s/he is happy with any of your products, then the probability is that your other products will be bought and used for sure.
When You Entertain A Customer In This Way, S/He Will Also Give You An “R”. The R Of “REWARD”, And That Reward Means Her/His Inseparable Relationship With Your Brand Which Will Be Your True Wealth Creation.
This article was originally published on 8th January 2022 in Gujarat Samachar – a leading Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. This article has been written by Mr. Sameer Joshi, Founding Partner – Sam & Andy.