Who Are You to Your Clients?

One of these things is not like the others:

• Jeff’s down-to-earth friend from high school helps him stay grounded.
• Tara’s golf instructor is hilarious and helps her have fun on the course.
• Elliott and his coworker, both dutiful dads, fill in for each other at work when family calls.
• Kim’s money manager offers diversified investments for a fee.

Spot the difference? Most advisors and asset managers understand the value of relationship. Yet their content creation focuses on products, services, and strategies. Showing your human side feels risky, and no one who manages money wants to sound frivolous. But in the era of social media, an air of professional detachment makes your content hard to read – and even harder to relate to.

We’ve argued in the past that content marketing needs personality. Clients want to know where you’re coming from before they embrace your message. Showing personality lets clients understand who you are to them.

Simple Steps to Sounding Human

A lot of brand marketing focuses on company values and competitive differences, and that’s a good starting point. But to really stand out, ask yourself: What kind of person would have these values, and how would that person talk? To add personality to your client communication:

• Create – and use – a content development guide. Amp up your company style guide with descriptions of the company’s personality and voice. Include lots of examples. Make sure writers and reviewers use the guide when developing new content.
• Focus on your passions, not just your products. Clients want to know the emotion that drives your product offerings and business decisions. That’s understandably harder for a larger asset manager.  But remember that clients will assign a personality to your firm with or without your input.
• Go beyond benefits to impact. Your clients want certain outcomes for themselves, but they also want to know that their concerns are part of your equation. For example, a high-income strategy is a benefit to a charitable foundation. But knowing your money manager cares about the programs your charity supports has a much greater impact.