5 Marketing Tips for Financial Services
Patrick McFadden
Regulatory demands, bureaucratic processes and older technologies can pose challenges for regulated industries when it comes to marketing. But with the right knowledge and practices, marketing can be a major asset for financial service brands.
Below are 5 marketing tips for financial services:
- Strategy is Everything. This is the first place you should start with marketing for your business—with a marketing strategy. This is the single most important tip for a financial service firm. And gives you a solid foundation for marketing success. Your marketing strategy should include identifying how marketing will support your overall business objectives, who your target audience is, what they desire and/or problems they want solved, and how can you deliver this solution to them. Your strategy once defined should regularly reviewed.
- Help, Not Hype. Marketing is not just about amplifying your targeted message to your targeted market, it is about delivering independent value before you attempt to make the sale. Focus on the problems and desires of prospects and customers match those up with your marketing efforts. Meet their needs and solve their problems, and your audience will find the help useful and you will become top of mind when they are looking for someone for help.
- Create Open (FREE) Content. “Tim O’ Riley says the enemy of any creative is not piracy but obscurity” Create relevant and useful content online and then make it spreadable. You’ll reach a far wider audience and gain the credibility of a industry thought leader. And don’t just make it free – market it extensively.
- Be Geographically and Culturally Relevant. Many global financial service firms believe that they can simply replicate the marketing messages, tactics, and content created at the corporate headquarters. This is a big mistake. Each geographical marketplace is different and it is important that your marketing reflects this.
- Don’t Confuse Action and Awareness. The hallmark of marketing is that it gets people to take action, to change their minds, and most of all, to do more of what they might have had an inkling to do in the first place – which can in turn be measured. Just because you have a million views doesn’t mean your marketing was effective. There’s a huge difference between action and awareness. It’s what your audience does (action) that counts!
With these 5 marketing tips, you’re better positioned to move your Financial Service organization’s marketing programs forward. As you take your next steps, watch what works and measure your marketing impact on core business goals. If you put a strong foundation in place today – based on strategy, compliance and a focus on the
information-empowered customer – your organization will be able to confidently scale up its investments.
Note: Make sure that your Financial Service organization marketing is compliant with requirements of FINRA, the SEC , FSA , IIROC , Sarbanes-Oxley , and others.
Question: What do you think?
1. The Challenge: VMI was like many service providers — positioning their value around what they thought clients wanted : “Office furniture installation and assembly — let us handle creating your perfect workspace.” But the actual buyers — facility managers, project managers, furniture reps — weren’t looking for “perfect workspaces.” They were trying to avoid installation nightmares . Their real priority? ✅ Great installation days. ✅ No chaos. ✅ No missed deadlines. ✅ No angry phone calls from clients. 2. The Insight: After conducting stakeholder interviews under our marketing strategy consulting engagement , the Indispensable Marketing team uncovered critical feedback: “We need installers who maintain a professional site and follow instructions.” “We lose relationships when installations go badly.” “I need quotes back quickly or I can’t sell the job.” This wasn’t just about services , it was about trust, problem-solving , and professional reliability . So we reframed their differentiators not by what they did, but how they showed up : Same-day project quotes Problem-solving on-site Update protocol with clients Professionalism guarantee Lasting Impression Insurance 3. The Shift: We shifted the positioning from vague benefits to real-world, emotional triggers : Instead of: “Let us create your perfect workspace.” Now: “Get the perfect installation day, every time.” That subtle shift aligns with who’s actually buying (and who feels the pain when things go wrong). The end-user may care about the workspace. But the buyer cares about the install . 4. The Lesson for Others: If you’re selling a service, don’t describe what you do. Describe what the client wants to avoid or achieve — and who the real buyer is. Then, systematize what you’re already doing well and give it a name. Just like our team did with: “Same Day Quotes” “Lasting Impression Insurance” “Reliable Presence Protocol” 5. The Outcome Within weeks of updating their messaging and positioning: The company reported more qualified leads asking the right questions Furniture reps began referring them because they were “easy to work with and made them look good” They were shortlisted for larger, multi-phase projects due to increased confidence in their process But most importantly, they stopped competing on price — because they weren’t selling perfect workspaces anymore. They were selling peace of mind on installation day.
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