Someone once shared with me that fast-food giants are successful because they know they’re not selling food. Not selling food? What are they selling?
Convenience, reliability & quality at low-prices. Food is just a vehicle to deliver the core business.
I’ve been blogging about branding for a while now and here I go again. New research has come out that reveals how often investors are going DIY (Do It Yourself) with financial services.
- DIY Direct investing has grown more than advisor-based investing 19% vs. 14% in 2 years (despite investor confusion).
- DIY Direct investing accounts for almost $3.7 trillion in assets.
- A recent survey found that nearly 75% of investors with a financial advisor also do DIY direct investing.
- Advisors seriously underestimate this, guessing only 20% of their clients have direct investing accounts.
Those statistics and the recent flurry of investor DIY platforms (i.e. E-Trade’s 360 dashboard and Personal Capital’s free comprehensive financial management tool) make it even more imperative that advisors differentiate themselves from the increasingly sophisticated DIY financial-services providers and deliver on their primary business. Sooo……
What is your primary business?
Here’s what I think and let me know if you disagree. Your business includes being a:
- Therapist, by dealing with fears and helping clients feel “OK”
- Interpreter, by translating the foreign language of financial lingo
- Concierge, so clients don’t have to do all the work
- Guardian, by helping to build emotional & financial security
- Teacher, guiding clients to increased competence & literacy
- Watch-dog, keeping clients from making critical errors in judgement
Tip of the Day: NO Dashboard can replace you!
None of the above roles can be filled by a DIY financial dashboard. Sure, you can get information on those topics but no dashboard can replace the power of person in a real relationship caring for the client.
Now more than ever, personal relationship is king. Your primary business is emotional – love your client! One of the vehicles for doing that is through quality financial services.
Resource of the Day:
Below is the link to the article about the rise in DIY investing.
