According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, the financial sector is still the sector least trusted by consumers today.
Since the global financial crisis hit just over 10 years ago, financial services companies have been working hard to rebuild that trust, but there’s still a long road ahead.
With trust being so critical to the bottom line, we’ve outlined 3 marketing methods financial services brands can use to build more trust within the marketplace.
1. Case Studies
In a post-trust world, consumers are less inclined to take a brand’s word for it than they were in the past. Now, they demand proof that your products and/or services are legitimate, genuine and effective.
Case studies are an excellent tool to build trust and communicate the value of your offerings. By showing how you have already solved a challenge for someone in the same shoes as your prospects, you’re more likely to inspire confidence that you can do it again. Consider creating a dedicated case study hub on your website to showcase your achievements and display your track record without people having to enter their details to download it, which is an outdated tactic.
In recent years, we’ve also witnessed a shift away from PDF case studies and towards video case studies, where the people and firms involved tell the story of transformation. Presented by a third party, case studies can pack an extra punch because they show that someone else is willing to help build your reputation in return for a job well done. It’s the ultimate form of social proof!
2. Behind the Scenes
Increasingly, consumers want to get to know the people behind businesses, as well as the brands themselves. Introducing the public to the key figures within your business can help to build that all-important know, like and trust factor.
Let people take a peek behind the curtain and position your senior leadership team as key voices in your industry via thoughtful blogging and quick video insights.
With this method, you can also communicate your brand values, which are the unique elements that set you apart from your competitors and can give your prospects another reason to want to choose your brand over others.
Furthermore, trust can be broken much more easily than it can be built so this method can work well as a maintenance strategy to strengthen your bond with current customers. 3. Useful Content
One of the best ways to quickly build trust is to show consumers that you really care about them and have their best interests at heart.
By creating useful, original content that helps your target audience to: solve a problem answer a pressing question, better plan for the future, or makes their daily tasks easier to complete can be very effective.
We’re big advocates of producing content in many different formats to cater to the varying preferences of the marketplace. Some trust-building content formats you could consider include:
Whitepapers
Infographics
Podcasts
Webinars
This will encourage people to view your brand as a “trusted advisor” rather than a marketing powerhouse out to separate them from their cold hard cash. A recent LinkedIn study revealed that after consuming thought leadership content, 76% of executives are influenced in their purchasing decisions. Clearly, the time to start creating more useful content is now!
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Could your financial service brand be working harder to build and maintain trust in the post-trust society we now live in? We can help you build a content strategy that inspires confidence and can set you apart in the financial services sector. Get in touch with Philip Martin to discover how DMA Partners can help: philip.martin@dma-partners.com.