Financial marketing

Why just bump along?

13th August 2016

“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it.”

Perhaps surprisingly, the opening line of the much-loved children’s classic, Winnie the Pooh, offers a very clear message to financial marketers right now. After the past months’ frenetic, jarring market activity, NOW is the time to find a place to sit and think – to take time out to plan effectively, consider alternatives objectively and then act decisively on your marketing approach.

Doing nothing or even the same may seem an easy option right now – the reality is that it may not be the most comfortable option for your business long-term.

Stephen Welton, chief executive of the Business Growth Fund has warned “The danger is that, in the short term, people think” ‘ Because we don’t know, we’re going to sit on our hands.’ He continued, “That is our biggest fear because sitting on your hands means you delay investment decisions. If enough companies are thinking that way, it becomes self-fulfilling.”

Post the Brexit vote, too many senior executives have been watching and waiting on ‘what will shake out.’ So much time is spent agonizing about what they shouldn’t do; their greatest danger is substituting ‘action’ with ‘analysis.’

Over the past 4 years, we have seen direct evidence that suggests that brands that cut their budget relative to competitors are at greater risk of share loss. It’s time to shine out in the blackout.

It is essential that the top team is committed to investing time and budget in your plans. Resources need to be allocated on their ability to deliver the strategy and strategic intent should form the basis of all communication inside and outside the organisation.

It can be argued that a greater commitment to marketing at the time is an opportunity to gain market share at the expense of weaker businesses that choose, or are forced, to cut marketing expenditure.

The antidote to economic confusion is a commitment to action. No matter how many ideas you have swirling around, not one of them is worth a penny to you until you actually take action on it.

Why just bump along when you can apply Strategic Creativity to your financial marketing?financial marketing