For those in the Financial Adviser industry, just the mention of this word can give you shivers (and even an acute headache).

A bit like running your finger nails down a blackboard.

That’s right.

You know what I am talking about…..

 

COMPLIANCE.

 

But how does your business handle the C word in your marketing and client communications?

Well, consider this analogy to see where you fit in along the spectrum…

OK, lets replace your marketing and client communications (mar-comms) with a car.

A car that gets you from A (where you are now) and B (where you want to get to with your car (or mar-comms)).

On our ‘actual/hypothetical’ roads there is a broad range of cars and driving styles. And the same applies to people driving the mar-comms in Financial Advice businesses.

Now, some people love driving so much they become Formula 1 racers or simply binge-watch old episodes of Top Gear. On the other hand, some don’t have any interest, time or desire to focus on their driving (or mar-comms). In this case, driving is a necessity but they’d rather get on with the rest of their day (like giving advice and running a business).

OK. Are you still with me?

Following the analogy so far: Type of Driver = Type of Marketer and/or Client Communicator.

 

Let’s throw COMPLIANCE into this story.

 

COMPLIANCE is like SPEED LIMIT LAWS (on acid) … that only apply to Adviser Drivers … in Australia.

In this story, the Government has put extra SPEED CAMERAS on the roads – and they only detect cars that are driven by you and your colleagues. These laws (and cameras) are calibrated and policed so tightly that your maximum speed can only be 0.1km/h greater than the speed limit to comply with the law (tough – hey?).

In other words, it is very difficult to keep within the legal speed limit (to be compliant).

 

Know the feeling?

 

So how does this affect your driving (or marketing/client comms)?

Or, an other way of looking at it is:

 

WHICH VEHICLE IS BEST SUITED TO YOUR STYLE OF DRIVING (OR MAR-COMMS)?

 

Formula 1 – The elite professional.

You are the elite driver (mar-comms). At all times you need the precision control of finely tuned manual steering, gear changes, acceleration and braking. You will beat most to the destination but require constant monitoring of feedback to ensure your incredible acceleration sticks within the speed limit. You dedicate your life to high performance driving (marketing and communications) and have no time for any other business.

 

Luxury Sedan – Money is no object.

You place value on badge prestige, luxury, safety and advanced tech. Whilst you enjoy driving, you want to be able to do some business in your vehicle (in comfort). You take advantage of the automatic transmission, and advanced auto speed control, collision avoidance and blue-tooth tech but how much business you can actually get on with with is limited because your hands must stay on the wheel (and not on your device). This vehicle is more about comfort and creating the right impression.

 

SUV – Have fun when you want to.

You are both a sensible and adventurous (mar-comms) driver.

You enjoy the convenience of not changing gears and setting the adaptive cruise control to keep you under the speed limit in light traffic. However, you like a little bit of adventure by often (but maybe not often enough) taking manual control and going off-road to express yourself and have some fun.

Most of the time you can get some business done with your bluetooth connected device but this all comes to a halt when manually navigating the rough road less travelled.

 

Hatchback – It’s all a bit of a chore.

This underspec-ed car doesn’t offer much speed limiting protection so you need to keep a close eye on the speedometer. And NOT having automatic transmission nor Bluetooth it is practically impossible to juggle all of your manual driving (mar-comms) duties AND doing business in the car. As a result, by needing to stop the car each time you wish to do some business, you slow down getting to point ‘B’ in your mar-comms journey.

 

Tesla Model S – Welcome to the future.

You are able to get on with business for large stretches of your journey with your Tesla’s hands and feet free Tesla Auto-pilot technology. And because the car is 100% electric, has incredible acceleration, is great for the environment and is non-intrusive of your other business because it is whisper quiet.

You’ll still need to keep an eye on the road because your vehicle may need the occasional auto-override or you may simply want to enjoy (being seen) driving it every now and then.

It may be a bit pricey but you do not want to wait in the queue for the Model 3.

 

Getting your hands on the wheel of your OWN vehicle is not for you?
Perhaps one of these sound more suitable?

 

By Foot – Too afraid to even get behind the wheel.

You are so afraid to even get in a car and on the road that you go about your business on foot.

You may have purchased a car but you leave it in the carpark to never get used or gather dust because it all seems to hard.

As a result you don’t have any realistic expectation of getting to point “B” anytime soon and you’ll probably get passed by a lot of other Advisers along your long and meandering journey.

But the trade-off in your mind is that, whilst you may not achieve your mar-comms objectives, you can spend pretty much all of your time getting on with your business (assuming you can do it on foot and on your smartphone) – and you feel like you are at least being compliant. But are you?

 

By Bus – Happy to get there with everyone else.

In this hypothetical world, even busses (carrying Advisers) are under the (Speed Camera) Radar. But both you AND the bus get the fine. But the good news is that the transport authorities have made the busses so slow that it is almost impossible for busses to go over the speed limit.

So you can simply get on the bus and get on with your business.

However, you need to be happy not having any opportunity to take control (other than getting off) to personalise your ride (mar-comms) or fine tune your goals (your destination).

You will get there … but it will just take you more time than by car.

 

An Uber – Smart and in control.

Maybe the best way for you to reach your destination is to book a ride?

Arguably, the easiest (and coolest) way to do that is via the Uber App. You’ll normally get a friendly driver, a free water to keep you hydrated and if you ask, be able to plugin in your smartphone or tablet to keep it charged whilst you work in the backseat. You can either let the driver navigate the best path to get to your (mar-comms) destination or you can check the route and suggest another way.

Cheaper than a taxi, Uber also actively asks for your feedback and provides excellent customer support.

 

So which of these (Marketing and Client Communication) vehicles is best for you?

 

Let us know, suggest other modes of transport and join the fun on our Facebook Page.

 

PART TWO: Best tools to drive your compliant marketing and communications

Find out your equivalent mar-comms tool.