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Article

Differentiation in financial services

Written by Bart Burggraaf

Financial products are commoditizing faster than ever. At the same time, margins are quickly disappearing in a quest for short term volumes. It is in this environment that the shrewdest marketers are managing the opposite.

They ask for high margins and carve a niche so deep that clients will jump through hoops to get the chance to become a client. *Almost* no selling required.

So how do they do this?

In essence the answer is simple; don’t be all things to all people.

In the online FX trading space Etoro is a great example. In a market of ever more complicated platforms and serious players, Etoro realized that there is a segment of unsophisticated traders that is driven by the thrill of trading. They built a user interface that is wildly different from anything in other platforms, making trading more like gaming. Of course they have a big following, and command higher margins.

But a radically different product is not a pre-condition. In FMCG, companies like P&G use different brands for each product category. They are number one to three in most markets they are in because they analyse the market and find a profitable gap in the competition’s communication. Their products are not radically different than any of the other players – the brand and its communication is.

As implied in above example, an important rule in differentiation is specialization. P&G would not be where it is today if it was all things to all people; in practice that means they haven’t used one brand for all their target audiences.

Financial brands can utilize these principles also. Many insurance players do it, mortgage players do it – but why not the major retail bank, the broker or the boutique hedge fund?

Think ‘divide and conquer’. Analyze & specialize. In an ever fragmenting world this is the only way to efficiently and sustainably attract clients.

MediaGroup can help. As a niche agency specialized in financial services marketing we can help you do the research & develop a brand and communication program that will deliver the sustainable competitive advantage needed in todays environment. 

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Bart Burggraaf

Partner (NL)

Bart is a Partner at MediaGroup. In the agency, he primarily works on SEO, client strategy, new business and staffing. Before working at MediaGroup, he managed global marketing at Citibank’s Margin FX business and worked on online marketing for Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. Bart has lived in 7 countries over the years but is originally Dutch.

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