From Millennials to Boomers: Telling the Right Finance Brand Story
By now, every marketer under the sun has sold you on the importance of telling a brand story. It’s well-covered territory. But too many companies are still telling the story they want people to hear, not the one that needs telling. We’re seeing this a lot, especially in the traditional finance and fintech sectors, but it easily applies outside of these verticals as well.
If you’re concerned you might not be telling the right brand story, here are a few ways you can tell and suggestions on changes you can make to fix.
1. The narrative comes from the CEO, not the customer.
The CEO wants to tout a new product or development, and it’s your job to sell it. The problem is “it” might not matter to the audience. Think like the customer — if it doesn’t truly make their lives better, it shouldn’t be a focus; it’s a feature. That said, if it does change lives, lead with how not what. A few examples…
On the current Bank of America home page, the lead headline says, “Get the checking account that works for you.” This only tells me they offer more than one checking account. The more important message, “make it easier to manage your financial life,” is secondary and likely to be overlooked. Reversing these headlines would let Bank of America lead with the effect their product/service has on people’s lives. Speak to the emotional result instead of the product or feature to forge a stronger connection.
Take a look at eTrade. “Welcome to the original place to invest online.” While there’s value in history and experience — especially to GenXers and Boomers—being first to market isn’t what inspires people to work with you. But, let’s say research has told eTrade that history and experience are crucial decision-making factors for their audience. A simple change to, “Over 20 years of online investing means more resources to manage your strategy.” This says why more time in the marketplace means something to you–the customer. The why not the what is always more compelling.
Simple.com states, “Save easily. Bank beautifully.” Now, I’ll be the first to admit it—I love the look of Simple. And, if their business goal was to connect with designers and UI enthusiasts—mission accomplished. But, that’s probably not the case. While Millennials are known for being more design savvy, they’re also adverse to gimmicks without substance. Position the design as a great feature. Save the focus for something more meaningful and make a stronger connection.
2. Your imagery is not connected to the subject matter.
Think about your imagery in the context of the messaging. Don’t just stop once the woman-or-multicultural box is checked. Make sure the expression, action, and setting support the story. For example…
Wells Fargo: Upon landing, we see a lovely Asian woman signing up for checking on her smartphone. Her expression is so joyful it doesn’t seem genuine. I’m doubtful her joy is a result of the sign-up experience. Clicking through to a “learn more” page that wasn’t optimized for mobile further supported my theory–but that’s another story. If you want the imagery to support the story, expression matters. Subtlety matters. They all contribute to the authenticity of your brand experience.
At PNC, we see a gentleman making “important financial decisions for him, his family, and his business,” while jauntily walking down an aisle of shoppes. That’s probably not where he’s making these important decisions. A more appropriate home or office setting and expression of satisfaction for his choice of PNC would go a long way for supporting the brand story.
Betterment: So close to hitting the mark! They’ve got the right age demographic and the right level of enthusiasm in expression, but the setting is off. Betterment’s audience is more affluent latter year Gen Xers and younger Boomers. The protagonist’s setting–while perfectly homey and lovely–isn’t quite affluent/aspirational. Photography is a great cue to let the audience know if the product is right for them. Personally, I know Betterment is out of my league, but this image suggests otherwise. Perhaps that’s a new strategy — casting a wider net — but they risk doing so at the cost of losing their core audience. The other issue is that the mobile version of the site removes the image altogether. Eliminating the photograph eliminates the human element, which is key for a robo-advisor. Keep your UI consistent with art-directed responsive images instead.
3. Your UX is overwhelming and confusing.
This is one where fintech companies have an advantage over some of the more traditional financial institutions. Streamlined services such as Simple, Chime, Betterment, etc. can easily showcase simpler content strategy. But, many offerings doesn’t have to mean cumbersome navigation. It is possible to control the noise despite robust offerings, numerous audiences, and multiple user flows.
Consider SoFi. They handle multiple loans, investing, and insurance–and their menus are easy to understand and navigate. You can tell they consistently evolve their UI to keep things organized and prioritized as they grow. In contrast, Wells Fargo’s UI presents inconsistent navigation labels and lacks emphasis in many areas across their UI. As a result, you don’t know where to look first or how to process the information. A large entity like Wells Fargo may not be able to revisit their UI/UX as often as a SoFi, but usability is a contributing factor to brand story–especially to Millennial audiences.
Every interaction matters. Every interaction says something about your brand. Make it difficult and your brand is perceived as difficult.
Even if the overall navigation is well-organized, think about how the user assimilates page content. Going back to B-of-A for a second…
In the first screenshot above, do you see the “Compare checking accounts” note? It’s paired with a small drop-down arrow that is supposed to suggest “click me to learn more,” but what it’s actually suggesting is “look at these two completely unrelated topics below.” As a user, it’s not clear what action I should take. Every interaction matters. Every interaction says something about your brand. Make it difficult and your brand is perceived as difficult. Make it easy and your brand benefits from the association.
4. You haven’t asked the right questions.
This is the most important checkpoint and it’s never to late to make this adjustment. Most brands try to answer the question, Who is our customer and why should she care about us? Instead, aim to answer the question, Who is our customer and what is important to her? The result will help align your product/service with what people already care about rather than trying to convince them to care. It’s a subtle but important difference.
Consider the differences between Simple.com and ChimeBank.com. As we touched on earlier, the story Simple is telling is one of savings and beautiful UX. While the former is important to its audience, the latter feels more like it comes from their leadership. It’s a story that says, “choose us because our interface is lovely.” And they might. I might! But at the risk of downplaying my entire industry, UX is an important tool–not the story itself.
In contrast, Chime inspires people to “leave bank fees and scandals behind.” They’ve tapped into Millennial mistrust of big corporate giants charging exorbitant fees and having unscrupulous business practices. Chime has answered an important question about what really matters to their audience: transparency, honesty, trust, fairness. My sole hang-up about Chime is that they’re only using messaging to tell this story. They have the opportunity to offer a movement–not just a brand–and they’re not taking full advantage of it. Their radical messaging falls flat with imagery that ignores it.
So, what does a unified approach look like? Here’s an example from a redesign we did for Fortune 500 company PRA Group and how our checklist helped keep their story in check.
1. User needs drove the direction. Yes, the main goal is to get people to pay off debts, but the experience and messaging help them do it in a way that’s comfortable for them. It eases them into the process instead of just pointing them in the direction to pay.
2. Imagery is thoughtful and appropriate. It speaks to contentment, not joy. Nobody is joyful about making debt payments. You might celebrate when you make the last one, but that’s not who we’re trying to connect with here. We’re showing people this isn’t the end–it’s the beginning of debt recovery.
3. UX helps facilitate the process. PRA Group customer payment portals exist to share information and encourage connection where appropriate. The site has a strict AAA accessibility rating and consistently prioritizes usability.
4. It began with the question, who is our customer and what is most important to her? The answer is that PRA customers come from all walks of life. Demographics are fairly irrelevant. What matters most is understanding–no judgement and no feeling trapped by their debt. More important than payment tools and features, the PRA customer wants empathy. And that’s what the site delivers. “Options” not demands. “Managing recovery” not paying debt. “Figuring it out together” with a partnership. This is the key to communicating with the PRA customer–and the proof is a 70% increase in customer contact within 48 hours of the new site launch.
That’s telling the right brand story.
If you’re interested in help discerning the difference between telling your brand story vs. your customer’s story, our team—Works Progress Design—would love to talk to you.
