Sharpening the value proposition
We helped a boutique financial services firm sharpen their value proposition to enable growth.
Our client found themselves facing an obstacle on the path to growth.
The firm had a very strong reputation in the realm of wealth preservation. But their new growth strategy hinged on introducing clients to an additional line of services focused on growing wealth.
Unfortunately, the market didn’t see them that way. Their reputation was excellent—but closely tied to their original line of business. And their team of advisors felt ill-equipped to reset client perceptions.
Uncovering opportunities
What they needed was a compelling story. A clear value proposition encompassing both sides of the business.
We started by interviewing the leadership team to understand their vision for growth. And where the challenges were coming from. Then we interviewed frontline staff. We used these interviews to better understand the barriers to conversion. And uncover opportunities that may not be readily apparent.
What we learned
Soon a clear picture emerged. Advisors had (very intentionally) been given autonomy to shape the business to match their strengths. This strategy had many upsides. But the high degree of autonomy led to fragmented ways of working.
Despite that fragmentation, though, we found broad agreement on a few core ideas. Like the firm’s ideal client—the owner of a privately held small to medium sized business. And—for the most part—its core strengths and key points of difference.
Next we conducted interviews with a handful of clients to see how their perspective compared to the internal view. And better understand their needs.
Defining the value proposition
Based on everything we learned, we set about defining a clear value proposition. We did this using a structured template that forces choice making in several key areas:
How the company should be described and referred to.
Which audience the story should be focused on.
What that audience needs most.
The top three ways the firm meets these needs better than anyone else.
This would serve as the foundation for a new story that integrated both sides of the business.
Forging connections
In addition, we defined a new brand theme that would give the new story emotional resonance. Something sharp enough to cut through and connect with clients. Yet simple enough to be picked up and used by anyone in the organization.
Rolling it out
Finally, the value proposition was expanded into a comprehensive messaging platform and rolled out to the whole team. We also helped them develop lapel pins for all advisors based on the brand idea.