A Real-World Resource for Financial Marketing Professional
By John Hurley
As a thirty-five year veteran of the financial services industry who has led the marketing efforts of several broker/dealers, I found this book to be both informative and insightful. What makes this book invaluable to the financial services professional is that the author understands from first-hand experience the unique mindset of financial services professionals when it comes to marketing and promotion.
As I see it, the author's approach is ideal for getting financial professionals to "loosen up" and consider many new ideas. Each of the book's short chapters addresses a single marketing or promotional concept and encourages readers to consider its applicability in their business activities. The author pays special attention to strategic approaches that will help create "relevant differentiation," and also offers thoughts on how a variety of implementation approaches can be adapted for use in connection with financial products and services. While some of these approaches may be "old hat" in other industries, many are still in early stage adoption in financial services circles. Online marketing offers a perfect example of a potent marketing tool that the financial services industry is just beginning to explore. As a result, the book stresses the critical importance of the Internet and online marketing to the future of our industry and offers suggestions for effective online marketing.
This book adopts the tone of a discussion between financial professionals, rather than of a battle cry to do away with all the traditional approaches in favor of anything that is new and different. Instead, it discusses how each new concept can be effectively integrated in different marketing initiatives as part of the ongoing evolution of the financial services industry in this country. It is particularly relevant to the current times as financial services marketers seek new beginnings. I highly recommend it to anyone in the financial services industry who is serious about taking their marketing to the next level.