This is called crisis marketing and financial advisors may need it if they ever get into an embarrassing situation.
Sound familiar?
“We had a wacko employee and had to fire her for how she behaved towards our clients. This is majorly embarrassing. I’m not sure how to handle this. Do I just ignore it and hope people forget?”
Okay here’s how you tackle stuff like this.
Before you do anything, talk to your lawyer. If you get the go ahead, address the situation using this crisis marketing script for financial advisors.
For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.”
Take these actions TODAY:
- The script takes the following form: 1) Summarize the facts, 2) Describe solution, 3) Affirm commitment, and 4) Inspire confidence 5) Leave the door open.
- Send out an email to clients, with the subject line “Message on behalf of the (firm name) team.”
- The email should say something like this:
“We wanted to provide you with an update on a firm development.
Recently there have been questions raised about several incidents of improper conduct by an employee on our client service team. Upon becoming informed of these occurrences, we terminated the employee immediately. (Summarize the facts).
Through the process, we took the necessary steps to protect our clients and our team community. We followed protocol to maintain client confidentiality and minimize interruption to workflow. We have met with all service team members and apprised them of the change. (Describe how it was addressed)
We remain committed to our clients and our firm values. Although we can not avoid all unfortunate circumstances, we make every possible effort to ensure the client experience remains in accordance with our high standards of service as outlined by our firm’s policies. (Affirm commitment to clients)
Our firm’s mission is to be the top provider of wealth management services in the Greater Des Moines area. We look forward to making even more impact on the financial health and literacy of the community around us. (Inspire confidence).
You are a valued client and we thank you for your loyalty. If there are any questions or concerns you’d like to discuss, please set up a time to speak with us. (Leave door open).”
- Address major mishaps (cybersecurity breach, operational issue, staff issue) in a timely and transparent fashion.
- The words in bold are important phrases to include in the crisis communication.
- Don’t go to far into the details of what happened or what steps were taken, as this emphasizes the problem rather than the solution and dwells on the past. You have addressed the issue transparently; if people need more clarity, they can ask.
- Have your lawyer review the email before sending.
Yeah?
Yaaaaah.
BOOM – there you go, today’s marketing tip for ya!
Sara’s Upshot
Thanks for reading my blog about crisis marketing for financial advisors.
- I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.
- I am an hourly consultant for those who just need one-time or recurring guidance
- People hire me as a ghostwriter to write content for a project fee
- I have a social media training program
- I have a book about what to say on LinkedIn messenger
-Sara G
