Lessons for IFAs from Levi’s and Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen said “Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time.”

You might wonder, what is the relationship between this musician and financial advice?

He may have been talking about his rise to stardom, but this quote holds good for all people across all industries. Consistency is the key to success. It is the bedrock for various success stories. As a financial advisor, consistent performance helps build up the image of your company as well as yourself. It will also help your customers gauge where they can fit into your company and whether to entrust you with their savings. Consistency is extremely crucial at this point in time with the proliferation of retail channels and where the customers have so many choices. In contrast to this, if there is no consistency, it would lead to confusion, with customers losing their trust and becoming doubtful about investing their money, according to your advice. As an advisor, you too would lose out on business in the bargain.

Why should you be consistent?

Consistency in transactions in organizations will help in the following

• It gives a competitive advantage
  As you build up your team and your business, you tend to choose your position and you consistently reinforce the position in the market. This then makes you a stronger player, and you make it difficult for your competitors to take away the advantage you have. Managing your position in the market by being consistent and taking care of your costumers, becomes a foundation towards building a successful career.
• Growth becomes a norm
  When you have already been a consistent performer in the market, understanding how the market performs, it becomes very easy for you to take up new opportunities. Changes in the business can also be dealt with in an easy manner. When your customers have seen you as a consistent person and when you go to them with new products, they accept your thoughts and business propositions without much convincing and coaxing. They have seen you perform and this instills in them the confidence that you would help them invest their money in the same manner that you have made them comfortable with.
• Perception management improves
  Careful planning, execution and reaching goals in a consistent manner shape how people perceive you. Consistency indicates stability, professionalism, and purpose.
• Inspired employees
  Consistent leaders lead well-performing teams. When your employees understand what you and your company stand for, they get motivated and feel proud of working towards the common goal. They are able to deal with the customers in a better and consistent fashion, taking a cue from you.

Lessons from Levi’s

Most of us know the apparel company, Levi’s. Did you know that they have been around for more than 165 years? It was founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss, a Bavarian who had immigrated to the United States.

In this world of buyers’ market, where the customer easily moves from one brand to another, Levi’s has survived and is still a formidable brand. What do you think could be the reason for the brand’s success?

Yes, it's consistency. Levi Strauss and Co maintained consistency at the core, even as they kept innovating.

The company started off selling build- to- last pants to miners during the Gold Rush, in California. In early 1900, Levi’s denim was the choice of the working class. During the period of the Depression, wearing Levi’s displayed rebellion and became very popular among the youth.

All brands need to evolve to remain relevant – however, keeping the core consistent is what builds greatness. Levi’s is a good example of this – they kept innovating with their jeans to make them relevant to different consumer segments – but one thing that remains common in any Levi’s jeans is that it is built-to-last.

A look at Levis offers us insights into the commitment and consistency that has made this a great brand. It is one of America’s oldest companies, with its product available across the globe. The company has withstood the ups and downs of the economy and the various trends of fashion. The brand was built to last.

How can you be consistent?

The Customer Journey

It is important for your financial advisory company to continuously provide superior service, and have all areas covered by well-formulated rules, policies and support systems so that each interaction with your client is consistent.

Your consistent performance, in turn, will build up the customer’s confidence in you. Every interaction with the customer takes him forward on his journey with you as his service provider. It might be very difficult to be consistent all the time but is important as it is a predictor of customer experience and loyalty. With the customer spoilt for choice, consistency would be a key factor as a financial advisor.

Emotional Consistency

Positive experiences of the customer are often encompassed in a feeling of trust. Consistency forges a trust with your clients and this becomes a driver of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Consistency driven emotional connection with your client is a base for his loyalty. The customer should be able to say “This is an advisor that I can connect to, someone whom I can trust my money with “

Consistency of Communication

Any financial company is driven by the combination of the promises made and the promises kept. As an advisor, you should ensure that the customer is aware of the promises delivered, through effective communication. Like in the case of Progressive Insurance, USA, where they created an impression among the customers that they charge lesser rates than the competitors, for the period 1995 to 2005. The made sure they highlighted it when they delivered the promise. The way the customers perceived the brand reinforced operational realities.

Operations of this kind generate goodwill and intuitions remain strong on the basis of their consistency over time, in fulfilling promises.

Ideal standard - Consistent Greatness

The bottom line for success is simple: focusing on people first, being consistent and always keeping the needs of the customer in mind. It is important to set clear consistent expectations for the others as well as for yourself. You should hold yourself accountable while acknowledging how consistently you are actually behaving. The more consistent you are, the higher the value equation between reliability, credibility, consistency, and trust. A great sense of satisfaction is obtained when doing good for others and when this is in combination with a business goal, then you know you are providing great value to your customers.

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