How to market investments in an age of low interest rates

By Charlie Britten
23 Mar 2020
Low interest rates have been with us for over a decade. So how can you best market alternatives to traditional savings?
 

Low interest rates have been the norm since the grim winter of 2008-09, when central banks around the world slashed their lending rates several times as the financial crisis threatened the world with a re-run of the 1929 economic crash.

While growth resumed following a deep recession, few central banks have considered it wise to tighten the screws again, leaving rates very low to aid recovery. 

What has happened in the UK?

The UK has been a prime example of this:

  •          The base rate was at 5% before October 2008 saw the first of several cuts 
  •          After six cuts, the rate was down to 0.5%, the lowest base rate in the history of the bank
  •       To put this in perspective, before the 2008-09 crisis the lowest ever Bank of England base rate had been 2%, a level that lasted for just a few months in 1951
  •          The 0.5% rate remained in place until 2016, when it was cut again to 0.25% after the Brexit vote sparked panic
  •        It was raised to 0.75% in 2018, but then cut again to 0.25% and 0.1% in response to the anticipated economic shock of the Coronavirus pandemic  
Low rates have been good news for those borrowing, especially those with standard variable or base rate tracker mortgages. But it has been grim news for savers, who get little return on most accounts.
 
That is where financial advisers, accountants and wealth managers are left with the challenge of marketing alternatives, to help their clients make the most of their money.
 

What are the best alternatives?

There are certainly plenty of alternatives to traditional savings accounts or cash ISAs, but not everyone will be familiar with them, hence good marketing is needed. 

Such products include:

  •          Stocks and shares ISAs
  •          Fixed rate savings
  •          Investments in stocks and shares

The key at this point is to understand your buyer persona. While existing customers who you have worked with before will have gleaned some knowledge from you, if your target market is new customers who have limited knowledge of finance but significant amounts of cash to invest, this can be reflected in your buyer persona.

How your buyer persona can shape your marketing strategy
 

No digital marketing strategy can be successful without targeting the right buyer persona. As well as establishing key facts about your archetypal customer, such as age, gender, profession, family situation and so on, it is worth considering how you will communicate with them:

  •          The kinds of social media and websites typically used by your demographic will show which platforms are best for reaching people
  •          By identifying the motives people have for saving - for example, for retirement, for a dream holiday or for helping their children - you can produce digital content explaining how certain kinds of products can be more useful 
  •          Using a segmented email marketing campaign with different emails tailored to the kinds of products that may suit people in various circumstances can be particularly effective
In all this, the key is to use a range of tools at your disposal to make sure you can effectively reach the appropriate target market. By doing this, you can bring in plenty of new customers seeking a solution to their frustrations with standard savings accounts in a low-interest age.

How can BeUniqueness help?

At BeUniqueness, we have years of expertise in devising tailored marketing strategies based on the various needs of our clients and their customer bases. We can help you develop campaigns that will go right to the heart of your customers’ needs.