Some of this shift in thinking is driven by a desire for a more active and productive lifestyle during these years.  But there will also be a significant number of boomers who simply will not have enough saved and will have to work.  Whatever the reason, this shift in behavior during retirement years will drive new needs for insurance and annuity products.

This change in retirement thinking provides a unique opportunity for marketers.  Here are a few ways to capitalize on this emerging trend.

Talk about the new retirement reality
Help your clients understand the options they may want to consider as they transition to retirement years.  How can they use insurance and annuities to complement their plans?

Deliver the message through seminars
Boomers continue to show a propensity to respond to seminars to gain understanding of the issues and opportunities ahead of them. A seminar creates a low-pressure setting for information sharing.  Look to develop a presentation that helps them view you as a resource for helping them find the right solution.

Extend it online
Boomers may have been slower adopters of the online channels, but now the group represents one of the fastest growing segments.  Take your education online.  Develop interactive tools to help them evaluate the options.  And then help them connect to you to take action.

By acting now to help retiring boomers, you have the opportunity to position yourself to serve a segment that will be controlling the largest share of wealth in the country for a number of years to come.

So if you’re not immersed in or nerdy about following the web design community you may have missed out on the string of discussions and debates that were sparked by one little tweet by Elliot Jay Stocks that called out ‘web designers’ who don’t code. The community responded directly to the tweet, other respected minds in the community wrote their own posts here, here and here and I’m sure many other blogs and tumblrs.

I followed this when it went down and the fact I’m writing about it now makes me feel like the guy walking up to the group of people laughing at a joke and tries to fit in by laughing, only to have the people laughing stop laughing and look at me. Screw it, IMMA BLOGABOUTIT ANYWAY. Mostly because I was brewing on writing a post on designing for the web for awhile before this great debate happened (this debate actually gave my post some meat to get the thought train rolling – meat, rolling, train, wha?)

Throughout the back and forth of this discussion I felt like a little ship getting sloshed around by waves from experts. I was being convinced of every side of the argument, which leads me to believe there is no one ‘right answer in this debate’. Let me expound on a few of the thoughts that stood out. From Mark Boulton’s post:

“Let’s look, for a moment, at Tele­vi­sion. TV is a mature broad­cast medium. Good telly is not about pixels, or how the they get sent from one place to another. Good TV is about storytelling, engage­ment, audi­ence, inter­ac­tion and a whole lot more.”

You said it Mark. Let’s have a drink together – I’m buying. This is so true and I already have a list of people in my head who may stop reading this post at this point and take that quote as their new gospel. But, as illustrated in a point about fashion design by emenel an understanding in the craft is necessary:

“As a web designer the equivalent would be knowing enough HTML, CSS, JS, (etc) to create a version of your idea, something good enough to convey your creative vision and be constructed fairly well. Does it have to be ready to launch for a million people? Absolutely not.”

Righty-o man! When I read this I was reminded of my years in design school and early days in agency life, making books by hand, cutting and pasting tiled print outs to convey a large format poster and hand preparing paper mock ups of a brochure or a collateral folder. We as designers need to be able to convey a website to the client in a true form. Yes, that’s what Photoshop is for.

Ah Photoshop, an amazingly wonderful tool. A program that I intentionally stayed away from for years because I saw it exploited and made to do things it was not intended to do. Coming from a print background, PS to me was to touch up photos, crop and color correct. I still believe this is the strength of this program, but I understand and am much more comfortable with PS’s tools, which are yes indeed quite dense. It can literally do just about anything you want it to do, you’re often only limited by your own imagination (After Effects is in the same camp).

But, just because you can do anything with something does not mean you should do anything with something (paraphrase from Jurassic Park). I’ve learned to love or at least become so comfortable with PS to the point that doing a web mockup in any other fashion, be it illustrator or in browser, to be quite honest scares some little part of me that wants televisions to still be in large wooden boxes that sit on the floor despite the fact that LCD progressive 1080i yada yada are much better (I don’t have one so I don’t know). My reasoning isn’t rational, but it’s my reasoning so it’s valid, right?

PS has become my crutch, but ask any web designer how fun it is to dig through 200+ layers to make a simple change, copying and pasting layer styles to 15 different layers, updating text on multiple layer comps (are we even utilizing these?) going back and saving jpgs of the website, then dropping the jpg in a static screen grab of a web browser, placing in indesign, exporting as pdf then sending to client.

Then ask the same update be made to a front end developer who has both design and coding capabilities, watch them make a few quick edits to their css document, save and update their browser on their development server (which the client can already view in the medium the site will be viewed in). Just ask, sit back and watch. It’s not about speed to market, but it’s kind of about speed to market. It’s also about making everyone’s lives easier. From clients, to creatives, to bosses on both sides of the equation (to whom the reality of the bottom line is a truth we cannot nor should try to shake).

You catch the little thing about rationality up there? It all comes back to the man who sparked this debate with his tweet. That same day he posted a blog explaining more fully his thoughts. One part spoke to me. Challenged me and highlighted why diving into the pool I have studied and walked around has been so difficult. I’ve spoken for months about the benefit of designers who can code, but I’ve just begun to even get my hands dirty. This statement here is why:

There are some great designers out there who don’t know how to code and some of them produce amazing things for the web. But whatever excuse is given basically falls down when you look at one simple fact:

It’s easy.

That’s right: writing HTML and CSS is so easy, that there’s actually no excuse not to learn how.

Then why doesn’t everybody do it? </thirdgradesnark> But seriously. Part of me knows that html and css isn’t the most complicated thing in the world. I’m amazed and impressed by the intellect of a good deal of coders, programmers and devs I know, but not all of them. Why then is this how I feel in regard to coding my own designs for the web?

While this drawing is a true to form depiction of how I feel right now, what it doesn’t show is the mountains and hills I’ve climbed for the past 14 years to get me to where I am now. This doesn’t show me discovering graphic design as a job path in junior high, or me teaching myself how to use adobe software, coding an Aerosmith fan site with a welcome page that featured a ‘frames or no frames’ option then going on to a school who was more versed in print design fundamentals than they were preparing me or nurturing my skillset to prepare me for the web world (blame is wholly on me for letting my coding go dormant for years though).

This illustration doesn’t show the skills that I have mastered, even if there is still room for more mastery, which there definitely is. Truth be told, I got to a place where I’ve learned a good deal and in the last year my focus and knowledge has expanded in a new direction, but adding more and learning more seems daunting. I am reminded by some words that were given to me almost a year ago which lead to one of my first blogs. I don’t have to know where the path I’m on will lead, what specific skills I will or will not learn and I’m amazed at the amazing people I continue to meet and connect with. I don’t have to have it all figured out, I just have to decide that’s the direction I’m going.

I am going to take a step out in faith and I know deep down if you’re a designer who has struggled or been curious about learning the craft behind the designs, you want to as well. We don’t have to, but it’s probably in our best interest. And even if it’s not easy it won’t hurt forever and I’m sure we’ll all be thankful once we have and will likely be saying ‘oh html and css, that’s easy’ in no time.

Or perhaps you will hold onto the ‘architect/engineer’ mindset and who am I to say whether or not that is valid and whether or not that might be where I end up as well, but I urge you to respect the engineer, lean on his/her expertise, listen to their voice and embrace the idea of true creative collaboration. Because without this I can assure you that we will be missing out on many great solutions that we cannot craft up in photoshop alone.

____________________________________________________________________________

Other takeaways worth your time and articles that helped inspire this post (whatever that’s worth)

http://forrst.com/ community connecting designers who code and developers who design to share, connect and inspire.

http://www.visitmix.com/Articles/The-Anatomy-of-Web-Design amazing article about the process of design and web design collaboration.

http://www.printmag.com/Article/Oscars-of-Type sexy type from the past year

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/emen/ Sparked some thoughts in regard to knowledge of tools for better type treatment in online design

So what does all this mean? In the same article, APPA president Bob Vetere explains, “Our pets give us so much it is no longer enough to simply give them a treat. We want to keep our pets healthier longer and are willing to spend what it takes to make that happen.”

Pet owners love their pets. And it’s this relationship between the two that is driving the pet market forward despite the tough economic times. In fact, veterinary care is the category that’s experienced the most growth, increasing 8.5% over the previous year. People are willing to spend what’s necessary to ensure their pets’ health – and it’s time marketers took advantage. Here are a few ways to do this:

Focus On the Relationships
Identify the role your product or service plays in the relationship between the owner and pet. Specifically, talk about the ways in which your offering keeps their pets healthy – both now, and in the long run. Use this as your platform for all your marketing efforts.

Share and Connect
Find a way to help pet owners share and connect with the animal health community around them. Sponsor a contest. Find a location and offer free advice to pet owners once a month. Participate in social dialogue by joining ongoing conversations. Or, start your own.

Vets, Vets, Vets
There’s no one more knowledgeable and able to care for a pet than a community’s local veterinarian. So leverage that expertise. Provide wellness tips that can be customized for a veterinarian’s clinic. Then get these tips out to the community through traditional and online channels. It’s an easy way to show pet owners that there are people out there who care for the well-being of their pets as much as they do.

Today, clients and prospects have unprecedented access to resources to learn about and compare offerings, and even discuss the pro’s and con’s with their peers.  The companies that will win are those that will not only share knowledge with clients, but also help them understand what they should be evaluating depending on their situation.

The fact is that people are most likely to make decisions about financial services and products when they experience a life event.  This can include everything from the birth of a child to becoming an empty-nester to retirement.  At these milestones, clients are in need of help.  Life event marketing targets clients at these key points.  It then helps them understand what the changes in their lives mean from a financial standpoint and directs them to solutions to address the needs.

Tapping into the power of life event marketing can help you expand existing client business.  Better yet, it can bring focus to your new business effort as well.  Here are a few suggestions for getting started:

• Understand the needs – identify what needs clients have at the milestones throughout their lives.  To begin, use your experience and any data you have on existing clients.
• Find your sweet spot – narrow your focus to those life events that you can serve very well, matching up your resources and expertise.
• Bring the target client to life – consider creating personas of the key life-event segments that you are focusing on.  If it is people who are preparing to retire, find a picture of what someone like this looks like.  Write down a profile of their financial situation.  Document how they live and what they think.  This will help you maintain a clear and vivid focus on who you are addressing with your marketing.
• Concentrate marketing efforts on your select life event segments – since you have identified them and their needs, you should be able to focus on the channels and tools that are most likely to reach them.  Most importantly, stay focused on these segments.

By identifying and focusing on the high-value life events for your firm, you can create a rich dialogue with clients and prospects that are eagerly looking for your help.

Like this article? Read more like it at financialmarketingnews.com

Cynicism keeps things from happening. Cynicism sits comfortably in the bleachers and tosses jabs to people in the field working and expressing their craft. Cynicism is safe. Cynicism is guarded, no need to be vulnerable, what’s the point anyway? I’m sure we could go on and on about what causes this behavior, I instead thought about cynical behavior as a stereotype. And although most stereotypes are painfully oversimplified view of a person or thing they are generally founded in some small truth. What is the truth that would lead one, or a whole generation, to be cynical?

To me the opposite of the cynic is something I’m equally guilty of. And it’s equally destructive, just in a more friendly fashion. The dreamer. This person has started more businesses in their head than they can keep track of. They’ve written three to four screenplays, one of which actually has a title typed in an otherwise empty word document. They’re going to spend some time in Europe, next year. They also live at their parent’s house.

Now the cynic is no saint. But they sometimes have a touch more insight and realism than the dreamer. They see what it takes to get somewhere and they see that boy dreamer over here isn’t up to snuff. From one perspective they’re calling a spade a spade. On the other hand they’re not doing anything to progress their own dreams nor to help the dreamer see his to fruition. Both the cynic and the dreamer are guilty of the same crime expressed in two distinct manners.

Talk.

The dreamer talks of doing and does not. The cynic talks about failure of trying to do and does not. Recently I took some jabs at Seth Godin on my twitter. Not necessarily because of anything about him, but because of the fanfare and drooling his game changing thinking seems to elicit. Then my friend from New York shared with me Godin’s talk from 2009’s Behance Conference. Although his intro is stupid and saved by his reputation (what was I saying about cynicism?) the meat of his message took the words out of my mouth that I had been stewing over to write this blog post about. Nicely played Mr. Godin, almost a full year prior, before I even had this thought, or Conan had his speech. With that said.

Talk less. Do more. *

* – This take away may make this entire post extremely ironic. I guess that depends on how I spend the rest of my day.

This theme has gained special significance over the last few months, as the animal health world finds itself in the midst of a merger between two industry giants. According to Reuters, at the end of 2009, Butler Animal Health Supply and Henry Schein Animal Health aligned to form the nation’s largest veterinary distribution company.

In light of the recent merger, many industry experts believe personal relationships and need-based decision-making will be the first things to go. In fact, in an article by the VIN News Service, Ron Brakke, veterinary consultant at Brakke Consulting, asks, “Are any of these transactions occurring based on the needs of customers? Don’t think so!!” This perception creates the opportunity for the smart competitor to claim the position as the partner that focuses on relationships, helping veterinarians and clinics make wise decisions that fit each of their unique situations. Here are three ways competitors can accomplish this:

Align
Bring sales force and marketing teams together to produce consistent, flexible strategies that will focus on the personalized needs of veterinarians and clinics – helping to enhance existing relationships and develop new ones. It will also create a more efficient budget allocation overall.

Focus & Listen
When talking to clinics, understand what it is they’re not getting from their current provider. Document it. Study it. Fix it. This is the kind of personal attention a more flexible, personalized competitor can, and must, provide.

Listen and respond to outside sales force’s needs in order to counter the enticing offers competitors who can simply buy business from a couple hundred clinics just by hiring their sales rep.

Be Nimble
Embrace the value of smart planning and flexibility to adapt to industry changes. This will help in the streamlining of the little things that can make a difference in day-to-day operations for clinics, both online and offline. That means better online user experiences, more ways for clinics to order online (scanners, mobile devices, etc.), better trained call centers, increased oversight and tracking, and hiring people with vet-tech experience.

Give veterinarians and clinics the added value they crave and they will be able to provide better health to their clients and increased revenue to your company.

Like this article? Read more like it at animalhealthmarketingnews.com.

Recently, Brightscope Inc., a provider of 401(k) plan ratings, introduced a new online tool that provides investors with data about how much they are paying for fees in their retirement plans. Tools like the one from Brightscope are helping to usher in an era of transparency that should demand the attention of every financial institution’s marketing department.

Why is transparency so attractive?
More than ever, people feel leery of what they’re being told. After years of “too good to be true” actually being too good to be true, they want trust. They want transparency. Being completely up front about fees is part of that formula. It tells your client that you have nothing to hide and that you’re confident in the value your product provides.

Shouldn’t it be the client’s responsibility to figure it out?
Taking an approach that puts the impetus on your client could backfire. As more and more financial institutions begin to embrace transparency, clinging to such a clandestine approach could ultimately lead to your client’s walking looking to do business with a place they feel will shoot them straight.

So, how do I make my financial institution more transparent?
There are any number of ways to do it – from online tools to office signage and more – but as you explore your options, keep a few things in mind:

• Either commit all the way or don’t bother. Anything less that full commitment and people may think it’s a gimmick and not a legitimate attempt to build trust.
• Transparency is a good thing and merits mention in your sales copy. It’s a benefit that people appreciate.
• Keep it simple. Here’s what we’re offering. Here are the fees. And here’s why we charge what we do. The simpler the message, the more effective it is.
• Look to the future. If transparency in your pricing has you concerned about the value you’re delivering relative to the competition – fix the value problem. Price is one thing. Value is another. Make your value clear (and follow through in delivery) and customers will come back again and again.

Like this article? Read more like it at www.financialmarketingnews.com ]]> http://www.uncommonsense.com/blog/transparency-in-the-information-age/feed/ 0 http://www.uncommonsense.com/blog/transparency-in-the-information-age/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/souncommon/~3/zhPHfJjKjlo/ http://www.uncommonsense.com/blog/balancing-innovation-and-risk-in-it/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:31:47 +0000 S Lichtenauer http://www.uncommonsense.com/?p=2968

This article from Bobsguide explains the importance of embracing the balance between innovation and risk in IT and technology.  The article quotes Richard De Lotto, a research analyst for Gartner, saying “Banking and investment service providers need to make the critical shift to a more outward-facing set of objectives for IT that are risk-aware but still innovative and bold.”

Salva O’Renick’s experience working with leading financial services companies in advancing IT marketing solutions mirrors the importance of this critical need.  In many situations, marketing and IT departments have very divergent points of view. We believe real progress can be made by following some simple steps:

Communicate.
Getting the support of IT is critical to advancing innovation in your on-line marketing efforts.  In approaching strategy for technology initiatives, inviting IT to the table for scenario planning is a great way to build buy-in.  Looking at initiatives early on as ‘possibilities’ rather than plans set in stone, will help IT focus on how they can structure solutions to meet security requirements.

Integrate.
Creating great customer experiences starts by mapping the ideal engagement.  Looking at integration – of marketing, sales and customer service – provides opportunities to leverage touch points in the delivery of more targeted communications with customers.  At the core of this process is data – which requires in most cases integrating systems used to drive activities across functions.  Engaging IT in this process, and identifying clearly the benefits to the organization, will help move these efforts forward.

Iterate.
The process of advancing your organization’s efforts to optimize customer engagements through digital channels is complex and ever changing.  Especially in a world where changes in technology, regulation and competition create an industry that is constantly evolving.  Embracing ‘agile’ and ‘iterative’ strategy and development methodologies will help you not only make progress today, but also sets the stage for a constantly improving online experience for your customers.  An iterative approach also makes better use of resources by tackling initiatives that provide the greatest value to the organization from a standpoint of feasibility and importance.

In spite of the overriding challenges in balancing innovation and risk, banks and other financial services companies can make headway.  All it takes is a little communication, integration and iteration.

“The purpose of this blog is to look deeper into the news and provide valuable insight to help financial services marketers take advantage of key trends and leverage opportunities to grow their business,” said Salva O’Renick CEO, Mark O’Renick.

Financial Marketing News monitors and aggregates headlines from a number of news services to find the most relevant and impactful financial marketing-related stories.  Salva O’Renick regularly highlights certain news stories and provides their experienced viewpoint on what it means for marketers.

“Each sector of financial services has its own unique challenges and opportunities but in the end they’re all integrated in their goal of helping customers make better financial decisions,” said O’Renick. “That’s why we continuously look for trends that impact financial planning, banking, investing, taxes and real estate. By seeing the bigger picture we can provide more valuable insight for marketing professionals.”

Financial marketers can find this new blog at www.financialmarketingnews.com or follow it on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FMNBlog.