Many financial services are beginning to prioritize DE&I marketing. Are you one of them?

DE&I stands for “diversity, equity and inclusion.” Sometimes it’s also called DEI. And sometimes it’s even called DEIA (if you include accessibility.)

From a business standpoint, it’s a fantastic way to amplify your brand’s voice and bring in clients from all walks of life. From a moral standpoint, it’s just the right thing to do.

Honing in on just one facet of inclusion: Forty-four percent of millennials and just under half of all Gen-Z’ers are minorities. And now more than ever, they’re demanding representation. If your firm doesn’t offer it, they’ll find one that does.

Effective DE&I marketing allows your firm to tap into diverse viewpoints, connect with a wider audience, increase consumer trust and loyalty, engage with marginalized community members, and enhance your brand image and reputation.

If all of this sounds good to you, here are some key DE&I strategies to consider.

5 Key DE&I Marketing Tactics for Financial Services Firms

1. Promote Financial Inclusion

The financial services industry can often be exclusionary. There’s a high bar for entry, and marginalized groups find themselves on the outside looking in. For instance, while only 16% of white consumers are credit invisible or unscoreable, those percentages are 27% and 26%, respectively, for Black and Hispanic/Latino consumers.

Financial inclusion involves finding ways to meet the needs of the underserved, whether that’s through promoting financial education and literacy, expanding the products and services you currently offer, or using non-traditional data scoring or alternative credit data.

2. Create Focus Groups and Surveys

Two heads are better than one — and 12 are better than two. By creating small focus groups made up of people from varying races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, and so forth, you’re getting the conversation started and giving everyone a voice.

Surveys are another way to get consumer insights, and people might feel more comfortable with this method than speaking up in a group setting. But no matter how you get the information, hearing it directly from the source is invaluable.

3. Recruit Diverse Talent

People want to do business with people they can identify with. By actively recruiting diverse employees to support your business and soliciting their perspectives and opinions, you’ll be better positioned to meet the needs of a wider pool of clients.

That won’t just help you attract and retain customers. It will have a positive impact on your team, leading to better employee satisfaction and retention!

4. Look Beyond Your Business

You’re only as good as the company you keep. You could have the best DE&I marketing strategy in all of finance, but if your business is associated in any way with “problematic” vendors, suppliers, partners or organizations, it will reflect poorly on you. Vet accordingly.

While you have your sights set on the world outside your office doors, look for inspiration, too. Who’s on top of their DE&I game? What are they doing that you could repurpose for yourself?

5. Make DE&I Marketing an Ongoing Commitment

DE&I isn’t a box you check on your marketing to-do list; it’s an ongoing process that needs regular attention and tweaks. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and what works today won’t necessarily work tomorrow. As the world changes, your business needs to be willing to change with it.

Are You Ready to Help Change the World?

Today’s landscape looks a lot different than it did even a few years ago. And in many cases, it has changed for the better. As people begin to take steps to right history’s wrongs, financial service businesses need to go all in on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Mischa Communications is one of only a few financial marketing agencies nationwide offering DE&I services. Let’s work together to make your brand stand up and stand out.

The world is a diverse place, and your business’s marketing should reflect that.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I, DEI, or more recently, when including accessibility, DEIA) marketing is an increasingly important tactic for brands that want to connect with their audiences in a meaningful, authentic way.

Consider these stats from an Adobe Digital Insights study:

• 61% of consumers believe that diversity is important in advertising.
• 38% of consumers are more likely to trust brands that show diversity.
• 34% of consumers have stopped supporting a brand that doesn’t represent their identity.

Clearly, people value representation.

DE&I marketing requires businesses to create a space where everyone feels welcome, and no one feels marginalized. It’s about inviting people in, actively including them, and making sure the playing field is as level as possible so everyone can participate.

Although race and ethnicity are two big factors in DE&I marketing, they’re certainly not the only ones. You also must consider factors such as age, sex, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, disability, appearance, personal identity and dozens of other factors that make up the melting pot we all live in.

If it sounds like a big job … well, it is. But by taking on this job, you’re proving to your audience that their voices matter — and in doing so, creating a loyal following.

The Benefits of DE&I Marketing

Expanded Reach

Representation matters. If someone feels that your brand values them as an individual, they’re more likely to do business with you. And when you’re including people from all different walks of life who then share your brand with other people like them, you’re expanding your reach exponentially.

Improved Brand Reputation

It’s simple math: The more people you please, the better your brand’s reputation becomes. And the way to please people is to show them that they matter. By practicing DE&I marketing tactics, you’re making the world a better place, which casts a positive light on your business.

A Better Connection with Younger Generations

Millennials and Gen Z’ers are anything but passive. They don’t want to be excluded, and they’re not going to stand idly by while anyone else is excluded, either. Diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t just valued by the younger generations, they’re demanded. If you want their business, you’re going to have to play by their rules.

3 DE&I Marketing Tips

Showcase Diverse Perspectives

It’s not enough just to showcase a diverse person. You need to showcase their diverse perspectives, as well. Who are they and why do they connect with your brand the way they do? How are they similar to your “average” customers? How are they different? By allowing them to tell their story, you’re empowering them as well as those who identify with them.

Use Inclusive Language

How you speak to your audience matters more than you think. A word or phrase that one person uses on a daily basis can be unintentionally offensive to someone else. Always use language that is meant to includerather than exclude. It’s helpful to build a section on inclusive language into your style guide to ensure consistent messaging.

Highlight Meaningful Company Initiatives

Is your company doing something to change the world? Highlight it! Whether it’s regularly donating unsold product to a domestic violence shelter, volunteering at the local soup kitchen or creating a scholarship fund for transgender youth, showing that your business cares goes a long way toward creating goodwill with your audience.

DE&I Marketing Helps Make the World a Better Place!

The world isn’t made up of cookie-cutter people, and “normal” is just a setting on the clothes dryer. By prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion in your marketing strategy, you’re doing your part to create a world where everyone is welcome!

Is your business in need of a marketing makeover? At Mischa Communications, we’re always up for anything. How can we help?