Ep. 48: Reed Handley - PR and Media for F&A

Count Me In®

Reed's Contact Details:

• Bliss Profile: http://www.blissintegrated.com/people/reed-handley/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reed-handley-08738254/

Additional Relevant Content from Reed:

• Bliss Blog: “What’s Driving Digital Transformation in Financial Services?” by Reed Handley, December 8, 2019.
• “Fresh-Brewed News” Podcast: “Episode 90: Data Difference,” by Reed Handley, March 19, 2019.

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Adam: (00:04)

Hey everyone, thanks for coming back and listening to episode 48 of Count Me In. As you will hear Mitch address in a moment, today's episode features an expert guest who talks about accounting and finance from an outside point of view. Reed Handley, senior vice president at Bliss Integrated Communication, shares her perspective on the changing needs of finance organizations when it comes to their PR and media. This content is highly transferable for all our listeners and we're excited to share another great episode. So let's head over to the conversation now.

Mitch: (00:39)

So our conversation is a little different today as we're going to talk about accounting and finance from the marketing and communication perspective, right? So to kick things off and give us an idea of what exactly it is that you do, what are some of the popular needs of companies and financial services when it comes to PR and media?

Reed: (00:57)

Well, thank you for having me. I'm very excited about discussing this with you. I will jump right in and say from my vantage point, I think there are three core issues, from a PR perspective that have overlapping spheres of influence. And those are raising awareness, building trust and brand loyalty, which supports the never ending drive to expand share of wallet with customers. And then the third piece is harnessing data for storytelling and also to use data as a jumping off point for more strategic insights. I'll jump into the raising awareness piece just because I think that that's the most overarching issue that we come across. And it really depends on where an organization falls in its life cycle. So the goal could be to become a household name, or to hold onto your place as a household name among target audiences. And that can be regardless if you're, focusing on a B2C space or if you're a B2B professional. So that brings up the big question of innovation and how that plays a role. I will say, and I'm sure you're seeing this as well, but digital transformation across almost every industry out there is having a seismic impact. On how we're communicating about the value of the product or service we're providing. And nowhere, in my opinion, is that more apparent than in the financial services space. but it's absolutely happening across management consulting, accounting law firms as well. It's something that I think every single, major industry is grappling with how to manage effectively. So I could give you an example from the wealth management space, which is where our sort of, a lot of my personal experience stems from. you know, technology has completely up-leveled and democratize the way consumers and also the individuals and businesses who sell to those consumers are managing money and receiving advice, which is not that hard to think about. You consider the ease with which people are now reviewing or trading or analyzing their financial lives. compared to the days before FinTech apps and SAS platforms existed, like mint and RightCapital capital and Expensify, you know, there's a whole universe out there now, that makes it easier. So from a marketing and PR perspective, there's a huge demand from financial institutions and professional services firms to create programs that showcase the value of your technology, especially as it relates to enhancing the customer and the employee experience. ultimately you're looking to attract and retain both targets and talent. So, you know, figuring out how the communications workflow fits within the technology workflow is really, really critical.

Mitch: (03:46)

Now you've been with bliss for over five years, I believe. Is that correct?

Reed:

Yes, that's right.

Mitch:

And I'm sure more communication roles prior to that. So with all this technology and innovation, you know, how has your job changed? Like what exactly is different about the needs of these financial services and any other industry really as far as who you are trying to put out this awareness?

Reed: (04:07)

Well, this is a big meaty question. I will say I think from a practitioner standpoint and a strategic standpoint, the number one need and in many cases I would argue pain-points is harnessing data for storytelling. and that, that goes for both B to B and B to C companies. I think practically every institution in the financial services space and certainly in professional services is seeking new ways to aggregate data for more research backed data driven, driven customer focused experiences. and you may ask why the, and what's shocking to me is that the expectation across the spectrum is so high among people that we're trying to target. we're now in a period where people are more willing than ever to pay a premium for exceptional service, which is particularly noteworthy for increasingly commoditized industries like ours, both from a marketing standpoint but also from an accounting standpoint. I came across two really great pieces of data about this recently. Forrester, reported that 70% of B2B firms say cup customers have higher expectations than in previous years. And Gartner also reported that 82% of B2B CMOs, so vast majority, believe they will be competing mostly on customer experience and not on product or service attributes by 2020, which is this year. so that tells us that customer experience and the way you're communicating with your customers at any point of their sort of journey in terms of getting to know you and your organization is really the crux in differentiating yourself in a competitive environment. which means, and can be a little bit shocking, but it means that the, that you'll be left behind. Absolutely. If you're not thinking about how to responsibly integrate user behavior data into your client service approach.

Mitch: (06:15)

So you're mentioning so many buzz words that we talk about with within our industry. You know, we're always looking to turn insight into foresight and make sure that everyone's on the same page as far as awareness and understanding through storytelling. So I think this is fantastic. And along the lines of this digital transformation, you said all this data might actually be a pain point for certain organizations. What else do you think certain organizations need to be aware of or contribute to the PR and the media that you're putting out there for them because of the technology?

Reed: (06:49)

Well, I think that they have options. You know, on the one hand you've got, from a financial institution stand...