Finance

Ringing the bell for gender equality

WEFra4

This is the second year in a row, that Women in ETFs – a network bringing together women and men in the ETF ecosystem I am proud to be a part of – rang the bells at 34 stock exchanges around the world to celebrate International Women’s Day.

It was all about raising awareness for women’s economic empowerment and the opportunities the private sector has in advancing gender equality and sustainable development. A recent survey by the Peterson Institute for International Economics of 21,980 publicly traded companies in 91 countries demonstrated that the presence of more female leaders in top positions of corporate management correlates with increased profitability of these companies. With stock exchanges being a key partner in the ETF industry, WE has used this platform for a second time to bring across the gender equality message.

I had the honor of ringing the bell at Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt together with my fellow Women in ETFs colleague and friend, Ana Concejero, Sophie von Gagern, representative of the Global Compact Network and Hauke Stars, Member of the Deutsche Börse Executive Board and many other inspirational guests – women and men – together making a difference to push for women’s rights.

For more information on our network please go here

I is for Inspiration – Takeaways From Google’s Larry Page Letter to Staff

Big news from Google this week. Alphabet. Their new holding company. And a great name at that. Suggesting anything and everything and many new ideas and multitude of opportunties.

Larry Page letter to staff, announcing Alphabet, has some pretty good, quotable quotes. Something any CEO or leader should take note of as they are relevant for any business that wants to be successful.

“We are still trying to do things other people think are crazy but we are super excited about”

If you do not allow for genuine, contrarian ideas to be developed and heard in your company you are crushing innovation. Companies that have a true desire to keep innovating and investing in weird, amazing ideas are sure to be at the forefront of success.

“Over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes”

No one wants to end up being the next Blockbuster, Netscape or Kodak. Google is disrupting itself with Alphabet. And a clever move it is.

“Our company is operating well today, but we think we can make it cleaner and more accountable”

The restructuring allows Google to be agile (something the investors have been waiting for). Alphabet gives Google the flexibility to shift businesses. Not only under new umbrellas but also under new CEOs who may offer better leadership.

“Alphabet is about businesses prospering through strong leaders and independence”

With each new business under Alphabet having separate management teams, more opportunities are freed up for career development. This in return is great
for attracting and retaining talent. And we must not forget it allows for strong employer branding. A smart move.

“Alphabet … means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity’s most important innovations”

Google may be a tech giant but at the end of the day it is all about your clients and your employees.

And a little marketing side note: Is it smart to re-organize one of the most recognizable brands on the planet? Sure. In creating Alphabet, Google is following powerful trend in corporate branding just like Apple or GE. And having a complete house of strong brands makes for a strong catalyst for innovation.

Blockchain – a good financial disruptor

Blockchain is the financial industry latest disruptor. Many startups are using the digital-currency technology to tackle financial companies’ slow, antiquated back-office operations. For banks, the blockchain has the potential to become a technology model for a low-cost and transparent transaction infrastructure.But not only startups are embracing the revolutionary potential of the blockchain and other digital innovations, so are regulators like ESMA. They’ve just started a call to hear from all those involved, from existing financial institutions to startups and investors. Pretty cool.

Time to get inspired again

It has been a busy few weeks for me with lots of travel and deadlines to meet. But now that things are finally returning back to normal over the summer (hopefully!) it is time to get inspired again by all the great innovation going on the world – and not only from a marketer’s perspective!

New technologies are turning the financial world upside down. The WSJ recently wrote “In five years, the biggest banks in the world won’t be banks, they’ll be tech companies.” And right they are. Big tech players in the internet industry like Google, Facebook or Apple are already working on developing alternative payment systems and other innovations for the financial industry. So time for existing financial institutions to get on the wagon. Barclays is a great example of the few players who are taking this trend seriously. For instance, they recently launched “Code Playground” a website to teaches young people about coding as part of ongoing plans to increase digital skills among its customers. Ticktock on the clock for those who are not yet looking at the disruptive forces in banking.

And of course the Apple Watch. We all know it will have a big impact on marketing and we are seeing many early brand adopters. Like publishers. The New York Times, CNN and The Economist are all making a run to offer us “wrist sized” content. And right they are – while some of us are still wondering why one needs an Apple watch, others are realizing where the web moves to so must your business.

Want to up your “customer loyalty”? Then take a look at Marriott’s Mobile App. They have just launched a new feature where guests can make specific requests (as far as 72 hours in advance). Anything from that additional pillow to make you sleep better to getting an extra bottle of shampoo. There’s even a two-way chat feature in case you have a very “specific” request.

Of course we should not snub tweeting potholes or Google’s fragrance emission’s device (yes it’s a wearable that can tell you when you start to smell a bit in the armpitty region) – so if you want to feel inspired as well, take a look at WeAreSocial “Curiosity Stop” for some new impulses. I really have to give them kudos for having formed an internal Innovation Team who scour the world to spot new disruptive forces and seek out the latest innovations and then put it all into this great, little report.

Inroads in social media marketing for financial services

Consumers have long moved on from just using the internet for information-gathering. Social networks are growing at an incredible pace. We all know that social media lower costs and optimizes marketing spending. Now is the time for financial services companies to move from just “being” on social media and start to truly “engage” with their customers. At the end of the day it is all about using social media tools to build personalized customer relationships.

There are many financial companies, like American Express or UBS, already optimizing their use of social media. Accenture has identified 11 social media tactics that can help achieve a specific outcome and that should ideally not just be used in isolation.

It is important to keep in mind, that social media marketing always needs to be fully integrated in your company’s digital and corporate strategy to achieve the best impact possible.

Here is a link to the full report.

The fear of capital market financing

Having sufficient equity capital and access to long term credit lines are important for any company’s growth strategy. But there is this well-known German phenomenon, this “fear” of capital markets and IPOs. According to studies, almost 70% of German companies solely rely on banks for their financing needs. But as it is becoming more and more difficult to get new capital through banks, another look has to be taken at the capital market and what it has to offer. All the more interesting was a panel discussion I attended last week in Munich with German Mittelstand and family entrepreneurs on exactly this topic.

The German capital market and its exchanges are not being as positioned as positively as the UK or US ones so there still is a lot of skepticism ranging from the possibilities to the requirements capital market financing brings with it. Many family owned businesses do not want to lose their independence, their majority vote. Entrepreneurs also are much more emotional, building up and relying on networks, in comparison to externally managed corporations. Being visible on the capital market as a company means that revenues and returns are in focus, one has to be more transparent. One has to be truly present in the public eye. Many family owned companies do not want that kind of exposure. These and other topics were discussed with the general outcome being that these are fears that can easily be alleviated. For instance through better education from the German stock exchanges about financing possibilities as well as their actual requirements and what this means for the MIttelstand. Being listed can bring many positive aspects to these companies such as succession planning or the ability for greater international expansion and, most importantly, not having to rely on bank financing alone.

(thanks to ALPHAZIRKEL for organizing another great evening!)