In yesterday's mailbox, I received this direct mail package from Ameriprise Financial offering me a FREE planning guide, "What you need to know before you retire."
The letter begins, "Dear Investor: What does your dream retirement look like?" Well, I've been looking at a LOT of CNN recently, and your mailing, my dear Ameriprise, appears to be... a day late and a dollar short. I guess you had no way of knowing that the market would tank so badly when you put this baby to bed. Quite frankly, I can't imagine ANY investment or retirement planning mailing doing well this week.
What I need to know before I retire isn't in the FREE book they're giving away, at least not according to what I'm hearing in the news. What I need to know is probably inside a crystal ball ... and I haven't received any direct mail packages selling that ... yet.
I'm interested to know - what's in your mailbox lately in regard to financially-related products and services and how are you reacting to it?
2 comments:
Even in the best of circumstances, most of us are frustrated by an inability to save enough for retirement.
But right now, that negative emotion has risen to the stratosphere. And I agree with you that now is not the time to promote financial products as usual.
For example, think about how many millions of people would switch their small IRAs from stock based funds to gold or even a guaranteed fund with minimal return, but in a SAFE place. Can’t some financial institution figure out how to make this easy, FAST and painless?
So now, help these potential customers switch from something that is hemorrhaging money to something more stable.
Maybe there are legal constraints here that I am not aware of. But the lack of creativity that comes in my mailbox shows little imagination or understanding of the customer.
Thanks, Ted - for your intelligent and "spot-on" response!
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