Edward Jones was established in the year 1922 as Edward D. Jones & Co. and aimed at providing appropriate and quality investments to clients. The company serves almost seven million investors which is more than any investment firm in America. The success of the company is attributed to its principles and also the personal approach that it has on investment. The firm has consistently been ranked as one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE magazine. The company is privately owned meaning that the owner has a personal feel to it.
Branding and Idea Content
Corporate Mission
The mission of the firm is maintaining a business model that focuses n building and strengthening the relationship of the client like no other in the industry. The company has a lot to offer such as the spirit of collaboration as opposed to competition. In addition, they notice the sense of control and autonomy over their lives and professional practices. The mission of the company is to specifically help people to achieve their serious, long-term financial goals while at the same time understanding their needs and implementing customised solutions. Its core values include the fact that the interests of the client come first. In addition, the firm values working in partnership and it believes in the quality-oriented and long-term investment philosophy (Edward Jones, 2017) . Finally, its value includes the fact that individuals and their contributions are often valued and respected.
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The Current Unique Features of the Current Services Provided by The Firm
Edward Jones is different from other financial services because of the fact that it lets the clients run their own offices. It believes that autonomy is for the client. However, it provides the clients with their own branch officers and also branch office administrators. It also unique because of the fact that it places a high value on helping the communities and its clients as they always come first. In addition, the firm is responsible to its clients and in addition, it is accountable to itself. The services that are provided by the firm are also unique because of the fact that its founders believe in the importance of doing business with its clients in person. It does not send them to a call center but aims at maintaining a face-to-face interaction because it is key in developing a lasting relationship. The company is also dedicated to supporting the clients and offers them ongoing development opportunities during their careers so that they can be able to take the business to the next level. Finally, the unique feature of the firm is seen in the fact that it has built a strong reputation that is on integrity as it is considered to be the most satisfied Financial Advisor that is found in the industry. Features of the New Service
Over the years, the company has enjoyed success in the financial service industry through the provision of face-to-face services. The customers have appreciated the one-on-one long-term financial services that are provided by the company, especially with the unpredictable economy. However, with the increase in the application of technology, the company has been hindered from catering to the overall financial needs of the clients as it can only offer a subset of services, while its competitors who are taking advantage of technology offer a collection of services. It means that the firm has an opportunity to maintain and attract new clients as competitors struggle to automate their service for the clients. Through this strategy, Edward Jones will continue to provide the personal customer services and attract customers who demand online financial planning services.
Marketing the Services
Before starting selling the new services, it is vital for the firm to create an idea to its target customers about the online financial planning services using the promotional materials. Once the company has the ideal customer, there are a number of techniques that it can pick from to market the services, both internally and externally. The company intends to take advantage of fliers as one of the marketing strategies considering the fact that it is cheap. It will locate the area where the target customers are located and distribute the flyers in all the mailboxes that are within reach. They will also be distributed internally to the employees to inform them of the new services. The flyers will be brief and straight to the point, highlighting the services that the firm would offer and they will also provide the contact information.
The next marketing strategy that will be used by the company is posters which will be put on free bulletin board spaces for advertisements and announcements that are often found in public spaces, malls, and in most supermarkets(Ferrell, 2008). They will also be placed in the firm’s premises for the internal stakeholders. The posters will be reasonably visible to attract the attention of the target audience. Referral networks will also be used externally where customer referrals will be encouraged through the provision of discounts and other rewards for every referral, including business-to-business referrals. The internet will also be utilized as a marketing platform where the details of the services that would be provided will be put on the social media including sites like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. The method makes marketing easy wing a small budget. Finally, direct mail, which is a more traditional form of advertising, will be used to get the firm closer to potential clients. However, the cards and fliers would be eye-catching to reduce the risk of people through the mails out. The bottom line is that the firm will need to market the services to increase the level of awareness so as to ensure its success.
Differentiation Process
With the increase in the use of technology, many firms in this industry have adopted the application of technology to provide financial services. It means, many competitors are utilizing technology and thus Edward Jones Corporation needs to develop a strategy that would differentiate it from its competitors. It this case, the company would combine the traditional method of doing business, which helped it to attract many customers, and the use of information technology. In this case, it will start by having a personal meeting between the potential customers who want the online financial planning services and the advisors. The aim of the advisors will be to get to know the clients and their needs. The Jones advisors would look to understand the short, medium, and long-term goals of the clients. After having a better understanding, the advisors would help the clients to understand how to use the online platform and ways in which they can continue to work together so that the clients can reach their goals.
Alignment of Pricing With Marketing Position and Corporate Mission
The advisors of Edward Jones often get compensated in various ways such as through receiving commissions and through the product markup. In the advisor programs, the firm is often compensated with a percentage fee of the assets that are under management. Finally, there are often third-party arrangements which are paid to the advisors when they sell specific investment products. In this case, considering the fact that the product is new in the market, its pricing will be based the duration in which the client will engage the firm and the amount of work that is involved in the process. Advisors will also have third-party arrangements which will be paid to them. The pricing method is based on the current pricing method as it aims at helping the company meet its mission of maintaining a business model that concentrates on building and strengthening the relationship with its clients.
Brand Effectiveness
Many companies today are taking advantage of information technology to conduct their business, but at the same time, they also appreciate the one-on-one long-term financial planning that is being offered by companies such as Edward Jones. Combining the two factors will result in a product that will be appreciated by the clients. Converging the two will make sure that the company is able to meet the needs of its clients and be able to compete with its competitors who are providing an array of services. They will be able to retain their current customers and attract new ones as they will also be providing automated services like their competitors. In this way, Edward Jones will be able to provide its personal customer services that initially attracted its customers and be able to take advantage of technology to ensure that there is efficiency in the services that it provides. Provision of online financial planning services will cater to the needs of the clients and will be convenient to most of them. The service will be separate and an assertion to the current financial advisory service that the firm provides.
Defining Service Need
Behavioral and Lifestyle Demographics of Target Consumers
Currently, Edward Jones converge various banking and financial services so that it can cater for the overall financial planning needs of its customers. It has remained brokerage business that offers selected services while its competitors are providing a variety of services mainly because they take advantage of technology. The clients who mainly include companies are now embracing the use of technology which is a behavioral demographics of the target consumers that the company needs to take advantage of. It is a good strategy because it will help the company compete with the competitors, who have strived to automate their services.
The Service Need
Behavioral Demographics of the Target Customers
The behavioral demographics of the targeted clients have changed in this case because of an increase in the use of technology. In this case, Edward Jones will continue to provide the personal customer services that initially attracted its customers and at the same time start using the online platform so that it can meet the change in demand and at the same time be able to meet the demands of the clients.
The Need that is being Satisfied by the Service
Edward Jones has been able to fulfill the needs of its customers by providing one-on-one services. The strategy has helped the firm in meeting the goal of the client because the advisor will have a better understanding of their needs. However, with the increase in the use of technology, the new service would help the firm in meeting the needs of the company to get convenient and efficient services. Even companies that are far and need the services can be helped to set goals, after the initial meeting. The firm will also be able to help the client to learn the risk tolerance and develop a personalized financial plan. In addition, it will help the clients to get a low cost and effective method of financial planning that would provide the clients more net dollars to be put into the markets.
Information Need
The customers will seek the information to fill the need by calling the offices of Edward Jones. Another method that customers will be expected to use when seeking information is through mails and making queries on the company’s web page. Information will be provided to the customer service employees.
How the Service is Purchased.
Considering the fact the online financial planning service is a new service in the market, it will be purchased through the new task strategy. The strategy is the best method that the service can be purchased because it involves a buying situation where the customers will buy the service for the first time. In this case, the buying decision is heavily involved because the firm and the new customers are unfamiliar with one another.
The Target Market
The target market for the new service includes companies because they are the ones which are heavily involved in the financial planning process as they start up and as they continue with their businesses. They also need the financial planning services as they venture into new businesses and as they as they make new investments.
Pricing
Fixed and Variable Costs
Considering the new service which is the online financial planning process and the pricing strategy that is expected to be used in this case, there would be two kinds of costs. The variable cost in the case will be the percentage fee of 1.00% of the assets that are being invested on based on the investment profile. Third-party arrangements that are paid to advisors on the sale of specific investment products are also considered to be variable costs. There are no fixed costs for the new service. For example, if the asset is worth one million then the percentage fee would be
| Value of asset | Fee | Variable cost |
| 1,000,000 | 1.00% | 10,000 |
Competitor’s pricing
One of the main competitors of the company includes Ally Invest Advisors which provides a minimum fee of $12 every year. In addition, the company requires a minimum of $500 deposit when the advisory relationship starts. In addition, the competitor provides 0.25% management fee which is much lower than the 1.00% of Edward Jones (Brokerage-Review.com, 2017) . The difference is evident because Ally Invest Advisors does not provide financial planning services to its clients. In addition, it has other fixed charges other than the management fee.
Willingness of the Target Market
Considering the fact that the company is providing a unique product that combines the traditional method and the use of technology, the target market is willing and able to pay. The willingness of the target market is also because the company produces services that are in demand.
Pricing Strategy
Considering the fact that the company is entering a new market, the best pricing strategy that would be used is penetration where it will start by offering services at low prices. When the product is well known in the market, the company will be able to increase its prices for the services being different.
Conclusion
From the analysis, it is evident that the increase in the application of technology, the company has been hindered from catering to the overall financial needs of the clients as it can only offer a subset of services, while its competitors who are taking advantage of technology offer a collection of services. Therefore it is vital to come up with the new service that involves the provision of online financial planning services. The service will be marketed both internally and externally. It will involve starting by having a personal meeting between the potential customers who want the online financial planning services and the advisors. The aim of the advisors will be to get to know the clients and their needs. After having a better understanding, the advisors would help the clients to understand how to use the online platform. The service will help Edward Jones be able to provide its personal customer services that initially attracted its customers and be able to take advantage of technology to ensure that there is efficiency in the services that it provides.
References
Brokerage-Review.com. (2017, 05 23). Ally Invest Advisors Review . Retrieved from Broker Reviews: https://www.brokerage-review.com/online-broker-reviews/portfolio-management/tradeking-advisors-review.aspx
Edward Jones. (2017, 10 20). Edward Jones . Retrieved from Our Approach: http://careers.edwardjones.com/explore-opportunities/financial-advisor-exp/about/approach.html
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2008). Marketing strategy Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
