Work + Money

Friday, September 5, 2008

Should banks talk differently to women?

Getty Images

Getty Images

Banks and financial institutions are in a funny position. Not a funny ha ha position, but a funny how-do-we-handle this kind of position. They know women hold the keys to a lot of their business, yet they have trouble reaching us with the right message.

While some women say they are more financially savvy than financial professionals give them credit for and that they don't get enough respect from them, as this Oxygen study found last year, others say financial marketing materials are difficult to understand and not written for them.

So what's a financial institution to do? Kimberly Palmer reports in U.S. News & World Report that financial pros are changing their game and reaching out to women differently than they do men. She talked with Arika Larson, owner of Women Be Wise, a financial planning company, who is using "female-friendly metaphors" to strike a chord with women. She likens updating 401k accounts every six months to putting our winter clothes away and bringing out the spring wardrobe, and making stable investment choices to choosing your first black suit for work. And more financial professionals are running women-only seminars to reach women who believe the traditional methods are not geared to them.

So here's your chance to tell banks and financial planning pros what it is you want from them. Is likening updating your 401K every six months to changing out seasonal wardrobes condescending, or would you like investment and savings information served up differently than it is right now?
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Comments 1-3 of 3
  • Ms. Jones's Avatar
    Posted by Ms. Jones Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:44am PDT

    The Whole World should speak to Women differently.

    Kapeesh!

    My partner makes me cranky for nooky. Sorry for the mean.

    Bye.

    Report Abuse
  • claudizzle6's Avatar
    Posted by claudizzle6 Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:45pm PDT

    This is ridiculous. I am sure that women of many walks of life are able to "understand" just fine. If companies segregate their marketing strategies like this then there truly never will be complete equality in the sexes. This is just another way to gender society.

    Report Abuse
  • mrscolbert's Avatar
    Posted by mrscolbert Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:10pm PDT

    I'd think about walking out of a bank if they told me that my 401K was like switching my wardrobe, or whatever the crud. But somehow, I don't think that making financial jargon easy to understand can be all bad. I dunno. I wouldn't want to be talked to like that, but some women might and that's absolutely fine.

    Report Abuse
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