Ignites posted a video recently of Mark Jamison’s comments at Schwab’s recent Impact conference in which he discusses the five things advisors can do to ease investor angst.

His list included be empathetic, connect and be caring, validate, be optimistic, and be solution oriented. He is absolutely correct but I don’t think the points are limited to advisors alone. In fact, it is these issues that firm communications should emphasize when talking to clients - be it online, over the phone or in person. Last year, when the market meltdown came into searing focus, we published a couple of white papers about how firms were communicating with clients during difficult times. We found that many firms missed the opportunity to connect with customers during this challenging time.

As we emerge from that dark period, investors are likely to be a bit shell-shocked. The more you can do to emphasize your concern for them and your strength, confidence and optimism in the bigger picture, the easier it will be to (re)gain their trust and guide them out of the woods. Offering good educational content can also repair trust by demonstrating your commitment to empowering clients.

Empathy; caring; validation; optimism; solutions. These are good guiding principals in marketing communications right now. What can you do to drive these points home in your communications?