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Staged Mourning and the Asset Manager Marketing Challenge of 2009
by Corianna
In her 1969 book On Death and Dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified five stages of mourning:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
A notable study, done at Yale in 2007, challenged Kubler-Ross and found the cycle to be denial, yearning, anger, and depression. It notes that acceptance--the final end state--increased throughout the mourning process.
Either way, I've recently noticed a growing number of angry, let's-take-revenge-on-Wall Street headlines. It seems like the initial shock and panic are slowly morphing into anger. As this continues, calming panicked clients will no longer be as pressing as it was four months ago. According to mourning stage theory, anger, frustration, and depression will trump shock. Advisors and asset managers should prepare to deal with consternated, blue clients. And, for asset managers, the marketing challenge in 2009 will be developing campaigns that appeal to clients at all stages of "mourning."