Financial advisers are the heartbeat

CEO of Metropolitan, Peter Tshiguvho

Metropolitan launched a new brand campaign titled #MyPeopleMyEverything. The purpose of the campaign is about recognising the people who make a difference and how they helped achieve great things

What defines the approach?

To kick start the campaign CEO of Metropolitan, Peter Tshiguvho shared his story and how his collective helped him turn the Metropolitan brand around.

“Like so many kids of my generation, I was brought up by a single mother, and she inspired me to make something of my life. I was also taught the value of hard work, self-discipline and perseverance by teachers, co-students and colleagues. The lessons I have learnt from them have stayed with me throughout my life and career, and I find that I, in turn, impart these lessons to people I might be able to influence today,” he said.

“The collectives of my youth continue to be invaluable to this day, both personally and professionally. If I reflect on it now, it makes sense why I was drawn to Metropolitan. The business culture and ethos have always been built on the concept of ‘together we can’. This has been our slogan for decades and we have considered changing it from time to time. However, we always came back to the realisation that ‘together we can’ is what defines our markets, our employees and our approach to doing business. Therefore, when I arrived at Metropolitan, it was not difficult for me to tap into that shared belief that if we tackle our challenges collectively, we will be victorious,” added Tshiguvho.

“This was supported by a strong strategy that we made sure everyone understood and bought into, and we keep on measuring our team efforts against our strategic objectives. On the other hand, a team is only as strong as its weakest link, so one of our other key messages we consistently reinforce in the business is ‘disciplined execution starts with me’. Everyone has a role to play on the team and we do not tolerate laxity. It is part of our drive to instil a culture of high performance, built on our heritage of inspiring the power of the collective,” said Tshiguvho.

The power of the collective

Speaking of a collective, the #MyPeopleMyEverything campaign encourages South Africans to acknowledge and celebrate the people who have shaped their lives. “It is built on the concept that on our own, life can be challenging, but if we tap into the power of the collective, we can achieve so much more,” added Tshiguvho.

“This campaign intends to showcase and celebrate how important it is to understand the value that our people have on our growth as individuals – and vice versa. These moments enrich our lives, grooming us to be better individuals in society. Through the campaign we want to sensitise people to this dynamic, and also provide them with platforms to share their own stories. By doing this, they have the opportunity to recognise and celebrate those people in their lives who have enabled them to grow, achieve milestones and overcome hardship,” continued Tshiguvho. 

“The campaign kicked off on 15 April, with a TV advert directed by award winning director Zwelethu Radebe, which portrays a young lady who is conveying her gratitude to those who have influenced her in realising her dreams. The campaign will be anchored by a digi-series that will see real-life groups from various walks of life engaging in conversation, by sharing the power of their collectives on various traditional and social media platforms. Radio ads will also be flighted on a number of radio stations,” emphasised Tshiguvho. 

Strategy, products, people and systems

Like any other business, it is important to have the right strategy, products, people and systems to be successful.

“Metropolitan is authentically a business with a heart for its clients. We carefully guard against forgetting that we deal with people and not statistics. People entrust their hard-earned money to us so that we can be there by their sides during the moments in life that really matter, and when those moments arrive, we understand that people often face challenging circumstances, like having to make important financial decisions, or dealing with the death of a loved one. It is during those moments that we remember that we as Metropolitan are a part of their collectives as well. This inspires our employees to give their best to ensure the client can enjoy the benefits they have invested in and trusted us to deliver. I believe it is this approach that underpins our service track record through various awards,” he continued.

“Metropolitan serves the emerging market and in this market segment trust is of huge importance. While this may ring true for all businesses, the emerging market often defines trust in terms of who they know, even more so when it comes to whom they entrust their money to. Once again, that personal interaction is vital to our business model. Moreover, we have also found that our market prefers to deal with advisers that share a common understanding of their life’s challenges and who they believe understand their situation and needs. That is why we recruit our advisers from the communities where they operate, as they bring an intimate knowledge of communities and their unspoken way of doing things. They are often an integral part of the collectives of those members of communities who become their clients,” he added. 

A well-defined client value proposition 

“Our long-term ambition is to become a household name with a product in every emerging market home. To achieve this, we are investing considerable resources into developing a well-defined client value proposition, supported by the right products to deliver on this proposition. Advisers can, therefore, expect some exciting developments in this area. Further, we will continue on our journey of digitisation, as we’ve seen the sterling results this has produced for us since the lockdown. While many of our competitors could not continue face-to-face interaction with their clients, our seamless, end-to-end digital processes made it possible for advisers to continue writing business. Not only does digitisation enable the adviser to capture cases in real time online, but the interaction also becomes very simple and quick for the client as well. So, it is a win-win for both parties,” he added. 

“On the broker front, we are investing far more resources into this sphere as of our next financial year. Our track record concerning brokers has not been lit with highlights and we realise that we need to offer a far better value proposition to the broker community. We look forward to seeing the fruits of our efforts over the next two to three years,” he said. 

In his closing words to advisers Tshiguvho said, “Do not underestimate the value you add to your clients’ lives. Many individuals trust you for sound advice about the most intimate financial aspects of their personal and family lives. You become a trusted member of their collective, so to speak. Breaking that trust is unforgiveable. On that note, I urge our advisers and brokers to continue to work for, and with Metropolitan, as together we can make South Africa a better place for all her people.”