Lee Kramer Deaf Founder and Financial Planner
Over the course of 35 years, Lee Kramer has built Kramer Wealth Managers into one of the most reputable financial advisory and wealth management firms in the country, serving thousands of clients with more than 10 full-time employees. Not only is he a successful wealth manager who has been featured in the WSJ, but he started a business at a time when the world and climate was not kind toward deaf entrepreneurs. Lee Kramer Deaf entrepreneur faced multiple challenges in the early years of his business before reaching a point where his challenges are less about his identity as a Deaf person and more about his desire to operate a successful business with happy clients.
A Heavily Regulated Industry: Finding an Angle
The finance industry is heavily regulated, with every piece of marketing collateral, including emails, social media posts, videos and website content required to be reviewed and approved by a compliance team.
This not only requires us to plan communications and campaigns well in advance, but to understand what will or will not be approved in the beginning so that we can avoid any failure to obtain approval. For example, we must avoid using words that indicate “future promise”. An example would be a call to action such as “Invest with us and retire sooner.” Such a statement would not be approved.
Additionally, Kramer Wealth Managers provides a unique service – wealth management and advisory in American Sign Language – a premium experience offered by very few firms and highly desired by individuals who are Deaf and communicate primarily in ASL. We decided to lean into that and provide more ASL content that would have longevity, considering the lengthy approval process.
ASL Glossary of Financial Terms
There is insufficient content on the internet that is accessible and available to Deaf individuals in ASL. We decided to compile a list of the most common financial terms and create an ASL video glossary that would be featured on the Kramer Wealth Managers website. We enlisted the help of Deaf interpreters and produced dozens of videos that were added to the website and served as a source of social media content. Wealth managers could also send links to specific videos to their clients who wanted to better understand a certain term or market condition. These videos serve as a starting point for an individual’s growth of financial literacy and knowledge of the market. It’s a starting point for a person who may be beginning to invest or taking more of an active role in working with their financial advisor – something that is made possible by their advisor working with them directly in their own native language.
Thought Leadership Takes Time
Kramer Wealth Managers also takes the time every month to produce monthly emails and vlogs to their clients. Their videos provide insight into current market conditions and keeps both current and prospective clients engaged. Well aware of the challenges he faced as a Deaf entrepreneur, Lee Kramer ensures that all of the videos produced by Kramer Wealth Managers are accompanied with captions and transcripts so that every person can access their videos.
Each video is added to the Kramer Wealth Managers website, and over the course of the last 10 or so years, hundreds of posts and videos have been shared online by Kramer Wealth Managers, driving their overall search presence to a strong position in their niche market.
Contact us at CHILMARKeting to learn more about how we can support your business with your storytelling with our website development and accessible video production services.
