You might say landing pages are where the rubber meets the road in the world of digital marketing for financial advisors.
This is where you ask website visitors to submit their contact information. Usually there is an enticement to get them to take this action. Either they submit their contact information or they exit the site with a high probability of not returning. Did I mention this was a one-time opportunity, so it pays to get it right.
The best landing page strategies for financial advisors combine websites, landing pages, and free offers into one digital marketing strategy that has a singular goal. That is to convince website visitors to initiate contact with financial advisors.
There is nothing worse than investors visiting a financial advisor website and exiting the site without leaving their contact information to schedule an interview or obtain information.
Every financial advisor has some functionality on their websites that asks for the visitors’ contact information. However, most financial advisors say their sites rarely produce consistent flows of leads and contacts. What is the problem and what can they do to fix it?
This article describes several financial advisor marketing strategies that can increase the productivity of landing pages.
- How important is your financial advisor website?
- How do Calls to Action impact the production of leads?
- Why do more investors respond to relevant offers?
- Which investors use the “Contact Us” function on financial advisor websites?
- Why do certain website offers produce more leads?
- What information should be collected by financial advisor landing pages?
- Why make investors feel safe on financial advisor landing pages?
How important is your financial advisor website?
Every financial advisor has a website. All advisor websites deliver information about firms and professionals. A small percentage of advisor websites produce leads.
This makes websites a critical link in advisor sales funnels. Otherwise, all of the time and money spent producing the website traffic is wasted.
Contact Us is the most visible landing page because it can be accessed from the top line navigation. This function is usually used by investors who want to schedule interviews or ask questions.
Other landing pages are spread throughout the website and are usually tied to various offers of free information and services. This works because a high percentage of website visitors are information seekers and not advisor seekers.
The information on financial advisor websites is also a critical factor. Investors contact the advisors who fit what they are looking for. Deliver the right services? Work with investors like them? Has a differentiating characteristic that makes them stand out?
What investors see on the website has to be compelling enough to convince them to give-up their anonymity and submit their contact information. Unfortunately, the predisposition of most investors is to withhold this information. They have to be convinced to disclose it.
All of this makes a website a critical part of a financial advisor’s digital marketing efforts.
How do Calls to Action impact the production of leads?
A Call to Action (CTA) does exactly what it says. It calls on investors to take specific actions, for example, schedule an interview, register to receive a free eBook,or attend a free retirement webinar.
The best financial advisor websites will have multiple CTAs that serve different purposes. One CTA may lead to a free eBook that educates investors about what to look for when they select financial advisors. Another CTA may lead to an on-demand webinar that is focused on a particular retirement pain point. For example, their concern about running out of money late in life when they need it the most.
Every CTA leads to a landing page that asks visitors for their contact information.
A liberal use of CTAs can produce more leads because you are giving investors more reasons to contact you and you are making it easy to initiate the contact.
Why do more investors respond to relevant offers?
When investors click on a CTA, they are taken to a landing page that presents an offer and asks for their contact information. The offer could be to schedule an interview or download a free eBook. This is a pivotal point in your digital marketing process.
The best landing pages will be based on an exchange of information. Investors provide their contact information in exchange for a free eBook. This is a fair trade if the eBook provides enough value.
The more relevant the offer the higher the probability investors will respond to it. For example, millennials do not respond to offers that target baby boomers. The offer has no relevance to the millennial.
Solutions for relevant pain points are the best offers.
Which investors use the “Contact Us” function on financial advisor websites?
It stands to reason that investors who are actively seeking financial advisors will use the Contact Us function that appears on every financial advisor website. This is the easiest, most visible way for investors to initiate contact with financial advisors on their websites.
Some investors may also be seeking information about the firm or a financial topic. For example, a knowledgeable investor may be asking about your minimum asset requirement or another qualifying question. Many of these contacts may be information-seekers who end up in your CRM system. You will use email marketing to build rapport and credibility until the investors are ready to start their interview processes.
What are the best free offers that produce leads and contacts?
Let’s start with what to avoid. Do not promote free offers that are based on generic financial information. There is a high probability investors will not register to view this information because the Internet is loaded with this type of content and there are no registration requirements.
And second, avoid offers that require investors to disclose personal financial information (plans, portfolios) to someone they just found on the Internet. This tip includes most calculators.
The best free offers will cover topics that are financial pain points for your ideal type(s) of clients. For example, the financial challenges that are faced by owners who want to sell their businesses and retire.
The ideal form of the free offer will be an eBook or webinar that addresses the many financial issues that will be faced by investors.
What information should be collected by financial advisor landing pages?
You should only capture the information that you need to launch your follow-up marketing activities.
If you want to be the ultimate minimalist for data collection, that would be the investors’ first names and their email addresses, so you can follow-up with emails. This eliminates the dreaded telephone call. You also have the minimum information you need to add them to your drip list and send personalized emails.
Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you need any additional information. Do I need a:
- Last name?
- Location?
- Telephone number?
- Qualifier (Available assets)?
Why make investors feel safe on financial advisor landing pages?
It stands to reason that investors are cautious about submitting their contact information to financial advisors. They are not sure how the advisors are going to use the information. There is also the possibility they have had bad experiences with financial advisors in the past.
There are four strategies that can increase the investors’ feeling of safety when they provide their contact information:
- Describe how the investors’ information will be used.
- Describe how the investors’ information will be protected.
- Provide a link to your firm’s online Privacy Policy.
- Provide a positive statement: Internal Use Only!
What are investors afraid of? Unfortunately, some members of the financial service industry have a reputation for aggressive sales tactics. This goes back to the days of Outbound Marketing when advisors bought lists and cold-called hundreds of investors per day.
That was then and this is now. Most of these Outbound Marketing tactics are obsolete. Financial advisor websites, CTAs, and landing pages are part of an Inbound Marketing process that is used by increasing numbers of investors to find, research, and contact financial advisors.
Even though most financial advisors no longer use Outbound Marketing tactics to initiate contact, most investors do not know that, so the concern continues to persist.
Want to create more value for investors? Add their contact information to your email marketing. Use it to send valuable tips and other information that builds rapport, credibility, and trust.
The information is never sold or provided to third parties. Investors can unsubscribe at any time.
Investors are more inclined to submit their contact information when they find what they are looking for and feel safe.
Editors note: This post was originally published in 2020 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
