It is not too early for financial advisors to start thinking about their marketing strategies for 2023. In some cases, you may need to add essential marketing resources in the fourth quarter of 2022, so they are available for use by Q1 of 2023.
It’s vital to note that these marketing tips work best for fee-only financial advisors (RIAs and IARs) who own their brand and financial advisor website. Many of the marketing tips will not work for other types of advisors.
This article will cover seven difference-making recommendations that can make 2023 a fantastic year for adding clients and turning current clients into better sources for high-quality referrals. We will show you how to:
- Market your firm if you don’t like marketing
- Increase your marketing efforts during turbulent markets
- Develop virtual marketing skills
- Enhance your sales funnel
- Reaching your target market(s)
- Consider your specialization
- Make current clients better lead sources
How do you market your firm if you don’t like marketing?
In a recent coaching session with a financial advisor, we determined he was an exceptional planner and money manager. But, the advisor did not believe he was very good at marketing his firm's services.
When we dug a little deeper, the advisor acknowledged that he did not believe marketing was a good use of his time. He was more productive when he focused on the needs of his current clients. He was able to dramatically improve his results by letting digital marketing for financial advisors do more of the work for him, as he:
- Developed a custom lead generation financial advisor website that converted more visitors into leads
- Used SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to build visibility on the Internet
- Relied on inbound marketing, so investors contacted him
- Added a webinar to his website to introduce him and his services
- Added three free ebooks to his website that solved major pain points for his ideal clients
- Added an introductory video to his website
The net result: His rate for converting leads into clients more than doubled (15% to 36%).
Why increase your marketing efforts during turbulent markets?
It stands to reason that financial advisors spend more time communicating with their current clients during volatile markets. As the saying goes, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
However, turbulent markets also create unique marketing opportunities because money is on the move. The movement of assets creates significant marketing opportunities for more enterprising financial advisors.
Following are three examples of movement:
You have heard of the DIY (Do It Yourself) investors. They are comfortable managing their assets in bull markets, but a high percentage of them seek professional help in turbulent markets.
We have already heard from several investors that their “financial advisors went dark” during volatile markets. It turns out many of their advisors were commission sales reps. They went dark because they had already been paid and did not want to face the consequences of their sales pitches.
Millions of baby boomers will retire in 2023 and are very concerned about managing their assets during turbulent times. How much money will they have, and who will manage it for them?
Should you develop your virtual marketing skills?
Thousands of financial advisors are moving away from their historical marketing practices and are adapting to virtual marketing techniques.
- Cold calling is gone
- Face-to-face meeting requirements are on the decline
- Webinars and virtual sales meetings will replace them
Needless to say, to be effective, there are big differences between traditional and virtual marketing tactics.
For example, sales skills matter more when financial advisors are face-to-face with their prospects. However, the importance of sales skills diminishes in virtual sales situations. What matters most is the ability to communicate the following information that helps investors make the right selection decisions:
- Key features and how they benefit investors
- Your value proposition
- Differentiating characteristics
- What they get and what it costs
- Servicing and communications
It does not hurt to document this information, so prospects don’t have to rely on verbal communication. Retention rates for verbal information average 20% and are lower when investors interview multiple advisors. You create a competitive advantage when you are the one they remember.
Why is digital marketing the front-end of your sales funnel?
Step one in any sales funnel is how you are found. Your potential client could be referred to you by a friend, family member, or center of influence, but these referrals are usually few and far between. Millions of investors do not know you—they are the most likely to look for financial advisors online.
Step two is using the Internet to screen you. Most investors are reluctant to give up their anonymity until they are ready to initiate contact.
- 84% of investors will visit your financial advisor website
- 62% will Google search your name
If they like what they see, they are more likely to contact you. This is the front end of the funnel that produces leads for your services.
Why is digital marketing for financial advisors your key to reaching target markets?
Imagine if there were two ways to market your services.
- Rent space on a billboard next to a busy freeway: Everyone who passes by will see your name. But, only one in a hundred has the characteristics you are looking for—investors who meet your minimum requirements. So, many views have no value, and the one in a hundred that does may or may not initiate contact.
- Now imagine your target market is business owners who want to sell their companies and retire. What if you could reach them on the Internet by building your visibility for keywords they use while searching for financial advisors and who can help them?
That is the power of digital marketing for financial advisors.
Why do investors prefer specialized financial advisors?
Would you go to a brain surgeon if you needed a knee replacement? No, you would go to an orthopedic surgeon on the basis that a specialist will produce a better result.
We are conditioned to select specialists when we choose doctors; this carries over into other professions.
Another way to view this preference is through web pages. One of the most visited pages on a financial advisor website is the “Who We Serve” page. Investors want to know if you work with investors like them. They believe specialized knowledge will benefit them.
Many financial advisors miss out on this opportunity. They are concerned they will miss a major investment opportunity if they are specialized. Instead, they say they will work with anyone who meets their minimum asset requirement.
This is a major mistake.
Can digital marketing help make current clients better lead sources for financial advisors?
The answer is absolutely: A financial advisor’s best type of lead is a referral from a satisfied client. The predisposition of the referral is to hire the financial advisor based on the experience of the referral source – a significant competitive advantage.
Financial advisors should use webinars to communicate with clients and encourage them to invite friends, family, and associates to the “free" webinars.
Another application is email marketing which encourages current clients to forward certain financial advisor communications to people they know.
If financial advisors sponsor Resource Centers on their websites, they should encourage current clients to visit the center and invite their friends.
The standard tactic for these applications is to use the Internet and digital marketing to promote your brand through people you already know to reach the people you don’t know.
