All industries have this in common when it comes to acquiring new business: There are prospective consumers of your product or service and there’s your unique product or service. The customer journey is how those prospects convert into clients or customers. And acquiring this new business can look different depending on the industry and product or services offered.
For retail business, this can mean a new customer making a purchase. That sales journey looks much different than that of a potential investor looking for a financial advisor to partner with. Financial advisor digital marketing plays a huge role when it comes to guiding prospects through the buyer (in this case, investor journey).
Read on to learn more about the investor journey and the role financial advisor digital marketing content plays in converting prospects to clients, which covers the bases of:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
What are the stages of the Investor Journey?
No matter the industry, there are three main components of the customer/investor journey:
Awareness
Consumers looking to first begin are in the awareness stage. At this point, they know they need help with their financial goals such as retirement, paying for college, and/or general investing. This stage is when they are likely doing research and gathering information to become more educated on these topics and how they can achieve their financial dreams.
Consideration
After the consumer has become aware of all of their options for their future financial goals and decides on their next steps, they enter the consideration stage. At this point, these prospects know they are looking for a qualified financial advisor to help them achieve financial success. In this stage they begin actively researching information about financial advisory firms near them.
Decision
As the name implies, the decision stage of the investor journey is when the consumer is ready to make a choice. For financial advisor digital marketing, this means the prospect has determined that they are going to partner with a financial advisor to reach their financial goals. It’s at this stage where the efforts made during the awareness and consideration phases can pay off for financial advisor digital marketing campaigns.
What are the types of content for each Investor Journey stage?
This is where a one-size-fits-all approach will not suffice. But with a mix of the right content as well as spot-on SEO practices, your financial advisor firm can reach potential investors at each stage of the investor journey. Additionally, paid financial advisor digital marketing content can be utilized to get in front of those prospects via targeted digital advertising and/or paid search.
Pro Tip: even with paid campaigns, the content still needs to be relevant and high-quality. The “paid” aspect of this kind of financial advisor digital marketing means people will definitely see it, but if the content isn’t what that prospect was looking for, they will move on.
And remember: the investor journey is different from the traditional customer journey because of the nature of the financial services industry. Content needs to support that and educate first, sell second.
Awareness
During the awareness stage, consumers are still unsure of what exactly they’re looking for, so an example of an online search might be “how to plan for retirement” or “saving for college.” By preparing content that educates above all else, financial advisors can position themselves as a knowledgeable resource that can guide those prospects to the next stage of the journey.
Consideration
Because consumers in this stage are actively looking for information about investing and financial advisors to partner with, delivering the right content is crucial for financial advisor firms. As an example, during the awareness stage, a potential investor may perform an online search for “how to choose a financial advisor.” That simple search could result in millions of search results.
Decision
Just because your financial advisory firm is being considered leading up to the decision stage of the journey isn’t a guarantee of winning that investor over. This phase is where the financial advisor digital marketing content can help investors make the final decision on who they’re going to partner with.
For help solidifying the deal, it’s recommended to create content that shows the benefits of your firm over competitors, and possibly incentives the new investor can take advantage of right away. Other forms of content best for the decision phase include more educational content, letting the prospect know that you can solve their problem, which means you can help them be successful on their financial journey.
What does this mean for you and your financial advisor marketing strategies?
In other words, all other aspects of your financial advisor digital marketing efforts should be strong, including SEO, social media content, and online listings and reviews. That’s because in a digitally connected world, everything appearing online is fair game for search engines to use when determining where your financial advisor content will turn up in the search rankings. And remember, it’s not just the amount of content, but also the accuracy and consistency of your online presence overall.
More than ever before, it’s critical for financial advisors to be a part of potential investors’ journey to find the right partner for their financial future. This can be achieved with quality, tailored content meant to reach these prospects at each stage of the investor journey.
With digital channels being the go-to for information, there’s never been a better time to embrace the journey along with them. Paladin Digital Marketing has a full team of financial advisor marketing specialists to help you succeed—get in touch today!
