An Advisor s Guide to Marketing. Developing an Actionable Marketing Strategy

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1 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Developing an Actionable Marketing Strategy

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3 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Table of Contents Introduction...1 Develop Your Business Plan...1 Review Your Business Planning Process...2 Understand Your Desired Outcome for Your Business...3 Create Your Value Proposition...6 Evaluate the Client Experience...7 Articulate Your Offering...9 Establish Your Value...12 Define Your Marketing Strategy...14 Select the Right Marketing Strategy...14 Build Your Marketing Plan...16 Consider Multiple Marketing Distribution Channels...18 Implement Your Marketing Plan and Measure Results...23 Develop Your Plan of Action...23 Appendix A: Marketing Strategy Worksheets...26 Appendix B: Marketing Tactics...30 Appendix C: Marketing Plan Sample...33 Appendix D: Marketing Plan Template...34 Appendix E: Resources...35 Appendix F: About the Authors...36

4 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Introduction A focused marketing plan is an integral part of any firm s growth strategy. According to the Rydex SGI AdvisorBenchmarking Research Study 2011 Edition, 68% of advisors believe the areas that have the most potential to boost growth are referrals and marketing. In addition, top firms enjoy superior asset growth rates when compared to the average advisory firm, part of which can be attributed to a comprehensive marketing mix. Why then do so few advisors dedicate time and resources to the development and execution of a marketing plan? The challenge is often in the execution and measurement which requires resources, time and commitment. This guidebook is intended to simplify this process and give you a one-stop resource for creating a marketing strategy and tactical growth plan that is specific to your needs and your business. It will include guidance on constructing a strategic and tactical marketing plan, leveraging the right marketing resources, and evaluating the effectiveness of traditional and online marketing channels. It is divided into five sections: Develop Your Business Plan Create Your Value Proposition Define Your Marketing Strategy Build Your Marketing Plan Implement Your Marketing Plan and Measure Results This guidebook will offer ideas and illustrate concepts in a variety of ways, including: Case studies to illustrate what works, and what doesn t, based on the experience of successful advisors ڦڦ Questions for you to consider as you review your current marketing strategy and identify areas for improvement ڦڦ Advisor best practices ڦڦ Worksheets to guide and help you develop an action plan ڦڦ Once you have reviewed the concepts and completed the worksheets, you will have the tools and information you need to develop and implement an actionable, marketing plan designed to meet your firm s business goals. Develop Your Business Plan When it comes to marketing and business development, all too often advisors begin by setting vague goals that are difficult to measure and take action on; for example, we want to grow or we want to sell more effectively. When positioning your firm for growth, it s critical to establish a vision for your firm and a business plan that you can easily align actionable goals to. Once your business plan is established, creating a specific set of goals to help you achieve it becomes easier. The clearer you are about what you are trying to accomplish and where you want to go, the easier it is to prioritize and communicate what you and your staff need to do to get there. Firms that grow consistently have a defined business planning process which consists of producing a detailed plan that aligns with the vision and objective and is understood by all at the firm at a strategic and tactical level. 1

5 Review Your Business Planning Process The business planning process, if well executed, will result in a written plan, understanding and buy-in from team members and the foundation for an effective marketing strategy that will help drive your efforts. The following questions are designed to help you assess if you have completed the critical tasks required for your business plan. ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER YES OR NO FOR YOUR FIRM: Yes No Have I defined a vision for my firm? Have I created a clear business plan that identifies the desired outcomes for my firm in terms of new assets, additional clients, revenue growth, profitability, ideal client profiles, etc.? Do I have written goals in terms of asset, revenue and profitability numbers for the next three and five years? Is my staff clear about firm goals? Do my staff members understand how their individual day-to-day activities impact the firm s growth and profitability? Am I clear about how my new sales and marketing goals support my overall business vision and objectives? Do I have both a business plan and a new sales plan? Review your answers to these questions. If you have answered no to one or more, you may want to consider reviewing your business planning process including the development and communication of the plan to increase your chances of success. Once you have established your business plan, you will want to review your list of questions and come up with a communication plan, whether monthly or quarterly, to review the objective and goals of the firm with your team. This will ensure you are working together towards the same vision. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 2

6 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Understand Your Desired Outcome for Your Business If you are creating a new business plan or reviewing an existing one, you first need to determine your desired outcomes. Your business vision is where you want your firm to be 1, 5 or 10 years from now. How will it evolve and what are the key factors that you need to consider as you construct a plan to get you there? The exercise below is designed to help you translate your business vision into concrete quantitative and qualitative goals. QUANTITATIVE Assets under management New revenue Firm profitability Percentage increase for profitability Number of client referrals Number of center of influence relationships Number of new prospects referred Value of assets referred QUALITATIVE Where we are now Where we want Where we want to be Year 1 to be Year 5 Types of new clients we desire Individual account size we are targeting Any shifts we need to make in pricing Any shifts we need to make in servicing model Any goal to tier clients, or otherwise organize them Increase in market awareness and brand image 3

7 Best Practices: Goal Setting: be. Create a vision of where you d like your firm to ڦڦ vision. Create a business plan with specific goals to help you achieve your ڦڦ Think in terms of quantitative and qualitative goals. What does success look ڦڦ like to your firm? success. Get others in the firm involved in both goal setting and measuring ڦڦ Identify the goals in writing and make sure they are clear and updated on a ڦڦ regular (at least yearly) basis. Create performance expectations that are clear and support the overall goals ڦڦ of the firm. Measure and track your goals to see where things are working and where you ڦڦ need to make adjustments. members, Communicate on a regular basis and ask for feedback from staff ڦڦ partners and clients. When setting your firm s goals it s important to keep in mind that they should have a defined outcome. For example, instead of simply stating, we want to grow, a clearer outcome would be: We want to increase client referral levels to 25% of our client base. We are currently seeing consistent referrals from seven of our 50 clients and want to increase this number to 18%. And we want a total of $3 5 million in additional new assets coming primarily from client referrals. The difference here is that this number is measurable and clear. It s also understandable to others in the firm who will be expected to contribute and wish to understand more about how their actions are impacting overall goals set out in your business plan. Now that you have reviewed or completed your business plan and communicated it with your firm, you are ready to identify the means necessary to achieve your plan. A well-defined marketing strategy will be essential to your business plan execution strategy. In the next section, you will learn how to craft a compelling value proposition to engage your target audience as a basis for your marketing strategy. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 4

8 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing CASE STUDIES 1 Let s compare and contrast two advisor scenarios, one where the advisor has clear and specified goals and one whose goals could have been more defined: Firm: ABC Financial Advisors Assets Under Management: $350M Challenge: Principal of the firm wants to scale back her contribution to the firm s business development efforts in preparation for retiring in five years. Cheryl ran a very successful advisory firm. Over eight years, she had grown it to more than $350 million in assets almost single-handedly. She wanted to scale back, and over the last four years she focused on bringing in additional advisors to assist with growing assets under management. She found that as much as she talked about the need for new sales, and even when she put incentives in place for advisors who brought in business, she was still the one bringing in 80 to 90% of overall new assets. The advisors believed their existing book of business was sufficient for their income needs and only Cheryl had the desire to bring in new business, so Cheryl was left trying to effect change without much support. Firm: DEF Financial Advisors Assets Under Management: $25M and the definition of success he associated with each goal. For both new and existing staff, Mark was able to clearly outline what goals he was hoping to accomplish throughout the year, how it related to the overall business plan for the firm and what performance expectations he had of each staff member. At the beginning of each year, Mark called a meeting with his entire staff to review the plan and lay out goals for the year. Then, on a monthly basis, he updated the whole firm on where they stood vs. their goals. He called upon individuals leading projects crucial to reaching goals to give an update and recognized individual contributions by staff members. Mark continued to see growth of 20% over the following years. Key Takeaways: As the firm leader, it was Cheryl s responsibility to set expectations with prospective advisors prior to their joining the firm. If she had clearly communicated her intent was to hire advisors for business development purposes and that they would be assigned a specific asset goal, she would have weeded out those who were merely interested in maintaining their existing client relationships. By not doing so, she acquired staff and resources that are not aligned with her business plan. Mark, on the other hand, not only set a clearly defined business plan, but he regularly checked in with his staff to ensure they understood their personal contribution, measured progress and recognized performance. Challenge: Maintain 20% year-over-year growth rate In contrast to Cheryl s firm, Mark had been running a successful advisory firm for almost 15 years. He had over $500 million in assets, but more importantly, he was showing 20% year-over-year growth for his firm. Mark had a clear business plan that outlined the type of firm he wanted to have, its image in the market, staff, the strategic priorities 1 Case studies include actual results, but names have been removed to protect privacy. For illustrative and educational purposes only. 5

9 Create Your Value Proposition Once you have established your business plan and associated goals, you will want to examine your firm s value proposition as the foundation for your marketing efforts. This exercise should be completed on an annual basis to ensure your value proposition and messaging in the marketplace are achieving the desired results. Begin by reviewing your existing value proposition or story. This is an area where many advisors struggle because to simply say you deliver financial planning or wealth management services is not enough to differentiate yourself. An advisor might explain their story in the following manner: We have been doing financial planning for 20 years or our staff is tenured and credentialed. These are facts about your firm and services. When reviewing your story, think instead about starting with the client experience. Why is it beneficial to be a client of your firm? What is the value you bring to your clients and prospects? How are you communicating that value today? Well-Defined Value Proposition Example: We at ABC Financial provide a wide range of wealth management consulting and services that serve to substantially alter the anxiety people feel about their financial condition and specifically retirement. After you have reviewed your story, ask yourself these questions: 1. Is it easy to understand? 2. Does it resonate with your target audience? 3. Can it be delivered in different forms to (media) to ensure that individuals with varying learning and communication styles understand your message? 4. Are you increasing client referrals or share of wallet from existing relationships at the level you believe you should based on your relationships? 5. Are you finding COIs to refer and increasing referrals from those existing relationships? 6. Are you finding new prospects unrelated to existing relationships? 7. Are you generally increasing brand awareness and market awareness? 8. Do you have a story that is easy to tell and easy to remember? 9. Is your story a differentiator for your firm? 10. Does everyone in your firm know how to tell your story? If you answer no to any of these questions, it may be time to improve upon your story to see where you can refine how you are positioning your firm to your target audience. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 6

10 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Creating your story or value proposition has three main steps: Evaluate the client experience: Spend time analyzing your client experience as well as understanding your ideal client profile and target audience. Articulate your offering: Create high level platform points that you will use to communicate your firm s offering and what you stand for. In other words, how do you talk about what you do and stand out? Establish your value: Develop your proof statements to support your platform points. Proof statements are more detailed than platform points and explain what do you do, how do you do it and why does it benefit the client? They provide the evidence of how you deliver your client experience. The Client Experience YOUR PLATFORM POINTS YOUR PROOF STATEMENTS Evaluate the Client Experience The first step in refining a firm s story is to describe the client experience. You want to think about what it is like to work with you from the client s vantage point. This is different from firm to firm, but some ideas include: clients have confidence in our abilities, clients are secure in knowing that we take care of them, clients are cared for and feel known, clients feel knowledgeable because we put a focus on education, etc. The following exercise will help you catalog the client experience at your firm. If you can, involve your whole firm in this exercise. If you have recently done a client survey, you should leverage those findings to gain additional insights. If you have not recently conducted a survey, now would be a good time to consider doing so and learn about your clients experiences in working with you. If you choose to survey clients, consider asking questions either via phone or face-to-face, as this will often elicit more in-depth answers from a marketing perspective. If you re not comfortable conducting this with firm personnel consider hiring a consultant. 7

11 THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE What is it like to be a client of your firm? How does it feel to work with you? What needs to do clients have when they come to see you? How do you solve their needs? What do you offer and why is it beneficial to them? How would clients describe their experiences and what they gain by being associated with your firm? TIP: For more information about conducting effective client surveys, please refer to our An Advisor s Blueprint for Soliciting Client Feedback and Driving Growth guidebook developed in collaboration with Advisor Impact. To download a copy, please visit Veo>Resource Center>Practice Management>Client Service. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 8

12 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Articulate Your Offering Platform points can be an effective way to articulate your story at a high level and are an important part of crafting your value proposition. Typical platform points include; depth and credentials of our team, rigor in our investment process, attention to detail or consistency of planning process. However, before you can articulate what your firm offers, you need to understand how your competitors are positioning themselves and who you are targeting. YOUR COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATORS In addition to understanding the client experience, you may want to identify the areas that you focus on in articulating your value proposition that are truly differentiators. Because so many advisors identify themselves as wealth managers in the industry, their stories can sound similar. The goal is to develop three to four platform points that are specific to your firm. First, think about your three to four main competitors. Review their websites to understand how they tell their stories. What platform points are they using? What differentiators are they suggesting about what they do? Make a list of these and keep it handy as you craft your company s differentiators. Pay close attention when you look at what differentiates these firms, for example, our fi rm has been in business for 25 years could be used as a differentiator. But it s important to pose the so what? question. So what is important about being in business for 25 years to your audience? On its own, this is meaningless to the individual. Use this matrix to evaluate differentiators and then apply the so what? test to them. List the most important facts you have heard and ask so what? Why does, or should, each point you believe to be a differentiator matter to others? In the third column, you ll want to refer back to what you learned or know about your competitors and identify how this point is actually different from what they do. Regardless of the length of your initial list, you will likely be able to identify three or four points that are truly unique to your firm. The differentiators, when unique, articulated well and conveyed in all of your marketing messaging, could help you stand out in a crowded field of similar players. FACTS ABOUT OUR FIRM SO WHAT? HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THAT MATTER WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? OUR COMPETITORS? 9

13 Resources to Differentiate Your Business One way to differentiate your business from other financial advisors is to promote your fiduciary responsibility. To find resources to help you define your fiduciary responsibility, access our Advisor Marketing Toolkit by visiting Veo>Resource Center>Practice Management>Marketing and Business Development. THE IDEAL CLIENT When thinking about what you do differently, another important component is to think about whom you serve and why you are a good fit for them. In order to market effectively, you have to know who is on the receiving end of your message. You may find it helpful to review your current client base and identify traits and points about them that you would like to replicate. Ask yourself: now? Who is it that works best with your firm ڦڦ you? Why do they work so well with ڦڦ you? What needs did they have when they came to see ڦڦ needs? How have you met their ڦڦ Why would you like more clients like the people, families or entities you ve ڦڦ identified? Once you have a sense of your competitive differentiators and the market you are trying to attract, you can use the following worksheet as a guide to articulate your three or four key platform points these are the reasons client s feel the way they do about you and ultimately craft your value proposition. As you go through this exercise, answer the questions to ensure you define the three main tenets that clarify for a prospect or client the value that you bring to the relationship. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 10

14 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Our three main platform points: Why are these tenets important? (The so what ) Who do these tenets best serve (ideal client or target market)? How does your firm deliver these tenets in a way that is different from competitors? What supporting information can you give (case stories, firm data, etc.) to prove these tenets? For clients seeking (fill in) we offer (fill in) to meet their needs of (fill in), which is different from our competition which (fill in). Your Value Proposition The client experience at our firm can best be summed up as: 11

15 These platform points are what you will build your overall story around. They are themes that are evidenced consistently in all marketing materials and sales efforts to support the resulting client experience. Platform points can be thought of as the themes that get repeated over and over again so that your clients, new prospects and COIs come to know what uniquely identifies your firm. Establish Your Value The last step before you try and translate your platform points into your value proposition is to identify the proof statements, or the supporting facts and data that show you can claim these points in your marketing. For example, consistency of planning process could have proof statements such as: 1. A proprietary six-step process that applies to all clients 2. A planning process that lays out X, Y, Z information for all clients 3. The process has been used since the firm s inception over 16 years ago and now with 300 clients. Advisors that do not go through this exercise regularly may fall into the trap of using their platform points as their value proposition. This approach assumes that the audience knows and has bought into your process. A well-crafted platform point will set the stage for the client while the proof statements will help them understand their importance and significance. By going through this exercise, you should have what you need to create your value proposition and translate it into the client experience. The more you can talk about what you do from the prospect s or client s perspective, the more your story will resonate with him or her. Best Practices: Crafting Your Value Proposition Review what other advisors and wealth managers are saying to identify the ڦڦ commonly used points; search for ways to talk about what you do that s a bit different. Think about what you do from the client viewpoint. Why is what you do ڦڦ important? How does it help someone? Get clients or COIs engaged in developing your value proposition. Ask them ڦڦ to describe what you do and why it is beneficial to them. Be sure your story is pulled through consistently in all of your ڦڦ communication materials. Find ways to talk about what you do that s repeatable by clients or COIs ڦڦ (even those whom you think know you well) to others giving them consistent language to use. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 12

16 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing CASE STUDIES 1 Let s look again at two different advisor scenarios, one who refined his story to use it more effectively and one who struggled to stand out in a crowded market. Firm: GHI Financial Advisors Assets Under Management: $25M Challenge: With a 95% satisfaction rate, the firm owner doesn t understand why his firm s growth rate has become stagnate. John had been running a fairly successful firm for 12 years. He had $25 million under management and had recently completed a client satisfaction survey that showed a 95% satisfaction rate. John had not seen a significant amount of growth over the last three years, but he attributed this to a down market. People are scared, he believed. They aren t ready to make a change to a new advisor. John continued to work with his existing clients and talked to them about his desire to grow, but he never saw an increase in new prospects or client referrals. When asked what clients knew about his firm, John replied, They know I serve them well and they are cared for by me and my staff. What else is there to know? Firm: JKL Financial Advisors Assets Under Management: $25M Challenge: Increase referrals from existing clients and Centers of Influence (COIs) Todd had a similar-sized firm with $25 million in assets under management (AUM) and a goal to double the firm AUM over the next three years. Todd had surveyed his clients and overall found them to be very happy with their investment results and service. Todd wanted to increase both client referrals as well as the flow of new prospects from his COIs. Todd conducted research, and was stunned at how similar his story sounded to everyone else in the industry. He created a Client Advisory Board and before the first meeting, Todd contacted each client to let them know he was struggling to find a better way to talk about what he did and to enable his clients to share his story more easily with others. At the meeting, Todd learned how his clients described their experiences and about the things that mattered most to them. Todd was able to capture stories about client needs and his solutions to their needs. He asked his board who would be a good fit for him and what type of profile he should work with most often. Clients gave him excellent feedback and even suggested a few people with whom he should meet right away. He saw client referrals increase, and he went back to his Centers of Influence to share his story in a new way and to identify more clearly the types of people he would be able to help. Todd was able to reach his goal of doubling the firm AUM in an 18-month time period. Key Takeaways: John had happy clients and assumed they knew how to talk about what he does, and how to share it with others. The truth is that clients may want to refer, but are not well versed in all that their advisor offers to be able to recommend them to a friend or colleague. Often referrals happen when a client makes a connection between a challenge someone is having and the solutions available through their advisor. Tim understood this situational aspect of referrals and captured that information through his advisory board. He then used his learnings to better educate his Centers of Influence on the value he brings, resulting in new business. 1 Case studies include actual results, but names have been removed to protect privacy. For illustrative and educational purposes only. 13

17 Define Your Marketing Strategy Once you have crafted a compelling value proposition and the supporting points to effectively communicate it to your target audience, you are ready to define a specific marketing strategy to support the desired business outcome outlined in your business plan. Strategy is often confused with tactics strategy is the what while the tactic is the how. For example, a component of your strategy might be to say you will increase client referrals, but something that helps accomplish this, like a client appreciation event, is a tactic. Defining a marketing strategy will require taking a look at how you can best position your firm in the desired market and identifying the most appropriate focus for your marketing resources. Once your strategy is set, meaning you have defined your goals and the appropriate areas of focus, you next need to determine what the appropriate tactics will be. Select the Right Marketing Strategy For advisors, there are four ways through which they can increase revenue and assets under management. You can focus on any one or all of these: 1. Client Referrals 2. Centers of Influence 3. Market Awareness 4. New Prospects Think about which audiences you want to target and how each area of focus listed above can help you reach that audience. Earlier, you asked yourself some questions about how happy you are with current client referrals or Center of Influence referrals. And you laid out clear goals about what kind of success you d like to see in specific areas. Use this checklist to answer questions about your current status in each of the four areas outlined, to help find the right opportunities for your business. CLIENT REFERRALS Yes No Are we generating the level of client referrals we expect from our client base? Do our clients know how to refer us? Would our clients refer us if the opportunity arose? Have we given our clients the right tools to help them to easily refer us to others? When clients refer, are we meeting the kinds of prospects that are a fit for our firm? Have we taught our clients how to tell our story? Have we taught our clients what types of people/situations to seek for referrals? Is there more we could do to increase client referrals? An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 14

18 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing CENTERS OF INFLUENCE Yes No Are we seeing the kinds of referrals we expect from other third-party providers? Do we have the types of relationships where we should expect referrals? Can our relationships effectively tell our story to the right prospects? Have we taught our third-party relationships how to identify prospects that are the right fit for us? Do third parties have the right materials or tools to refer us? Do we give third parties ongoing communication and information so that we stay top of mind? Is there more we could do to increase Center of Influence (COI) referrals? MARKET AWARENESS Yes No Do we think it s important to be recognized in our market and to stand out from our competitors? Is there more we could do to raise our profile in the market? Do we seek opportunities in the press and media to raise our profile? Are we proactive in finding opportunities to get our message to our desired market on a broad scale? When we have appeared in the press, have we leveraged the piece in our marketing efforts? Do we have relationships with local media? Do we use all available social media, such as blogging and LinkedIn? NEW PROSPECTS Yes No Do we have a plan to locate new prospects? Do we have strong enough sales skills to know how to prospect, qualify and close? Do we know where to find prospects for our ideal client or target market? Do we have the responsibility for prospecting assigned to a specific person(s) in our firm? Do we put a priority on finding new prospects? 15

19 Once you have identified the areas you want to focus on, use Appendix A to complete the appropriate detailed worksheets for Client Referrals, Centers of Influence, Market Awareness and Branding, or New Prospects. At the final step, you ll take what you ve identified, adjust your value proposition and position it for each target audience and put it together in a strategic plan for each area you ve selected. Build Your Marketing Plan Now that you have identified the strategic areas you will focus on, and you have refined your positioning statement for the particular audience, you can begin to build your marketing plan which includes identifying the appropriate tactics best suited to engage your areas of focus and support your marketing strategy. It can be overwhelming to consider all of the different tactics available to you as a financial advisor. This section will offer a marketing map that outlines the different options available to you including a cost/benefit review. Best Practices: Building Your Marketing Plan Before you choose any tactics, make sure you have a strategic focus in place ڦڦ that aligns with your overall business goals. Consider tactics in the context of your audience. What do they need? What ڦڦ would resonate with them? Ask for referrals, but don t simply ask; set up a process that makes it easy for ڦڦ clients and COIs to refer. Be sure you are confident about your story and have pulled it through ڦڦ consistently in all materials. Modifying marketing materials and the story slightly for each audience can ڦڦ make the overall message much more powerful find ways to make the audience think you are speaking only and directly to them. A common pitfall to avoid is identifying a singular goal and then identifying tactics to help you achieve it. This is rarely effective and in some cases may undermine what you are trying to achieve long-term. It is important to remember that each action taken should be part of an overall marketing strategy aligned with your business plan. Just like financial planning and portfolio construction require strategy and a thoughtful asset allocation to meet goals, so does marketing. Other factors such as budget, your ideal client profile(s), the amount of new client referrals and number of COI relationships also shape which marketing tactics may be best for you. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 16

20 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing CASE STUDIES 1 Firm: MNO Financial Advisors Assets Under Management: $30M Challenge: Focus on improving firm profitability and increasing assets under management Tom was very motivated to grow his firm. He was clear about how much asset growth he needed and was focused on improving profitability over the upcoming year. Tom thought about doing a strategic marketing plan to clearly outline what steps he would take to grow his firm, but he decided to implement some tactical ideas instead of leveraging his existing marketing materials. He created his to-do list, and as a result, scheduled meetings with COIs he had worked with in the past, scheduled follow-up conversations with clients to let them know he was seeking referrals and hired a firm to reconstruct his website. Tom did not attain his goals that first year and could not understand where he went wrong. Firm: PQR Financial Advisors Assets Under Management: $50M then created a specific execution plan to select the appropriate tactics that she could implement and measure. Next, she talked with her clients and COIs to understand, from their viewpoint, what she did well. She synthesized this feedback into a new brochure, sales sheets, a revamped website and other collateral material. Within the first year, she located two additional referring COIs and increased client referrals to 25% of her client base. Key Takeaways: Tom was doing a great job of being proactive in his marketing activities. However, he may have found a greater degree of success by first thinking strategically about which tactics he would use and why, in support of his business vision and plan. Instead, he chose a few tactics to implement without taking the time to craft his story, identify his target audience or areas of focus. In contrast, Gloria took the time to outline a plan, solicit input from a wide variety of sources and then critically evaluate her current messaging and material. As a result, she was able to clearly articulate differentiators. She then developed a way of talking about what she does that was repeatable and easy to understand. Challenge: Increase assets under management and associated revenue by 25% over three years To determine how to best proceed with identifying and bringing in new assets, Gloria began by reviewing her existing client relationships and found that only a couple of her good clients were referring. She reviewed the connections she had made with COIs and found there was one estate attorney who regularly sent new business her way. She determined that she should write and be guided by an integrated marketing plan and that her dual focus would be on increasing client referrals and increasing her universe of actively referring COIs. She set her goals in each area, did the research to understand what was working and what was not, and 1 Case studies include actual results, but names have been removed to protect privacy. For illustrative and educational purposes only. 17

21 Consider Multiple Marketing Distribution Channels There are several distribution channels you can use to market your firm. Distribution channels are those through which you communicate your messages and execute your marketing plan (e.g., the Web, , events, etc.). Your goals, target audience and budget will be among the considerations when determining the combination of tactics you chose to communicate your message. Below is a sample list of channels that you can use: Sales Collateral Brochure ڦڦ One-pagers ڦڦ Pitchbook ڦڦ Copies of articles, press releases ڦڦ Newsletter ڦڦ Online Website ڦڦ Online client service options ڦڦ Social networking such as Facebook or LinkedIn ڦڦ Blogging ڦڦ enewsletter ڦڦ Search engine optimization ڦڦ Audio and Visual Educational audio programs in CD format or streaming on website ڦڦ Audio interviews streaming on website ڦڦ Radio shows ڦڦ Television shows ڦڦ Videos on website or YouTube ڦڦ Media and Public Relations (PR) Bylined articles ڦڦ Quotes in articles ڦڦ Interviews on television or radio ڦڦ Paid Advertising Print advertising ڦڦ Online advertising ڦڦ Radio commercials ڦڦ An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 18

22 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing Events Client educational events ڦڦ Client appreciation events ڦڦ Conferences, symposia or trade shows ڦڦ tournaments) Sponsorships (such as golf ڦڦ Let s look at each of these channels in some detail and discuss reasons why you may consider utilizing them as part of your marketing plan. SALES COLLATERAL This category includes items such as a brochure, pitchbooks, articles and newsletters. While an advisor may not be able to assert that his or her expensive brochure ever actually resulted in new business, it is critical to have standard materials that explain who you are, what you do and how it provides value to your clients. Brochures and sales sheets can also help COIs and clients tell your story to potential referrals, making these valuable salespeople much more effective. Brochures. It s important to keep in mind that spending more money will not necessarily result in a better product. In fact, a brochure should be light focusing on your platform points supported by your proof statements as appropriate. It should not communicate everything about what you do; you want to engage the prospect enough that they will want to speak with you to learn more. One-pagers (also called cut sheets or sales sheets ) are helpful in providing more detail about particular aspects of your firm and approach, such as Our Investment Philosophy, and may accompany a brochure or exist as a stand-alone piece. Pitchbooks. Many advisors do not use a pitchbook when meeting with prospects, but this can be a helpful tool for use with COIs. A pitchbook is a short hardcopy booklet or presentation that is meant to be used in face-to-face meetings with the advisor telling their story. The more storytelling you can do with COIs, the easier it is for them to remember and tell others about what you do differently increasing your referral pipeline. A pitchbook should never be mailed or handed out; use the brochure and other collateral as materials you can leave behind or send out after your meeting. Articles. Articles written for and published by local papers or industry journals, press releases, white papers and press interviews serve as valuable proof of your credibility and industry reputation. These materials can be repurposed and posted to your website or touted in newsletters. You can order reprints from most industry publications, however they can be expensive; check with the publication about reproduction rights. Newsletters. A monthly or quarterly newsletter will keep your name in front of clients and can convey information about what s going on in your firm or the market. Newsletters can include some or all of the following: Investment or planning-related articles ڦڦ In the news press quotes or announcements ڦڦ 19

23 Client service-related instructions or announcements ڦڦ Human interest stories about your team members or community involvement ڦڦ Announcements about upcoming events ڦڦ All of the traditional print materials should be consistent. If you update your logo, color scheme or change the priority of your platform points, you must be sure that all materials align with one another. The look and feel, the story and the way the story is told must be consistent. The more consistent it is, the easier it will be to remember. Written materials may be expensive to create, ranging from $7,000 $20,000 in some cases. However, they are an essential part of an advisor s marketing strategy. ONLINE This category includes everything from Facebook and LinkedIn to writing a blog. Compliance concerns keep many advisors from exploring this option as fully as other tactics. While there is some risk involved in participating in social media, the rewards in terms of increased brand recognition and business development opportunities may well outweigh the risks. Website. Websites are often the second biggest investment next to brochures in telling the advisor s story. It s critical to have an updated and easy-to-navigate website that is consistent with your traditional print materials. Today, the majority of consumers will first look online to see what information is available on a particular firm, product or service. Advisors who have static websites may convey the message that their firm is not modern, up on industry trends or able to meet the needs of younger investors. A website should have information about what the firm does and why it is different, and it should give the reader a feel for the firm s culture and investment philosophy. In addition, you should include key words and phrases for search engine optimization, increasing the chances that your website will be returned in search results. LinkedIn. LinkedIn is perhaps the most popular professional social network available and a good place to start if you are not actively involved in social media today. Through LinkedIn you can connect and communicate with existing clients, prospects and COIs. You can also join groups which focus on topics within your areas of interest or expertise. Facebook. Facebook is not generally considered an effective marketing tool for advisors, however, you can create a page for your firm where you can post information about what your firm is doing such as educational events or other general information. Blogs. Many advisors who have the time and enjoy writing find blogging a useful marketing tool. This includes searching blogs where others are writing about financial matters and posting your own information (e.g., LinkedIn) or having your own blog on your website. An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 20

24 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing TIP: Remember to consult with your compliance resource to understand what is required to remain compliant with regulatory rules regarding social media. enewsletter. An enewsletter contains the same information as a printed publication, as outlined above, but has several additional benefits: Immediate delivery ڦڦ Reported statistics on opens and which areas are read by recipients ( click ڦڦ throughs ) The potential of it (or some portion) to go viral. What this means is that all or part ڦڦ of your newsletter can easily be shared by your readers with their contacts, simply by clicking a button. The pass around potential is unlimited. Allows you to embed and easily link recipients to audio or video files, thus ڦڦ expanding the chances that message(s) get heard (see the discussion about adult learning preferences below). Online marketing tactics can be fairly inexpensive; However, the return on investment (ROI) for social media can prove difficult to measure. AUDIO AND VISUAL Newer technologies such as audio and visual mediums are increasingly being used by advisors to allow a prospect or COI to become more familiar with an advisor s style and approach via their website. Audio and video also gives web visitors with a visual learning style more reason to stay on your site and learn about you. For a business that is largely about trust, confidence and personal style, these options give you a chance to show more about who you are and what you can do. Videos can be posted to a website or sent via . Audios can be set up as downloadable MP3s for mobile players, ed or provided on a CD for someone to listen to in their car. Prices range considerably to produce these items, however, many options available today allow you to produce these on your own. Audio and video can cover a wide range of topics and activities including: Firm leaders talking about their team, approach or background ڦڦ Market commentary ڦڦ Educational information about investing or financial planning ڦڦ Interviews with staff members about roles, responsibilities or their passion for ڦڦ delivering excellent client service Excerpts from client educational or social events ڦڦ Speeches (or excerpts of them) given at industry events ڦڦ Producing audio and video clips does not have to be expensive, however, be sure whatever you push out into the marketplace is of high quality.

25 MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Increasing market visibility can be an important goal for an advisor. When someone reads or hears information in a third-party medium such as a newspaper, radio interview or magazine, often he or she will believe that person to be more credible than if he or she simply read about the person on the firm s website. Advisors interested in being published or building relationships with the media can begin by writing bylined articles for local newspapers or journals, or submit interview ideas on websites such as HARO.com, PitchRate.com or ReporterConnection.com. While PR often will not bring in new prospects on its own, as part of your overall marketing plan, it can be a bolster to other activities. PAID ADVERTISING Print advertising is generally considered to be a low return on investment. In lower-cost media markets, it can be effective if done to promote events like fundraisers or presentations. Then, these ads (and anything else in the press such as articles) can be reprinted and included in marketing materials. Online advertising, however, can be a very cost effective way to increase your brand presence and communicate your marketing messages if done in a targeted manner. To begin, check local websites of businesses or activities that aligns with your target market. Google AdWords is another option that enables highly targeted advertising. Radio commercials may also be a viable option for some advisors and can be effective in select markets. If the focus is on advertising, it may prove to be an area where an advisor could spend a significant amount of money and not be able to definitively measure the ROI. If you engage with a PR firm be sure it is experienced in financial services, understands the RIA market, your local area, and your competitive advantages before it begins to work on your behalf. EVENTS Events can be educational or simply for client appreciation. They can be used for client referral purposes, to strengthen relations with COIs, prospecting or to raise visibility in the market. Advisors should think creatively about educational events because they can range from market updates to travel symposia to generational discussions about money or philanthropy. Some advisors provide forums for information seemingly unrelated to money. Flu clinics, book clubs and real estate negotiations are a few examples. Advisors can consider attending conferences where their target market might be found, or they could seek speaking opportunities to raise visibility. Depending on the interests of the advisor or the client base, sponsorships can also work well. Events can certainly be costly, but they prove to be an effective way for an advisor to stand out and show he or she offers something out of the ordinary for clients. COIs who are actively growing will value being invited to your events or in sponsoring one with you; work with them to ensure they bring your target prospect with them. Appreciation events are generally not used for referral purposes but rather to cement An Advisor s Guide to Marketing tdainstitutional.com 22

26 An Advisor s Guide to Marketing existing relationships with clients. It is recommended, even at appreciation-style events, that the advisor remind clients and prospects about their story, core platform points and proof statements. Rule of thumb: Never hold an event without knowing where it fits in your overall strategy. In Appendix B: Marketing Tactics, review what you are doing now. Where might you want to make changes? What tactics will fit the markets you are targeting? Access to Resources at Preferred Rates Through TD Ameritrade Institutional s Affinity Services Program, you have access to over 100 third-party professional businesses with a wide range of offerings to give advisors access to business-building and operational tools at preferred rates. To learn more please visit Veo>Resource Center>Affinity Services. Implement Your Marketing Plan and Measure Results You ve done a lot of work and now have all the inputs for your marketing plan. You can now create a core document to delineate your plan that includes action items and timelines, but realize that it will change over time as you get more information about successful and unsuccessful actions. Ideally, you will share this plan with other members of your firm so that you can instill a marketing culture throughout your firm. This section will give you the guidance to take your strategic plan and incorporate the appropriate marketing tactics and measurement for your firm. Develop Your Plan of Action The importance of a plan cannot be overstated. A plan allows you to communicate, to track, to measure and to manage time most effectively. You will want to create an implementation plan for each area of focus (i.e. to increase client referrals, to increase COI referrals, to raise market awareness). This plan should state what you are trying to accomplish and then should have each of the tactics you have selected and related actions, along with who will do it, deadlines and the associated budget. Answer the questions in the following Marketing Plan Development document to help you synthesize all the work you ve done to this point. 23