While individuals will not be selecting their financial advisor, lawyer or accountant because of a nice website or logo, those tools are an indication of your investment back into your business and the sustainability of your practice for years to come. We are big believers that modernizing your practice through your brand, messaging, marketing strategy and niche targeting can showcase your true passion, culture, messaging and unique services offerings. Learn about our Financial Advisor Marketing Programs.
Is the Wealth Management World Truly Commoditized?
And if so, is that a problem?
As a marketing and branding agency for financial advisors, the top challenge and worry we hear from most of our clients is the fear that their work is commoditized, meaning they believe everyone else is doing it. With over two million advisors throughout the nation, that may sound like a legitimate frustration. Advisors worry that what was once rare, like financial planning or customized portfolios, is now being offered by everyone else in their industry. They worry that what was once unique, like being an RIA, is now growing to be a household word (thanks to Tony Robbins!). They fear that anyone can go get their CFP and start managing money, and that robots are about to take over their jobs. Click to learn why we believe better branding can separate you from every single one of your competitors.
Branding Advice and Strategies for Financial Advisors
How can advisors differentiate themselves when everyone else is saying the same thing?
Read below a synopsis from our publication of financial advisor marketing and branding in Kitces.com.
For many decades, financial advisors have marketed themselves with bland and undifferentiated messaging that does little to compel their audiences. How often have we seen or heard advisors use phrases to describe their value proposition, such as the ones below?
“We are trusted advisors”
“We help you reach financial independence”
“We can be your quarterback for all your financial decisions”
“We provide comprehensive wealth management”
In the past, when financial advisors were much more scarce, phrases such as these worked adequately for an advisors’ marketing strategy, because they really did differentiate advisors from the rest who were predominantly product salespeople. However, the ongoing commoditization of investment products and asset allocation is forcing more and more advisors to deliver this same trusted, holistic advice solution, with the number of CFP certificants increasing from 36,000 in 2000 to over 90,000 as of 2021.
Taking something boring and sterile, like a credit card or your website, and converting it to something beautiful and creative causes an emotional connection and impact with your target audience. You can see that here with the Indigo Card!
And given the tremendous growth of the comprehensive financial planning industry over the last two decades, advisors have needed to invest more and more energy and creativity into their marketing efforts to distinguish themselves from the competition. Just searching for “Financial Advisor” titles on LinkedIn results in over 550,000 results! Combine that with “Wealth Manager”, “Wealth Advisor”, and “Financial Planner”, and we’re up to about 815,000 and counting! Read about their services on their website or LinkedIn profile, and you can’t see much of a difference in what each does.
So…how can advisors truly stand out through marketing and branding strategies? Read our step-by-step strategy in the article on the button below!
Read Our Ideas around Marketing and Branding for Advisors
A Case Study on Rebranding: Modernizing your employees' job titles
If Apple wanted to be "average" and be understood by the "average" client, they could have named the "Genius Bar" their Customer Service desk!
Modernizing your employees' job titles at your advisory practice can be a simple approach to improving your digital and brand presence with GenX and millennial investors, and showing your clients exactly what you do.
Consider the example of “the genius bar” at Apple’s retail stores. While the job itself is not particularly unique (you simply help resolve customer product problems), you are branding your employees with what your company represents and stands for.
Here are a few job titles we love from some modern-thinking service providers:
1) Head of Making Friends (instead of National Sales Director or Head of Business Development)
2) Client Ambassador (Instead of wealth manager or associate)
3) Director of First Impressions (Instead of Receptionist)
4) Lead Enabler (Instead of administrative assistant)
5) Ambassador of Buzz (Instead of chief marketing officer)
A Case Study on Rebranding: Replacing your boring newsletters with videoblogs
Video blogs can be a great tool to showcase your expertise in a more animated, humanized way than through boring text and newsletters
If you were a high net worth individual who is either extremely busy as a business owner, or looking to enjoy her retirement after years of working so hard, would you be spending your valuable time reading boring text in a newsletter from your wealth manager? Especially a newsletter that typically doesn't even load properly on most email service providers because the advisor is using email service providers that are antiquated? Maybe...but rarely!
Yet I see advisors spending days at a time writing, fine-tuning and editing their monthly market commentaries and newsletters, looking at "click rates" and assuming it will grow their practice.
Welcome to 2019! There are multiple platforms made available in today's day and age to move away from the old-fashioned newsletter. For example, you can create beautiful videos on a weekly basis to capture your clients' full attention in a short period of time (we live in an age of information overload, remember?) So long as you get your compliance and technology advisor's approval, you can express your market views to your clients, sending them videos of your expertise and humanizing your practice.
Contact us to learn about the modern platforms out there and how you can utilize them to reach more of your clients, more frequently. Stop hiding behind boring text and humanize your practice using modern marketing tools!
Some of our solutions to implement your new branding include:
MESSAGING
WEBSITE CREATION
BROCHURE/PRESENTATION
To learn more about our marketing strategy and support services, please fill out the form.
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Financial Planning Marketing
Select Advisors Institute is the leading branding company for financial services firms, offering customized strategies that build trust, enhance reputation, and drive growth. Learn how we can elevate your brand.