Do You Exceed Your Own Expectations?

Here’s a resolution we should all keep throughout the year 2020: provide backing to everything we say to our clients. Think about how many empty things you say on a daily basis, like saying that your day is going well. While this is harmless in daily conversations, it can leave a bad taste in the mouths of your clients if they don’t feel your promises are fulfilled.

We’ve found a few ways to make sure you’re using specific language in a way that demonstrates the value of your business:

• Rely on your history. If you have the numbers to back up a claim, this is the best opportunity to use it. Saying that you’re able to save your clients 40% or more speaks much more than simply saying you can save people money.
• Showcase your accomplishments  If you’ve been recognized for your work, your clients want to know about that. It increases your accountability and helps you build trust even before meeting new partners or clients.
• Share past work. Obviously, this piece comes with guidelines. You can’t violate any confidentiality you’ve agreed upon with your clients, but you can share general overviews of people you’ve worked with in the past. It can allow prospective clients to resonate with your work.

By utilizing these tactics, you’re able to really put your money where your mouth is. Not only will you be able to attract new opportunities that are in line with your mission as a business, but you can end each day knowing that the relationships you’re building are genuine.

New Decade, New Marketing Strategies?

When it comes to building and implementing strong marketing campaigns, it seems to be  easier and easier to publish something that’s savvy and enticing to viewers. However, what does this do for your business? As we’ve covered before, we’re trying to establish marketing that engages viewers and reminds them of the value you provide, which can’t be done through hasty posts and quick interactions.

Instead, try to take a deeper look at what you’re trying to achieve. We tend to focus on the how (which, don’t get us wrong, is important – your hard earned money should be put to good use!!), when really, we should be focusing on the why. Why should viewers interact with your campaign? What should they take away from it? What should their next steps be? Through this, you’ll be able to build a deeper understanding of their underlying motivations which can then be used to your advantage.

So, what does this mean for your marketing strategies? Take a moment during the first few days of 2020 and think about what you’ve used in the past. There’s likely been some changes since you first started, which can be helpful in determining what comes next. The new year doesn’t have to be full of groundbreaking marketing techniques; all you might need is a realignment into your value to bring about the next wave of happy clientele.

Posting on Social Media – What Time is a Good Time

Let’s consider this: how many useful emails do you actually get in a day? It’d be pretty safe to assume that the number is substantially low, especially in regards to the sheer mass of marketing materials you get. With that being said, wouldn’t it be helpful to have a better understanding of when to circulate marketing content?

Researchers at Notre Dame and Texas A&M certainly thought so. After collecting and compiling research concerning optimal times to post and circulate targeted marketing content, they were able to discover two key insights:

• Posting on social media in the mornings can lead to larger boosts in insights and traffic. The difference is drastic – posting in the morning leads to an almost 9% increase in traffic over afternoon posts and 11% over those posted in the evenings.
• On the flip side, targeted content advertising is much better suited for the afternoon. Using these forms of paid social media marketing can generate a 21% increase in engagement over the morning and 11% more than the evenings.

There’s a lot of clutter circulating your clients. By keeping these tips in mind when crafting your content, you’ll be able to make sure your advertising efforts stand out and connect with your consumers.

Drive Your Marketing Towards Successful Results

Let’s take a moment to define what marketing truly is. Is it using social media and other online digital tools to share brand updates? Not exactly, though digital communication is a key aspect to successful marketing. Do you instead think of traditional marketing, like newspaper ads or television commercials? This still is important, but it still doesn’t capture the entire essence of what marketing is.

 

All things considered, marketing is just the fancy word used to describe the process of finding new and interested people to share your product or service with. Luckily, we’re all working in the digital age, and reaching these new people has never been easier. However, when people are interacting with an estimated 5,000 ads per day, it’s more important now than ever to make sure that your efforts aren’t going to waste.

 

 

So how do you do that? First, you have to define your target audience. While the initial thought may be to target a larger group to attract more potential clients, you may be surprise to find that niche groups have a higher success rate. Understanding exactly what attracts your audience will enable you to craft marketing strategies that will catch their attention.

 

Second, you have to understand your company. What makes you different from your competitors? How exactly can you make a difference in the lives of your consumers? Where do you still have room to grow? Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can take your brand to a completely new level – and can increase the confidence of your consumers as well.

 

Finally, you have to visualize the future. Anyone can get good results in the now, but it takes a special team to take the current output and strategize for future success. Go back to the strengths and weaknesses of your company. Think about the industry you’re specializing in – what opportunities can you capitalize on? Taking your current positioning and translating that into where you’d like to be in the future allows you to make strategic marketing decisions that puts you on the path to success.

Creative Marketing Tactics to Expand Your Business

In 2017, the financial planning industry revenue was $56 billion. However, in order to be successful in the market, financial advisors need to be able to establish themselves as trustworthy. In order for an advisor to be established as trustworthy in the industry, it all starts with their chosen marketing tactics and strategies. We constantly read on ways to market our business, but how can we make it creative and fun? I’ve got just the advice for you!

1. Develop an interesting and relatable hobby. Have you ever wondered what you should talk to your prospects and clients about? Sometimes when finance and investing is your only topic, it could intimidate your prospects and clients. When you develop an interesting and relatable hobby, rather it is golfing or fishing, it creates trust between you and your clients. This relationship-building strategy could differentiate you big time!
2. Start podcasting! As of 2017, 73 million people are listening to podcasts monthly. It has made a major comeback and customers truly value this medium for ways to gain and expand their knowledge. Creating a podcast could not only provide financial value to your clients and listeners but also show off your personality.
3. Create a monthly company newsletter. This could be one of your many tactics, that is also inexpensive, to keep your clients and prospects engaged and aware of your practices. Simply create a brief monthly newsletter and send it out to your email subscribers or post it on your website. Don’t forget to focus on sharing your expertise.
4. Host local conferences. Rather it is is in your local libraries or senior centers, this could be a great way to get your name out there. You could host a local conference to give advice on 401(k) plans, budgeting, savings, etc.

Creating marketing tactics to spread the word about your business doesn’t have to be boring! What are some of the creative marketing tactics you have used with your business?

The Importance of Authentic Marketing

Through out our careers, we’re always taught to make sure our marketing is perfect. The right words, the right pictures, and the right advertisements. And this has been a safe approach for a lot of companies. However, when a customer visits your professional website, they rarely take a look at the content because they already feel like something is being sold to them. The more the marketing materials seem “perfect,” the less likely a consumer will purchase them. Instead, your marketing should be authentic and customized to who you truly are.

So what exactly is authentic marketing? This approach simply shares who you are and your business focus, all while utilizing your own words. I stress the importance of authentic marketing because if you are a financial advisor and you ask your clients to trust you with their entire life savings, they’d want to know who they are working with.

Some of the best ways to achieve authentic marketing is to share your companies personality through your website and marketing materials such as: pictures, videos, blog, etc. Consumers buy real and when you share with them who you really are, they are more likely to trust you.

Is Your Website Up-To-Date?

It’s obvious that in 2018 the way consumers make purchases has changed dramatically. Everything changed from walking down your local Main Street and instead it’s all done online. Consumers spend time searching Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, etc. finding the right business for their needs. It’s very clear that if your company does not have a website, you are missing out on various opportunities. In fact, to a customer you might even seem nonexistent. However, what’s more important is how you portray yourself, your company, and your service to your potential viewers on your website. With our evolving technology, it’s a must that your company also follows the latest website trends. No customer would want to do business with an outdated website. I’d like to leave you with three simple tips on ways you can keep your website up-to-date which in return can help you find potential online customers!

1. Theme. Create a strong theme for your website to truly portray your company. What is the one thing you want your customers to “feel” with your theme? Do you want them to think that you’re a digitally advanced finance advising firm? Do you want the visitors to feel that you’re more unique than your competitor? The choice is up to you, but make sure you are following one theme.
2. Concise Messaging. No one these days has hours to spend reading a companies About Me trying to understand what they do. That’s why it’s important that your website is clear, concise, and straight to the point.
3. Include Videos and Authentic Pictures in Your Content. 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. And a lot of consumers would prefer to receive their information in video rather than in words. Therefore, to truly stay up-to-date with websites and stay competitive, your company website should contain videos. Additionally, have authentic pictures on your website. For example, use the people who work in your office instead of stock photography. It allows for the customer to connect with your website.

What is your company doing to stay up-to-date with website trends?

What’s Unique About Your Business?

In the business world, it seems that it’s always a company’s goal to be better – better price, better product, better service. However, that’s not always the best way to go about your business. Whenever a customer says “why shouldn’t I just go to the financial firm across the street?” and your answer is “because we’re better,” does the customer necessarily believe that?

What truly matters and what we should all be focusing on is being different. Think about what’s unique about your company. Most of the time, customers choose your business because of you, not knowing the products you offer because they loved what’s unique about you. If you look at really successful companies, they didn’t become successful because they wrote “WE ARE BETTER THAN THE OTHER GUY” as their headline. They outlined what’s unique about them and shared it with the world. And people bought their product because of them. 

So, you’re probably wondering: what’s something that could be different about your firm? The people, your leader, and staff. No other firm has the same people as yours does, and that’s one of the best ways to describe your uniqueness.

I’d like to leave this post with a few questions for you to think about:

1. What’s something that you are doing that your competitors aren’t?
2. What are you doing that’s exactly like your competitors that you could change?

Does Your Marketing Have a Purpose?

As a financial advisor, planner, or an attorney it’s highly important to ensure you have a compelling message with your marketing strategy. This is mainly because people are drawn to companies that are authentic and inspiring. The real question here lies in how do we go about creating our compelling marketing message? I always suggest to focus on the purpose of it all. If you ask a financial advisor what is the purpose of their marketing, most of them would say: “To bring in referrals,” “Build my prospect list,” “Grow business.” However, what they don’t realize is that they’re sharing their goals. The purpose of your marketing and your goals are two separate things. Goals are tangible, measurable, and dated. Purpose is infinite. It is the reason you do what you do. To successfully build your compelling message, one must create an effective purpose. And it is okay to revisit your purpose time to time. But once it is set, the goals are based off your purpose. I’d love to provide some tips on creating your purpose that go beyond the bottom line:

• Stay authentic. Do you simply love helping people? Are you passionate about helping people reach their financial goals? Or do you love helping people get out of their financial struggles? Let that be heard in your purpose.
• Specialize. What type of financial advisor/planner are you? Do you focus on a specific target market? Having a niche will actually provide a better and more focused type of service.
• Have a story. Why did you start doing what you do? This doesn’t necessarily have to be written out in your purpose, but it’s a good idea to develop your story so you can share it with your prospects and clients. It provides the background to your purpose.

What’s the purpose of your marketing? Let us know in the comments below!

How Do I Break Out of a Marketing Rut

Marketing Ruts… If you haven’t experienced one throughout your business’s life cycle, then please share your secrets with the rest of us. Rather you’d like to admit it or not, marketing ruts happen and they can be frustrating, discouraging, and honestly irritating. Why isn’t this working? Why am I not getting any responses? However, it’s a new month, new quarter and you’re ready to try something different but you don’t know how. You’ll always have the option to look back and review what worked and what didn’t in your previous marketing strategies. But, how can you dig deeper? Let’s look at some advice on helping your process of getting out of a Marketing Rut:

1. Brainstorm the worst ideas possible. In a way, this sounds like it would be fun to do, am I right? When your marketing isn’t going the way you were expecting, it’s time to brainstorm your worst ideas possible with your team. Google search some marketing disasters and look at things that companies have done that they completely regret. Doing this will allow for us to notice what success looks like and makes us think, “what’s truly important in marketing?”
2. Research outside of your industry. What are some companies that aren’t in your industry that are executing extremely well on describing their product?
3. Research inside of your industry. Look at some of the most successful firms in your industry even if they are 20 times bigger than you. This will allow for you to notice things you don’t incorporate into your marketing strategy. Additionally, it will allow for you to see how they are describing their value proposition and other points, which in return will give you ideas on how you can successfully communicate information to your audience.

Getting out of a Marketing Rut can be what you make of it, so make it fun! Let us know what types of things you noticed in your research in the comments below.