5 Ways to Freshen Up Your Financial Marketing
Is your marketing showing its age? Chances are it’s been a while since you gave your marketing materials a makeover. Just like the financial markets, the marketing world is dynamic, and what worked five years ago might come off as stale today. A misaligned message, an outdated design, an archaic technology—these things can spell trouble for your marketing efforts. Those materials you’re using might have worked perfectly a few years ago. But marketing trends, like fashions, evolve quickly, and you don’t want to be left behind.
If it’s been a few years since you evaluated your marketing, you might want to take a hard look at your materials. Put yourself in your clients’ and prospective clients’ shoes. What do they need to hear, read or see to recognize you as the trustworthy professional you are? When it comes to marketing, even good intentions can have undesirable results. You may think your materials get your message across, but if they don’t put you in today’s best light, it may be time for a revision.
From your website and invites to first appointment, second appointment, onboarding and ongoing communications, review each piece of material to see if it still does what it was designed to do. Keep an eye out for the following five flaws:
- Out-of-date statistics. Yes, it’s fantastic to show market performance over a defined time period. But if your sample period ends in 2010 or even 2015, it needs to be updated. Similarly, if you’re referencing a statistic from 2013, and it’s now 2016, and it’s an “annual” study, it is time to freshen it up. Current, accurate data will help paint you as a trusted authority with your clients.
- Stale messages. That white paper you wrote at the height of the Great Recession may have been wonderful, then. But does it reflect the investment approach you’re pursuing today? Again, your current message needs to reflect current events, current opinions and your current target market. If you’ve been in the business for a while, “seniors” used to comprise the retiree marketplace, and today they’re boomers. Boomers used to be the focus of the investment community, and today it’s the Gen X generation – you need to make sure your messages are shifting to meet the goals and desires of the group you most want to work with.
- Anachronistic recommendations. Yes, the market and economy are cyclical, but that doesn’t mean you should keep the same marketing messages in play because eventually they’ll be correct again. While there are some staple concerns that will always be top of mind – market volatility, outliving money in retirement, maximizing assets… the “why” for the concern can vary based on current economic, political and world events. Be sure you’re addressing the root of the problem and clearly explaining how you can help them to overcome these specific challenges.
- Dated designs and images. I’ve seen advisors use headshots that are at least 20 years old. Trust plays a huge part in your relationship with clients, and you want your appearance in one-on-one meetings to reflect the person pictured in your marketing. And, as your market continues to evolve, so should the photos that you use in your marketing to depict your target audience. That photo of an ailing grandma sitting in a rocking chair doesn’t resonate as well with today’s active boomers.
- Old contact information. As with any business, things will evolve. You might pick up an 800 number, create a new Twitter handle, add a YouTube channel, or change your URL, email, office location and similar. You need to make sure all of your contact information is updated and consistent across all platforms. You don’t want to have both old and new information out there—you just want the right information! Do an audit, verify everything you have “out there” is accurate and update any listings or profiles as needed.
Keeping up with marketing trends can be daunting, that’s for sure. But if you’ve noticed a drop-off in business, an anachronistic marketing campaign just might be to blame. Whether you need a major revision or only a few small tweaks, refreshing your marketing can give your business the boost it needs.
