Lean and Mean in 2015: 3 Tips for Building a Marketing Plan for Your Financial Practice

Branding, Marketing

Growing your own businessWhether you’re just embarking on independence or are a veteran advisor with an established firm, there are three things that remain consistent when building your marketing plan for the year. If you focus on the following three things when planning, and keep these activities on in the forefront throughout the year, you will be on the right track toward reaching your business building goals!

1) Brand-building: This is the process of getting your name and brand out in the community. It can be done through billboards, TV commercials, radio advertisements, editorial opportunities such as newspaper articles or television interviews, and even through prominent signage outside your office. For maximum effectiveness, the first time someone sees your logo or hears your company name should NOT be through a lead generation activity. They should be familiar with who you and what you do well before they are ever asked to work with you.

2) Lead-generation: While it can happen, don’t expect your branding initiatives to create the consistent stream of new business opportunities you need to grow your business. You need to plan for lead generation activities and schedule various activities throughout the year. Lead generation can come in the form of event marketing, traditional advertising or digitally via the web. The key for lead generation to be effective is to ensure the call-to-action offered entices a targeted prospect to take some form of action and creates urgency to do so now.

3) Database communication: You’ve spent the time and energy to build your brand and grow your database; be sure to continue the momentum by staying top of mind. Many advisors don’t put the strategies in place to stay in touch with the warm leads who have expressed interested in working with them in the past, and this is a critical error. Ongoing communications strategies include:

  • Email sequences to follow up with someone once they’ve expressed interest in an offering of your firm
  • Adding interested prospects to your monthly newsletter (or your preferred format for regular communications)
  • Following up with a personal letter or phone call throughout the year
  • Scheduling client events, charitable activities or other interactive get-togethers

Database communication should take place regularly, and come in the form of digital, print, phone calls and live events.

When building your marketing plan for 2015, if you can encapsulate each of these three initiatives – no matter how they look for you and your firm, you’ll be on your way to building a profitable, client-producing machine.

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