Use the Summer Doldrums to Assess, Adjust and Renew

Marketing

The summer doldrums usually mean downtime for many wealth & investment management practices. The principals all take lengthy vacations (and staff lesser duration) on a rotating basis, leaving a skeleton crew to manage the shop in others’ absences.

It’s a lazier season of the year for most investment professionals.

It’s a time for taking life easy. Kicking back. Traveling to one’s favorite city or destination for planned fun and relaxation with the spouse (if married) and kids.

However, it can also be a time for stepping back from the crush of daily affairs and deadlines and reflecting on how your practice has really been doing the past six months. Away from the constant phone calls, emails, meetings, events, business-related travel and correspondence, one can begin to breathe deeply. Take stock. And more clearly evaluate where your marketing game plan appears to be succeeding . . . where you are “treading water” . . . and where you are failing to meet marketing objectives. One can also analyze and determine where improvements should be made to deliver the expected marketing results.

Take an Assessment

One of your key objectives was to get exposure as a noted financial expert in local media with an aggressive goal of one placement every six weeks: Four “hits” by the end of June. You got just two opportunities; one radio interview with a Sunday afternoon radio show that focused on the markets and investment advice; one article published in the community magazine. There, you’re failing to meet your objective.

Another objective was to improve your website’s SEO ranking in web searches of wealth advisors in the area. You hired a sharp new recent IT graduate (reporting to your director of operations). Samantha has already made small but significant changes in online content to dramatically optimize search results. There, you’re exceeding your objective.

Yet another objective was to utilize digital media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other engines to drive more traffic to your website. Considering you had never done much social media marketing, the results so far look promising but not overwhelmingly so. There, you’re fulfilling the minimal objective, such as it is.

Make Necessary Adjustments

The next step is to adjust your game: Eliminate or decrease time/money/people consumed on marketing activities that are not living up to expectations and focus more resources on activities that are paying dividends. On marketing activities that are basically meeting plan, maintain the course but continue to periodically monitor and reevaluate.

For example, your stated goal of obtaining one new media placement every six weeks is not being met. There you could benefit by hiring outside publicity experts who have a proven track record working with wealth managers and investment firms in gaining compelling exposure on a consistent, high impact basis. Such a firm might easily achieve double (or triple) the results of your desired rate of four “hits” every six months.

In financial services, especially, the quality and clarity of content, messaging and branding are absolutely critical. More than perhaps any other industry, wealth managers and investment advisors must communicate precisely, clearly, compelling – with each phrase, each paragraph, each section convincingly conveying why and how they are better, different, and uniquely qualified and positioned to help the potential investor above all other firms.

Recharge and Reload

There is no better time than vacation to restock one’s “cerebral library” of fresh ideas and new approaches to one’s business. In that regard, it’s a fine plan to select and bring along two-three books by noted experts whose opinions you value. Carefully read, digest, and study each of the books, focusing on how you might implement some of the best concepts into your own practice.

Not only take the opportunity to unwind and take a deep breath but lean back and take a look at the “big picture.” Open your vision to the long-range view. Where do you want your practice to be in five years? In ten years? In twenty years, perhaps long after you’ve retired? Make use of this unfettered period to create a visual highway into the future.

Use the summer doldrums to be ready to go into action and help your practice become as hot as it is outside!

If you feel the need for a proven marketing advisor to help you “turn up the heat” in building your business and embellishing your brand, we can help. Contact AdvisorPR or call (866) 888-5333 today!

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