Audience – Who Should a Wealth Manager Focus On?

Wealth managers have to be just as good with their digital marketing strategies as managing their clients’ money. They must think outside the box and market themselves in various ways. More than both of those, they need to identify and cater to a target market that will convert, according to Chron Small Business. 

Wealthy or HNW individuals aren’t the only ones who want actionable advice on investing, retirement strategies, and more.

MNW clients also look for wealth advisors. These middle-class investors may not have millions of dollars. Still, they have more considerable assets under management (AUM) than lower-income households that typically manage finances independently. 

Come Across Responsive; not Defensive

A good wealth manager should never come across as defensive with their audience. Always be open to feedback and criticism, but do not let it get in the way of your message.

The best financial professionals are responsive during a conversation or presentation.  Rather than attempt to defend yourself, you should aim to listen intently and explain your intentions to the client. 

Give Them an Unforgettable Experience

The power of an unforgettable experience is the key to generating word-of-mouth referrals.

Today, people look for experiences that create memories. Not just things they can buy and use once and then throw away. This phenomenon has led to a rise in new businesses specializing in unique events with customers who want something more than what’s been done before, such as skydiving or booking a flight to space!

Marketing to Younger Consumers

It’s no secret that the next generation will be inheriting trillions of dollars in wealth. To prepare for this, wealth management firms and experts need to start marketing and educating today’s youth on how they can make their money work for them now. This will bring in more paying clients in the future.

The time has come when financial advisors will have retirees as clients rather than parents—a complete demographic shift! This shift means what comes next is a wealth transfer from parents to children.

So, how will wealth managers market themselves and their services to the younger generation?

You need a wealth plan that is tailored to this younger target audience. Focus on educating them on wealth savings techniques that can be used now to make their money work for them today, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives.

You also need to utilize social media marketing as well as other forms of digital marketing, like financial blog writing, YouTube videos, and more. A wealth manager with expertise in this younger crowd will be very valuable in the future.

It will be helpful to consider how this audience does business, which is slightly different from previous generations. For example, today’s wealth services are moving towards remote or online wealth management for more convenience. This trend will continue into the next generation.

Branding – Market Yourself; You’re the Brand

You are your own brand. You need to market your services in a way that moves people. Find something they can relate to so they want to do business with you! People love doing business with someone like them. Share about your life on both the work and home front. The more people know about who you are, the more apt they will be to trust you over time and trust breeds cash.

Just make sure your marketing efforts are authentic because customers have high expectations these days. If you’re caught being inauthentic it can have a long-term, negative impact on branding.

Branding means marketing in such a way that potential customers will want what you have to offer, says Forbes. It’s about being unique and standing out from the crowd— a power that is easily talked about but difficult to accomplish!

Create a Company Website

You are a financial advisor who is looking to create an online presence. Create your website and show off the services you offer as well as why someone should choose you. Make sure to consider search engine optimization with your website and relevant content marketing efforts.

If you have a wealth plan that is cutting edge or unique in some way, highlight this on your website. Be proactive instead of reactive – think about what your customers will need before they need it.

Your website needs to be updated with fresh content often to establish your company as a leader in the niche with Google and other search engines.

Get Active With Social Media Marketing

Engage, engage, engage. When using digital marketing for your wealth management services, you must be active and engaged on social media.

Make sure you are using a social media account that is specific to wealth management. Don’t just use your personal account. However, don’t make it look like a boring work account either. Showing off your personality breeds brand awareness and trust.

Be active and engage with people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms to get yourself out there and meet new clients! Use your wealth plan as a blueprint to give you ideas on how to engage your audience.

Wealth managers who are active on social media are significantly more likely to get new business. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

Connect With Influencers to Extend Reach

Build relationships with influencers in your industry and work with them to promote you on their channels as well! Connect with these people and make sure to stay up-to-date by following them. Make comments and share digital content from the channel for a more intimate connection.

When it’s time to ask an influencer to promote one of your products or services, be direct about what you want them to do (e.g., post about this product), but don’t push them into it. This is a relationship, not a dictatorship.

Build relationships with other companies already established within the same niche market space where you’re trying to grow into success as part of your core business development plan. Get to know other wealth managers and reach out to them by asking for financial services advice – don’t be shy!

Content Marketing and the Wealth Manager

Content marketing is what drives the large majority of online businesses, according to HubSpot. It’s how people learn, educate, experience, share, and more. To stand out in an ocean of wealth professionals, you need to offer the best, value-driven, informative content out there.

If you’re looking to build wealth management content, there are a ton of ways to do so:

Written Word

One way is breaking down wealth advice through writing. You can write articles in layman’s terms so the average reader finds them easier to understand. 

Your wealth plan may have tips on saving or budgeting your finances. Break down those topics into individual blogs and use graphics to make it easy for people to learn about wealth management services.

Video

Another way to get out there is by creating video content. Inviting existing and potential clients into your office to show off the wealth plan process on video can help inform new and current clients of what’s going on behind the scenes of your wealth management business. 

Plus, videos can be uploaded to a transcription service like Temi. The resulting content can then be broken up into various social media and blog updates.

Audio

Like the written word, podcasts are also another way to break down topics in a simple manner. It’s a great financial advisor marketing strategy if someone wants to know more about how your wealth management services will provide solutions and step into their future needs.

A podcast works well as a platform that someone can listen to while driving or on public transportation. It provides value without requiring any face-to-face time with someone.

Direct Mail Isn’t Dead in Wealth Management

Handwritten letters serve as connections between wealth managers and their clients. They are more personal than digital or typed messages, which can help build that all-important trust factor in any relationship. 

They also reflect respect for the recipient’s time and attention. They are an excellent tool for wealth managers to use in their marketing strategies.

Send Notes To Segments Of Your Potential Market

Direct mail can be tailored in many ways to suit varying target audiences. Some professionals may opt for a more toned-down, conservative approach that might appeal to older clients. On the other hand, others may connect with young professionals through a hip, flashy style of marketing. The point is to showcase who you are and what your wealth management firm stands for in a way that resonates with the market demographic you’re targeting, according to Neil Patel.

Make It Memorable

Today’s consumer has a certain level of sophistication when it comes to interacting with businesses online. In many cases, they already know what they want before reaching out. 

This means that anything they see or hear will have to come as either a surprise or coordinated directly with their current needs to grab their attention. If you can do this successfully, your direct mail campaign might just secure some new clients!

So, how can you ensure that your direct mail marketing campaign drives the type of response you’re looking for? 

• First, make sure you understand your audience and tailor your message to their needs. 
• Second, utilize different types of media—both traditional and cutting-edge—to spread the word about your wealth management services.

Offer a Personal Touch

One of the most effective ways to market yourself as a financial advisor is by sending personal handwritten notes to potential clients who may not know they can benefit from your services! 

Handwritten messages offer an intimate connection between your business and each person on your mailing list. It also serves as a means of showing respect for their time and attention. It can even help influence them in favor of hiring you as their next financial advisor.

Email Marketing in Wealth Management

Email marketing in wealth management has become a standard marketing tool for a financial advisor. In addition to the obvious benefits of lowering costs and increasing efficiency, email marketing is also an effective way to build trust with clients by communicating regularly.

According to Constant Contact, email marketing does the following:

• Increases customer retention rates
• Generates more leads and prospects
• Improves referrals from current customers
• Establishes credibility through third-party endorsements
• Builds goodwill among employees

To reap these benefits, you need a well-designed email template that reflects your personality and style. You should also be aware of how often you send out emails because this can lead people to unsubscribe if done too often or too little. Finally, make sure your content remains relevant, so people stay engaged with what you have to say!

Benefits of Email Marketing

The benefits of email marketing are plentiful. It’s an excellent way to get your company and services in front of potential customers, establish a connection with them through personalized content that is sent out at specific intervals, generate leads for upsells by providing links on the newsletters or other promotional materials you send over emails, have conversations about topics relevant to your industry without ever leaving home when people reply back!

Email marketing has come a long way from being just plain text-based messages. You can now include images and videos as well as hyperlinks within the body copy which opens it up for all sorts of new engagement opportunities like having contests users can enter easily via their inboxes!

Frequency of Emails Sent and When to Send Them

The average wealth manager email campaign pushes two emails a week to subscribers. This number is slightly down over previous years, according to CoSchedule. There are several reasons why numbers are dropping, but information overload may be at the top of the list.

The inbox has been the most direct way for consumers to communicate with businesses and brands. As information overload becomes more of an issue, they must take a step back. Reducing email correspondence is one way to do so.

The world around us is constantly changing. New technologies emerge every day, changing how we interact on social networks or in-person conversations at work meetings. 

With all this change happening faster than ever before, does making ourselves slow down seem like such a bad idea?

What that means is each email needs to be even more focused and valuable to the reader.

So, we’re left with the fundamental question – how often do you send emails to wealth management clients and prospects?

Most B2C (business to customer) companies using financial advisor marketing tactics send two to three emails each month, followed by four to five emails at a close second.

Share Quality Content that is Relevant and Engaging for Readers

Your email needs to be engaging, concise, and actionable. Don’t bore your audience with a lengthy message that doesn’t have the power of persuasion behind it!

Offer actionable tips and immediately establish a connection with the reader.

The power of persuasion is usually created through storytelling. Tell your prospects stories of the struggles and successes of others, especially those who are similar to your readers. Showcase a personal connection by including their real names or mentioning places they’ve been.

The goal is to help your reader envision themselves in the same situation. This type of storytelling has proved more effective than simply listing numbers and facts alone.

Content that Provides Valuable Resources for Readers

Consider providing checklists of things they can do, such as “10 Ways to Make Your Money Work for You Tomorrow.”

You want to make it as easy for your audience as possible. In this case, lists are a great way to do that without overwhelming them with additional information they don’t need or want. Maps, graphs, and other visual representations can be good alternatives.

Long-Form Content vs. Short-Form Content

Short-form content is easier to consume, but long-form content has more information and is better for getting the point across. Sometimes, people need a little more convincing before they’re ready to take action. Long-form content can be closer to an article or white paper in length and includes more detail about why you think your reader should invest their time in your content.

Emails need to be easy for subscribers to read and digest, so keep them concise. That means leaving the long-form content for blogs and articles and shorter-form content for email campaigns. Focus on one or two ideas per email, with a strong call-to-action at the end.

The Importance of Feedback for Wealth Managers

Not only do you want feedback to see where you can make changes to improve the client experience, but you also want reviews to show others how impressed current or previous clients have been with your work.

Why is Feedback Essential for Wealth Managers?

Feedback from clients is vital for wealth managers because they cannot improve their service without it. Clients must provide feedback about the extent to which they are satisfied with what they have invested in and why.

Clients also need to say whether or not the wealth manager has helped them meet their financial goals. Understanding all these things will allow a good financial advisor to provide better investment advice in the future while still focusing on client satisfaction and improving communications between themselves and their investor.

What Can You Do to Get More Feedback?

One of the best ways to improve client loyalty and get more feedback is to make sure you’re communicating with clients at every stage of your process. For example, you could send weekly updates to clients showing what you’ve done in the last week or follow up promptly after meetings by sending a recap email.

Not only will this help keep your clients feeling like they know where they stand with their wealth management partner, but it can serve as a reminder that some of those tasks require their input, making it that much easier for them to give feedback on any concerns or questions they might have.

How Should You Handle Negative Feedback? 

Firstly, you can’t control the beliefs people have about your business. You are responsible for how you handle yourself as a company, even in the face of others who attack you with their judgments.

Secondly, feedback is essential. It offers benefits if used correctly, providing additional information that can help improve your product or service. The trick is to accept feedback and use it to meet your customers’ needs better. 

Lastly, don’t be discouraged by negative feedback, no matter what. The best sort of publicity comes from honesty about what’s wrong rather than portraying an ideal facade.

Client Retention Requires Being Active and Accessible

Retaining satisfied customers is a way of building a sustainable business with solid ongoing earnings. The more loyal your customers are to your brand, the less you’ll need to spend on marketing promotions and advertising, which will save you money in the long run, says HelpScout.

How Does Client Retention Affect the Bottom Line?

Your goal should be to create strong relationships with your clients, thereby avoiding missed opportunities for referrals.

It is crucial not just to sell products and financial services but also to build personal connections with customers that lead them to view you as a trusted partner rather than simply an impersonal provider of services. 

The easiest way to do this is by asking customers about their family, hobbies, and other interests. This will help you understand who they are to best serve their needs in the future.

Develop a list of questions for your clients before each meeting. For example, ask if they have any proposed investment ideas and if any financial goals or milestones are coming up shortly [ex: buying a house]. Many people like to talk about the details of their lives, and getting them to open up could lead to clients recommending you to friends or being more honest in their feedback.

Remember, keeping clients satisfied requires being proactive in returning communications and following up on tasks with due diligence. If you do this with the clients you have, they’ll be more likely to stick around and spread positive word-of-mouth buzz about your business!

Why is It Important to Keep Clients Happy and Satisfied? 

It’s essential to keep clients happy because of the wealth they bring in. A well-managed, satisfied client is a friend for life. A dissatisfied client is much more likely to shift their business to another trusted advisor. 

Word-of-mouth advertising is probably one of your biggest competitors today. In fact, according to Investment News, “a recent survey conducted by Towers Watson found that 94% of respondents said they had at least one bad experience with a provider.” These customers likely shared the details about that bad experience with friends, family, and potentially their entire social media following. 

Techniques for Keeping Clients Happy and Satisfied

It is imperative that the client feels you are a trustworthy partner for their needs. You want to find a balance between paying attention to specific details without appearing overbearing and maintaining an overview of how those individual decisions contribute to future risk and total asset value.

Understanding all facets of wealth management like retirement planning, estate funding, tax reduction strategies, and charitable giving can go a long way in establishing this sense of partnership with your clients. 

The Importance of Customer Service

The importance of great customer service when you’re a wealth manager is more than just about being nice to your client. You are providing them with guidance and support, helping them make difficult decisions that will affect the rest of their life. This can be an incredibly rewarding experience for everyone involved!

Your job as a wealth manager isn’t necessarily easy but it’s important work. Your clients place enormous trust in you during what may be one of the most stressful times in their lives: looking at retirement options or estate planning strategies, making sure they have enough saved up for college tuition fees; even managing how much money goes into paying off debt versus saving up some cash… these aren’t always light topics to discuss over dinner.

Tips for Building Customer Loyalty

If you want to grow customer loyalty with clients, you need to think about what they seek. Loyal customers will only be reliable if they feel a sense of trust and investment in your business.

Regardless of the industry, people have similar wants/needs that can be generalized into one word: wealth. Wealth doesn’t just include money but also health, security, and legacy (i.e., their children). If you support your clients with those things, then loyalty becomes natural. 

Seek those three things for all current and future clients; then, they will flock to you instead of holding out for a competitive market price for what they need.

Social Media Marketing for Wealth Managers

According to Hootsuite, a leader in social media automation, “Social media for business is no longer optional. It’s an essential way to reach your customers, gain valuable insights, and grow your brand.”

Social media offers several benefits for people in the financial services industry. It is a great way to reach potential and prospective clients who may not know about you or your company.

Segment Your Audience for Personalization

It also has the advantage of segmenting your target audience by geographic area, demographic information (such as age and gender), interests, income level, etc., making it easier for you to tailor messages specifically toward them.

Check Out the Competition

Social media also enables you to find out what people are saying about your financial firm or competitors’ firms so you can respond appropriately before they go elsewhere with their money.

If you’re not already involved on social media sites, now’s the time to get started. Suppose you are using it for your business. In that case, you should be posting about current events in the finance world and writing blog posts related to wealth management or other financial topics that people might find interesting. You could also start using social media advertising to reach a larger audience or promote upcoming events. 

Tools of the Trade: Automation in Wealth Management Marketing

The tools of the trade are constantly evolving. This is especially true in marketing. The wealth management industry has been slower to adopt new technologies than many other industries. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great digital marketing resources available for those who want to market their business online.

Marketing automation software helps you automate repetitive tasks like updating your social media messages or sending out email campaigns. This allows you to focus on big picture stuff like creating high-impact content that generates lots of high converting traffic. You only have so much time in the day. Why waste it doing things manually? 

Only with a system in place will content work as hard for your website and blog, generating revenue from readers and other activities, as from people clicking on ads. Check out software like Hubspot, Hootsuite, or Marketo to help you automate marketing at the right time and get the most out of it.

Value in Wealth Management Marketing

In a competitive market, wealth management companies must offer a value proposition for why their product is superior to any competitors’ offerings to acquire and retain customers. If they can’t do this, other providers will take up the mantle and offer greater value. These companies might not even directly compete with your current customer base in some instances.

You need tangible proof of higher returns on investment and less restrictive barriers for entry into accounts. Make sure your viewers see it plain as day that they can get a better return on their investment by signing up with you instead of your competitors.

To do this, you’ll need a well-developed marketing strategy that focuses on differentiating your services from the rest of the crowd. If you already have one, then it’s time to take a closer look at it and see how well it aligns with your core values. Are you effectively differentiating your brand from the competition? If you’re not, it’s time to make some revisions.

A Final Look at Wealth Manager Marketing

Wealth managers are tasked with the tough job of attracting new clients and maximizing their returns while minimizing risk. With digital marketing strategies, they can efficiently manage these responsibilities by reaching a broader audience than ever before.

This means that financial advisors need to use marketing directly, like cold calling or handwritten notes, and digitally, such as emailing potential prospects or interacting on social media. 

The most successful wealth managers will be those who find creative ways to utilize every aspect of modern-day direct and digital marketing techniques so that they can offer their clients more security and better returns on investment.