A crucial part of marketing is, put simply, doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t work. But how can advisors know what is effective? Many advisors look to their prospect calls for the answers: who shows up, and what do they ask about? This is a helpful starting point, but it may provide an incomplete picture – e.g., advisors may determine that since prospective clients don’t ask about the advisor’s CFP designation in a prospecting call, clients don’t care about it. In reality, how people gather information and make decisions is more complex than that.
In this article, Senior Financial Planning Nerd Sydney Squires details how prospects actually evaluate financial planners, what information they seek, and how advisors can evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing strategies that they employ (in a way that allows visibility into ‘more’ prospective clients).
As a starting point, when narrowing down potential advisors, clients often have two sets of criteria. First, clients determine which traits an advisor must have and look to find all advisors who have those traits, such as a CFP designation (or similar demonstrations of expertise). Second, clients set criteria – such as location or pricing – that eliminate otherwise-viable firms as they seek to find the ‘best’ advisor (for them). A client’s criteria will be personal – some clients may crave in-person interactions with an advisory firm, whereas others will prioritize the flexibility of remote meetings.
What various studies suggest is important, however, is that prospects are able to quickly and easily find this information. A recent marketing report indicated that even if a prospective client receives a referral from a friend, if they cannot find the information they need to assess potential fit on the advisor’s website, the overwhelming majority will simply move on to another firm that does provide what they’re looking for.
