Life beyond referrals: The role of marketing in RIA growth

Advisors have long relied on word-of-mouth traffic and referrals from their current clients to grow their businesses.

And in the past, that may have been enough to drive substantial business development for RIA firms. 

But client needs are evolving and the RIA marketing is becoming increasingly competitive, disrupted not only by robo advisors and digital trading platforms, but also by the remote revolution ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic. Investors looking for service no longer need to focus just on their immediate area – thanks to virtual meetings and digital communication tools, they can work with any advisor in the country.

That means as an RIA, you’re no longer competing with the advisor down the street. You’re competing with every advisor in the United States who offers the same services and solutions you do.

Growth-focused firms can no longer afford to sit back and wait for referrals to roll in. Instead, they need to take a proactive approach to marketing—and more specifically, digital marketing – to grow their client base.

Make marketing a priority. According to TD Ameritrade, most financial advisory firms spend less than 1-2% of revenue on marketing. Despite marketing’s increasing importance, this makes sense: advisors have traditionally grown their businesses through word-of-mouth, and they’re also busy running their firms and serving clients, which are two monumental tasks unto themselves. 

Figuring out how to market your firm effectively, without sacrificing the quality of client service, requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. Follow these guidelines to maximize the impact digital marketing can have on your business.

Create valuable, educational content that people like, and put it in the places they want to consume it. 

Simple, but not easy. Doing this effectively depends upon understanding your target audience deeply – the challenges they’re facing (and the challenges they aren’t even aware of), the questions you can answer for them, and the reasons your solutions will have a greater impact on their lives than anyone else’s.

You can use feedback from the clients you serve now to develop your differentiators and value proposition. But you can also use them for market research. Find out where they spend their time – is it on Facebook and Instagram? LinkedIn or Twitter? TikTok? Are they likely to read email newsletters or listen to podcasts?

Distribution of your content is as important as what you create, so use your current client base to determine which channels will make the most impact for your business.

Reduce friction wherever possible. An exceptional client experience begins before the contract is signed. Give potential clients the path of least resistance whenever you can: 

• Make your content easily accessible (see our first point – distribute it on the channels where they spend time)
• Anticipate their concerns, including questions about pricing, and answer them clearly on your website
• Use Calendly or another scheduling tool to make it fast and intuitive to set up a meeting with you

Remember, today’s investor can do business with almost any advisor they want – including an app on their phone. Make it effortless for them to choose you.

Stay organized on your end. Part of creating that incredible first impression happens on your side. When your experience is seamless and intuitive, that translates to what your clients and prospects experience. 

AdvisorEngine’s Prospect and Opportunity Workspace functions can help you capture, validate and keep track of all potential new business, so you’re not juggling – or losing – contact information and important prospect details in a notebook or spreadsheet. 

And solutions like Constant Contact can sync with your CRM to keep contact information consistent and up-to-date while helping you manage marketing tactics like email campaigns.

Use communities and other resources strategically. You got into this business to serve clients, not to become a master of digital marketing, so don’t be afraid to look outward for help with your efforts. 

You can find thought-sharing communities of like-minded advisors on LinkedIn and Facebook, and there are.

Depending on your budget and in-house resources, it might make sense to outsource some or all of your marketing efforts. Before you even begin your search, though, think about what you need from a marketing partner. 

Are you struggling with strategy, like defining your target audience or nailing down your firm’s differentiators? Do you need execution help with website building, email campaigns or social media efforts? Perhaps you just want expertise in a single creative area, like copywriting, design or video editing. 

There are thousands of freelancers, marketing agencies and consulting firms that could handle some or all of those needs, but keep in mind that most are industry agnostic, meaning they aren’t experts in financial services.

It could save you time and effort to seek out outsourced help from agencies built specifically for firms like yours, whose teams already understand the challenges, solutions and nuances of language specific to this industry. Working with an outsourced marketing team that’s already immersed in your world can be a significant competitive advantage.

Good marketing – and great customer service – will drive more referrals. Word-of-mouth isn’t dead by a longshot. People still trust their peers more than any marketing or sales effort, especially when it comes to taking risks – like letting someone manage their money. 

By being proactive about marketing and educational content creation, you establish yourself as an expert in your field. When a referred prospect visits your website or social media page, that credibility will help them convert to a client. 

And by creating exceptional end-to-end experiences that your clients want to talk about, you increase your opportunity for more referral traffic.