Is Your Marketing Division Effective?

In my experience working with many financial services professionals and businesses, I have found most have access to a good product division (their insurance, banking and finance offering), good compliance division, good service division, but a non-existent marketing division.

One of the reasons the marketplace seems so crowded is that most professionals have not differentiated. They sound like, look like and act like every other business.

An effective marketing division can help you stand out from the crowd, sharing how you are different by empathising your value. Without an effective marketing division, your business will never reach its full potential.

Here are five strategies to build a highly effective marketing division or refocus an existing one.

Strategy number 1: Client referrals

A consistent proactive client referral strategy is an essential part of an effective marketing division. This will produce the best new business results with a minimal amount of time and effort.

Only a few professionals I work with every year have a consistent, proactive referral process, yet according to research, over 80 percent of satisfied clients feel comfortable providing a referral.

Strategy number 2: Building a professional referral network

One of the primary ways businesses get their financial advisors is through a referral from another trusted advisor, such as an accountant or attorney.

Effective marketing divisions build their own referral network, produces three to five accountants or lawyers, providing a handful of qualified referrals each year, resulting in several new clients.

Strategy number 3: Right place marketing

This strategy is based on professionals putting themselves in a position to be in the right place to meet the right people. The right places can include non-profit boards, service organisations, neighbourhood associations and alumni boards.

Top professionals are able to develop a list of individuals they have a personal relationship with and who could become potential clients.

Strategy number 4: Prospect pipeline.

Effective marketing divisions help professionals build and manage a strong prospect pipeline. The leading indicator of your business development success is the strength of your pipeline and how effectively you manage it.

The ideal number is 20 prospects per professional. For example, 50 qualified prospects should result in a 20 to 30 percent conversion of prospects to clients within 12 months.

Strategy number 5: Niche marketing

This strategy has a proven upside in developing new business with little to no downside. Niche marketing works because prospective clients feel entitled to work with professionals who specialise in their field and understand their perceived unique and complex issues.

Developing a specialisation can also provide a compelling reason for a prospective client to transfer their existing relationship if he perceives the professional specialises and his current advisor does not.

The missing link

Regardless of if you are a financial professional running your own firm or working as part of a large business, an effective marketing division could be your missing link to producing consistent results every year.

Announcements:

About Me