Outbound marketing requires advisors to contact investors who don’t want to be contacted, resulting in a nearly 100% failure rate, Jack Waymire writes on Seeking Alpha. Therefore, advisors should explore new virtual marketing strategies, he writes.
Making Virtual Marketing Work
Traditional marketing involves face-to-face contact, which many investors still want, according to Waymire, founder of Paladin Digital Marketing. However, the internet allows clients to research advisors and validate the advice they give, he writes. Therefore, virtual marketing strategies should be based around the assumption that what investors see online will impact which advisors they talk to — and which they eventually select, according to Waymire.
Google makes it easy to find financial advisors online, producing organic and AdWords results, he writes. Top ranking with organic keywords is a long and expensive process, however, and few advisors report success using AdWords, according to Waymire. To be competitive, advisors should ensure their site ranks for hundreds of keyword combinations and include local search engine optimization for better local exposure, he writes.
According to Paladin surveys, virtual marketing often breaks down when it comes time for investors to contact an advisor, as investors become cautious, he writes. Investors hesitate because of worrying information online, uncertainty about what advisors will do with their data and the aggressive sales reputation of Wall Street, according to Waymire. This is a serious issue, as 77.3% of advisors report some traffic on their website, but less than 1% of the users initiate contact, he writes.
There are several measure advisors can take to boost the probability of contact, according to Waymire. Advisors can provide resources that require registration, clearly stating what they will and won’t do with that information, which can then be entered into a customer relationship management system for later contact, he writes. Websites should be transparent and provide correct information to increase trust, and should make it easy for investors to contact an advisor and give reasons to do so, according to Waymire.
