Most advisors use digital marketing, whether it is an email newsletter, blogs, lead forms or LinkedIn, Christopher Wendt writes on Advisor Perspectives. However, few advisors know what actually generates leads — which is why a strategic digital-marketing plan is key, he writes.
Five Steps to Grow Online Lead-Generation
First, advisors should figure out the previous year’s lead flow from their website and landing pages, according to Wendt, president of Midstream Marketing. Using Google Analytics, advisors can examine the sources and paths of their online traffic, then compare this with the number of form submissions to get a baseline, he writes. This can be divided by the digital marketing budget to get a baseline cost for lead acquisition, he writes.
Next, advisors should determine their aims, which will vary depending on budget, techniques and location, according to Wendt. One simple goal could be 10 leads per month, resulting in about one client, he writes. Advisors must then develop an overall strategy based on how to drive the traffic needed to meet their goals, and create specific tasks with set deadlines and assigned personnel, Wendt writes.
The final step is establishing key performance indicators, he writes. Monthly reports should cover traffic, leads, cost and whether goals are met, with the strategic digital-marketing plan being adjusted accordingly, according to Wendt.
For one company, this plan resulted in 40 to 50 new leads per month, he writes. The majority of these leads came from the search engine optimization of online content and the firm had a close rate of between 35% and 50%, Wendt writes. Lead services and pay-per-click ads, which have a lower close rate, also contributed and can be useful if an advisor isn’t ranking on search engines, according to Wendt
