Nine years ago, a marketing question helped lead to the creation of a network of Black financial advisors and associates at one of the largest wealth managers.
A financial advisor was looking for materials to send to clients about Black History Month, but neither the planner nor Raymond James Delaware Valley Complex Manager Tony Barrett could find anything relating to the topic in the firm’s marketing library, Barrett said in an interview. As a co-founder and
“BFAN actually started because of our lack of inclusivity in marketing,” Barrett said. “The bad news was we didn't have it. … [but] it was the start of something very good.”
Questions about marketing in advisors’ practices can prove revealing for potential missed opportunities, areas where external
Advisors have “a huge marketing opportunity,” even though many of them “are really struggling with generating organic growth,” according to Megan Carpenter, the
“Today, the power of buying decisions is almost entirely in the hands of consumers in a way that it hasn't been in the past. For financial advisors, they have to think more broadly about how they’re showing up in their chosen markets in order to continue to drive that growth,” she said. “It’s no longer enough to have someone say, ‘Hey, you should reach out to this financial advisor, they're amazing.’”
Missing the boat?
The SEC’s “modernized” marketing
“This is going to grow like a hockey stick,” Singh said, noting he’s heard from many advisors about the new methods. “‘This is an opportunity for me to win business online. Those who are in the market already are getting ahead of me.’ That's when the stragglers will start to come in and we'll get a lot of momentum behind these numbers.”
That doesn’t mean that every advisor will necessarily feel the need to begin investing a lot of time and money in marketing, though. At San Ramon, California-based Synergy Financial
“I would say they don't know what their identity is and who they want to work with. Figure out who you are, and then brand and market around that,” he said. “Most people don't know who they are and who they're trying to serve. It would be better to be coached first.”
Other advisors thinking more expansively about their practices’ growth “need to always adapt their marketing strategy to how information is being absorbed by consumers,” said Michelle Wong of Nifty Advisor
“RIAs have a problem embracing marketing as a core function of their ongoing operations,” Wong said in an email. “Effective marketing and communication is required to capture leads and nurture clients regardless of the business stage you're in. It is even more vital in an industry like ours where relationships are foundational to the success of small businesses.”
Success stories
Advisor Anh Tran of Orange, California-based SageMint
“I did not like anything that any of them could bring to the table for me because it looked so similar to what everyone else was doing,” she said. “They were able to help me create a brand that was something I had not seen before.”
In general, advisors should further upset the status quo by “just being more aware of your target markets,” particularly among underrepresented groups of people who may be under the false impression that planning is only “for rich, white people,” Tran added. Wealth managers are slowly but surely hearing that message and
The Raymond James Black Financial Advisors Network’s annual conference in June drew around 120 advisors and other employees alongside Barrett and members like Tampa, Florida-based
Visibility in marketing materials “plays a huge role” in the network’s efforts, York Adrien said.
“You connect with things that are representative of you, your values and your community,” she said. “That has been a more recent focus for the firm, and we've been doing a lot of work to ensure that is happening.”
Even beyond traditional wealth managers to a firm like AssetMark, which is best known as a turnkey asset management program and outsourced investment tech provider, the industry is pitching its marketing services to advisors. The firm’s business consulting team and Marketing Advantage units help practices with “client-facing and compliance-friendly content,” websites and other services, Director of Advisor Marketing Kristi Toland said in an email.
“RIAs need to adopt a CEO mentality when thinking about their marketing,” she said. “They are a business owner, and a defined marketing plan is an integral part of a business plan. Marketing should have a dedicated focus and an allotted budget (which should be in the 3-5% range for some RIAs but could reach up to 10-15% of the budget for larger firms that are very focused on marketing), with targeted strategies that are specifically focused on their overall goals.”
At FiComm, the company aids advisors in building “repeatable digital marketing engines” out of their practices, according to Carpenter. The phrase may sound intimidating, but Carpenter said it simply revolves around “creating really great content” that is specific to a practice and goes beyond lectures about stock prices or “predictable planning topics” like year-end required minimum distributions or saving for college. As examples of advisors who have mastered this art, she cited Matthew Grishman and Jim Gebhardt’s Financial Sobriety
“I see advisory firms who are really leading the charge,” Carpenter said. “I do believe that prospects and clients really expect advisors to be accessible across all channels. They're going to search for their advisors online before they meet with them.”
Key takeaways
The main thing for advisors to remember is that their needs in this area aren’t going anywhere.
“What I’ve accepted when it comes to marketing is you never stop doing it,” advisor Zaneilia Harris of Upper Marlboro, Maryland-based Harris & Harris Wealth
Advisors struggling to try to figure out their plans shouldn’t expect to change their practice’s entire marketing approach overnight, according to Wong of Nifty Advisor.
“Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all model,” she said. “Advisors should adapt their marketing plan to their current business size based on their capacity and resources available. Refrain from focusing only on the short-term, but analyze the long-term impact of your strategy and build the workflows needed to carry out a successful marketing plan.”
