Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
What is the purpose of a target market? I find the concept limiting. We work well with young professionals in their 40s and retirees in their 70s. We have clients that are couples, families and successful singles. I am hesitant to limit our approach to a certain group. It seems that it locks us in and doesn’t allow for flexibility.
Dan D., Southeast
Dear Dan,
Thank you for giving voice to something that many business owners, and especially financial advisors, deal with when it comes to marketing. What you do – wealth planning or investment advice – is applicable to most people who meet your minimums, right? So why limit your opportunities and options?
The importance of target marketing lies in five key factors.
- It makes it easier to write marketing copy. Your language and approach can speak to a specific audience and its needs. The more a prospect thinks you “know” them, the more open he or she might be to hear the message.
- It identifies your ideal client and helps prospects to self-select. I understand what you are saying about being limiting, but the fact is that not everyone is a good prospect for any one firm. The clearer you are, the clearer a prospect can be.
- It helps with storytelling. When you know particulars about any group of people, you can be more descriptive in addressing that group’s needs. Doctors in private practice have needs that differ from executives with significant stock options. Grandparents with disabled grandchildren have needs that differ greatly from single divorced wealthy women with no kids. People want to feel known. The more you can talk their talk, the more they think you know them.
- You can design products and repeatable processes. If you know, for example, that employees at a certain firm all struggle with one aspect of their retirement offerings, you can develop a flyer, one-pager or landing page around their needs that pitches your solution.
- It allows you to broaden. Even though you are targeted in approach, you can extend what you do and how you do it to other client groups that are semi-related. Everyone has to make financial decisions, everyone (likely) hopes to retire, everyone thinks about the future, etc. The secret is that even though many firms target certain markets publicly, they still work with whomever they choose behind the scenes. Target marketing helps with focus and messaging.
Dear Bev,
We are looking for new ways to communicate with clients. We send a newsletter once a month and do periodic emails if we think there is something to say. What other things are advisors doing now to communicate with their client base?
Bob S, Boston
Dear Bob,
If you are relying solely on email and newsletters (probably sent via email), you are missing out on a number of communication and connection opportunities.
One good reason to use multiple strategies to reach clients and communicate is that adults learn differently from one another. Some are auditory, some kinesthetic, etc. If you want to get someone’s attention, you have to use a variety of methods, because you never know what will connect best. Also, offering a menu of options can be a great way to engage and show clients you are truly interested in them.
For quick updates, in today’s age, many people like to receive information via text. I suggest avoiding anything that could be a compliance issue, but you could use texting to confirm meetings or to ask about a recent trip a client has taken.
Some people respond well to a phone call, so maybe create a rotation list and check in with clients via phone once per quarter or twice per year. Proactively call to see how they are doing.
I am a fan of using video, be it video snippets on your website, videos sent via email or video calls with clients via Skype. Seeing and hearing you can be more compelling than just reading what you’ve written.
Audio that can be downloaded on an MP3 player can work too. Record some insights or updates and make it available on your website or via email.
Some people actually like to receive hard-copy mail. While it is more expensive, you could have a list of clients for whom this is a preferable approach.
Conference calls, webinars and GoToMeetings, in which you can share a computer screen with others, are all possibilities too.
Finally, there is no replacement for good ’ol face-to-face meetings where you can sit down with clients and have a chat.
Feel free to mix it up, and then ask clients what works best for their needs.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995; in 2008 she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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