Let’s say you post on social media; a prospect sees your post and clicks over to your website. They read your biography and a little about your firm. Then the prospect gets a text. POOF! — distracted.
A couple of weeks go by and the plan sponsor receives an email invitation to your webinar presentation. They like the topic, but are too busy to attend at the scheduled time. A few more days go by, and the plan sponsor meets with their CPA.
Now, let’s say that CPA received your newsletter, and printed it out so they could read it later. The prospect sees your logo and thinks, “Hmm, that looks familiar…” and asks, “What is that?” Then your center-of-influence CPA talks about your firm and writes a professional introduction email.
One might even question, “Why invest in marketing when new introductions come from COIs?” Because from the perspective of your office and without knowing the background information, it looks like the CPA made a straight-line introduction. Whereas your brand was already in front of that prospect many times before that, demonstrating value and building trust.
You know that old adage that you need to be in front of a prospect seven times before they become a client? Well, we believe with today’s hyper-exposed marketing sensory stimulation, it’s more like 20 times. Which is why marketing and promoting your retirement plan expertise is your opportunity to shine!
Can Your Plan Advisor Brand Be Everywhere?
Have you ever noticed that all of a sudden you see and hear a company’s name everywhere? Ten years — that’s how long it normally takes the average company to actually break out and become known. (Now, we’re not saying it’s going to take you 10 years; however, it is going to take commitment.)
This company’s brand awareness starts small; then through consistent, persistent marketing, it POPS! Now it just feels like they are everywhere. However, they have really been in front of you many, many times before, demonstrating value and building trust.
As you know, growing your retirement plan advisory business is a journey; with consistent tenacity, you have grown it to where you are today. Think of how long you’ve been in business and how long it’s taken you to get to where you are today.
Power of Dynamic Marketing
As you know, we don’t use the Yellow Pages anymore. The Internet is where all information is stored; however, there isn’t one single place for it all. In today’s dynamic, multimedia world, your plan sponsor prospects search for information in a variety of ways. They seek information on their phones, Google, newsletters, seminars, webinars, emails, blog articles, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, et al. That’s why it’s important to be where your prospects, clients and centers of influence are searching for information.
Here are some marketing ideas to consider when developing your brand. What does your firm use today?
- Newsletters
- Emails
- Cold calling
- Direct mail
- Blog articles
- Case studies
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Seminars
- Center-of-influence networking
- Infographics
- Social media posting
Authority is Your Opportunity
Most retirement plan advisors are not embracing the power of the Internet. So, there is a huge competitive advantage for you. By feeding the Google machine, you benefit by:
- Increasing your search engine optimization (higher list rankings on Google)
- Accurate social media searches
- Faster and more referrals
- Reduced sales cycle timeline
- Increased pipeline activity
You’ve been on this journey of growing your business for a while now, and your consistency has been key to getting you to where you are today. By optimizing your brand for various marketing channels, you are providing your prospects, clients and centers of influence with more opportunities to experience your brand, giving you the competitive edge of “being everywhere.” Now couple that with the lightning-fast search capabilities of today’s modern plan sponsor consumer and you have a multiplier effect that could skyrocket your business to stratospheric heights.
Happy Marketing!
Rebecca Hourihan, AIF, PPC, is the founder and CMO of 401(k) Marketing.
