This year has been quite the whirlwind. With each passing month, we continue to see new measures, challenges and enhancements that consistently push us farther into a new world. It is inspiring to see how resilient people and businesses are and how quickly we have learned to adapt.
We are witnessing a profound impact on the environment, health care advancements, digital technology, consumer behavior and the retirement industry that will likely affect our lives for years to come. It has also been a reminder that in order to support clients and attract new prospects, our businesses need to adapt.
The New Table Stakes
Over the last few months, we’ve seen how important, powerful and effective it is to communicate digitally. From social media to email correspondence to video conferencing, we have all embraced technology to stay in front of our clients, prospects and centers of influence.
While plan sponsors have been using the internet to research service providers for more than a decade, social distancing has made the need for a strong digital presence abundantly clear. Is your digital first impression—your website and social media profile—strong enough to portray your professionalism and passion for the retirement plan industry? Or does it cause a plan sponsor prospect to “x” out of the site, questioning your ability to manage their plan securely and effectively?
Let’s look at a few proactive marketing ideas that you can use to enhance your digital presence, build stronger relationships and grow your firm.
Let’s Get Social
One huge marketing lesson that may be taken from our recent quarantine time is that social media is no longer optional; it is required.
A professional-looking LinkedIn profile goes a long way. Here are three ways to enhance your profile:
- Use an accurate profile picture (less than three years old)
- Add a banner image (show readers more about you)
- Link your companies in the experience section properly (no gray boxes)
However, looking professional is only the first step. For social media to work, you have to be social. This means publishing regular content, liking, commenting, sharing, and joining groups. LinkedIn’s article publishing platform is a very powerful tool to build your reputation as a thought leader.
Read more commentary by Rebecca Hourihan here.
Eye Catching Materials
With competition increasing, only the best will thrive. We live in a visual world. When new prospects are evaluating your firm, they want to be impressed, and great design is no longer “nice to have”—it’s a necessity.
According to Templafy’s “Corporate identity and branding trends: 2020’s forecast” study, consistent branding leads to a 23% increase in revenue.
Your marketing materials need to excite and impress. As new prospects browse your website, you want them to fill out your contact form, download your gated content, opt-in for your value-add automated email sequence, and voluntarily enter your pipeline funnel. Without capturing, optimizing and maximizing the prospect experience, they will get lost in the digital sea.
Drip Marketing
Our industry normally has a 14-month sales cycle. With over a year from prospect introduction to new client signing, it is important to build a pipeline of prospects that you contact regularly—and we’re not talking cold calls.
One way that retirement plan advisors can communicate consistently is through email marketing. With plan sponsor specific campaigns, you can build brand awareness and boost engagement. Automated email campaigns can increase your efficiency, creating more frequent touchpoints, keeping you top-of-mind with your prospects, and lead them farther down the sales funnel.
Send drip content that adds value. Use your touchpoints to educate your prospects on retirement plan topics that will make them better fiduciaries, demonstrate your knowledge, reinforce how you will service them, and solidify the fact that you are a 401(k) expert. Your communication will strengthen your relationship and remind them why they should hire you.
Thanks for reading and Happy Marketing!
Rebecca Hourihan, AIF, PPC, is the founder and CMO of 401(k) Marketing, which she founded to assist qualified experts operate a professional business with professional marketing materials and ongoing awareness campaigns. This column originally appeared in the Summer issue of NAPA Net the Magazine.
