Mark Snyder, ChFC, has a one-word answer for the advisor seeking marketing's Holy Grail. "Listen," says the perennial top producer, with 30-plus years of experience. "After meeting with a steady stream of similar clients, say recently retired seniors, themes or trends will emerge from the conversations. These trends are opportunities and should be acted upon. Another way to substantiate client claims is to watch the media."
What Snyder means is if he notices from client meetings and conversations that a particular issue is consistently emerging such as the future strength of Social Security or the high price of assisted-living facilities, he'll present solutions addressing these concerns. And once he's on to a promising solution, Snyder delivers an orchestrated marketing campaign that frequently encompasses local print ads, a custom newsletter, a media-relations campaign, client events and nearly anything else that will put him in front of clients and prospects as their solution provider.