6 New Marketing Tips for Growing Financial Advisors

"Our performance data shows clearly that firms which target a specific niche — whether geographic or based on the ideal client type — get so much more out of their marketing spend," Waltrich says. "A tighter focus almost always results in better outcomes in terms of definable and measurable marketing goals."

4. Emphasize your team and resources.

While some financial advisors may have operated as true solo practitioners in the past, Waltrich says, the reality in 2023 is that the vast majority of advisors are working with at least a small team behind them, and this should be made clear in the marketing effort.

"I don't mean to say that a practice led by a single advisor can't serve clients well," Waltrich says, "but I do think that showing the team behind the lead advisor is important. I will use myself as an example. Are you going to have a lot of confidence in hiring a marketing agency that doesn't have a few specialists on board? Probably not."

In today's marketplace, Waltrich says, clients want holistic services, and they know they are going to need access to different specialists to serve their evolving needs throughout their lifetime. From tax mitigation to portfolio management, there is just so much going into the planning process.

"Even if you don't have all these people on board as W-2 employees, that's not the point," Waltrich says. "Sending the right message is about showing the extended network of resources that you have available to tap into as needed. Even if you are truly running that one-person shop, you likely have partners or turnkey asset management programs that you can point to. These are the partnership you need to showcase."

5. Speak to consumers like people — not students.

"One of the best things that I see today from a marketing perspective is that firms are speaking to consumers like people," Waltrich says. "There is now a more casual tone going into financial services marketing that has not been there traditionally."

Previously, firms put a premium on demonstrating some kind of complex expertise or communicating some type of tactical advantage in their marketing materials.

"With a traditional advertisement, a typical consumer probably had to go ask someone they knew in the industry about what the firm in question actually does," Waltrich says. "You also had to pull out your magnifying glass to read the fine print at the bottom of the advertisement. Today, these things are changing."

Increasingly, advisors and product creators are trying to speak to people more conversationally and trying to relate to consumers.

"I think this is a winning formula," Waltrich says. "Effective marketing is no longer about trying to prove you are just smarter than everyone else."

6. Market yourself as a solver of complex problems.

According to Waltrich, effective marketing of financial advisory services strikes a fine balance between emphasizing the complexity of the job without making people feel like they are being talked down to.

"The message cannot just be that this firm is your new best friend and they will take care of everything for you with ease," Waltrich warns. "I believe the right message underscores that financial planning is a complex topic, but one with which you can get the right help."

Waltrich says firms today still tend to fall on one side or the other of this spectrum, with marketing messaging that is either too focused on complexity or too focused on simplification.

"As we enter a world in which trust and fiduciary-level service is highly prized, you can't just skirt around the complexity," Waltrich says. "You can't make things seem so simple that the end client doesn't realize everything that goes into your work — otherwise they won't value the work you do."