Consultant Diana Cabrices has joined Wealthtender as chief evangelist in a move the company said Tuesday was designed to help financial advisors incorporate client testimonials into their marketing efforts to more easily get found online and convert more prospects into clients.
Wealthtender's website helps investors find advisors and also serves as a Securities and Exchange Commission-compliant online review platform.
Now that the SEC's new Marketing Rule is in effect, advisors "have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to join professionals in other industries harnessing the power of client testimonials to grow their business," according to Cabrices.
Despite its introduction last year, "I think most advisors are generally unclear about how to comply with the rule," Cabrices told ThinkAdvisor on Monday.
She pointed to data from early this year showing that 81% of consumers said online reviews were very important to them when making decisions about financial services. "So this is an industry-specific statistic that makes the case for online reviews for advisors [and] why they should be prioritizing them," she said.
"Advisors who sign up with Wealthtender gain the tools needed to succeed with testimonial marketing, build authority, and strengthen their online reputation," she said in the news release announcing her appointment.
"As a result, advisors in the Wealthtender community are positioned to lead the industry in attracting new clients throughout the historic transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to Millennials over the next decade," she added.
