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This is part nine of a ten part series on marketing an RIA. Read A Marketing Guide for RIAs for a full overview. To view the installments in this series, select “RIA Marketing Guide” in the left margin.
The purpose of marketing is to generate new prospects which hopefully, through the sales process, become clients. As you develop your marketing plan, you will rely on a variety of channels and strategies to generate these new prospects.
Generating leads, however, is just one part of the marketing process. Usually prospects aren’t in a situation where they think they need your services. If they do need your services, they may not know enough about you to trust you to solve their problems. Whatever the reason a prospect is not ready to become a client, you will need to have a drip marketing system in place to keep your name top-of-mind so that the prospect chooses your firm when the time is right.
According to the National Sales Executive Association, 80% of sales are made on the 5th through 12th contact with a prospect. If you meet a prospect only once, the likelihood that he or she will become a client is very slim. Therefore, it makes sense to reach out to a prospect 12 times in a one-year period in order to increase the likelihood of converting him or her to a client.
In other words, you need a drip marketing campaign.
Drip marketing is a communication strategy that sends, or “drips,” a set of messages to prospects over a period of time. Ideally you should “drip” to your prospect monthly. Below are five media you can utilize to achieve this goal. Choose the ones that best fit your prospects and your business and integrate them into your marketing plan.
- Newsletter – If you are sending a monthly or quarterly client newsletter, add your prospects to the mailing list. This is a simple way to stay in contact with your prospects without creating additional work for you or your staff.
- Automated Emails – Most email marketing providers such as MailChimp provide automated email functionality. This allows you to create a set of pre-written emails that are automatically distributed in a designated sequence determined by the date the prospect is added to the email list. Consider creating a series of emails such as “Top 10 Tips for Retirement” with one tip each month.
- Event Invitations – If you host public workshops or client events, add your prospects to the invitation list. You never know which topic or event will pique their interest. Even if your prospect doesn’t attend, you are still keeping your name top-of-mind through the invitation.
- Direct Mail – If your prospects are generally older or less technologically sophisticated, you may want to implement a direct mail drip campaign. You can vary the style of the pieces you send between post cards, letters and greeting cards to increase the open rate. Consider a series of pieces such as the “Top 10 Tips for Retirement” as suggested above. Direct mail is more effective if there is a clear call to action, so make sure you include a message describing what you want the prospect to do (i.e. “Call to book your free retirement review consultation”).
- Social Media – If many of your prospects are engaged in social media, utilize this medium for your drip campaign. Whether you are connecting through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or other social networking sites, posting content on your profile on a regular basis (daily or weekly) allows you to consistently “drip” to your prospects.
Implementing a drip marketing campaign will increase the success of your other marketing campaigns. Even if you rely on just one strategy, such as referrals, for generating prospects, you must implement a drip marketing campaign to stay top-of-mind. Otherwise, you are letting your other efforts go to waste.
Kristen Luke is the Principal of Wealth Management Marketing, a firm dedicated to providing marketing strategies and support for Registered Investment Advisory firms. Kristen works with individual advisors and firms to develop effective marketing plans and provides the back office support required to implement the strategies. For more information, visit www.wealthmanagementmarketing.net.
