In Practice October 12, 2011

Advisers See Word of Mouth Marketing as Most Effective

Many financial advisers are not using the most efficient marketing tactics, according to a survey from ByAllAccounts, Inc., an account aggregation service firm. 
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More than 42% of advisers rely on word of mouth and referrals for new business, while only 12% of respondents have a dedicated marketing team or staff member.

“It’s not surprising to see so many advisers relying on referrals,” said Cynthia Stephens, ByAllAccounts vice president of marketing. “The real question is whether they are proactive around that strategy or simply waiting for it to happen. Overall, most advisers rated the effectiveness of their marketing efforts as low.”

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More than 62% of the 200 advisers surveyed utilize their Web sites for marketing. Other commonly used marketing techniques are:

  • seminars/events (56.1%)
  • email (51.4%)
  • newsletters (47.4%)
  • direct mail (30.1%).

In terms of effectiveness, however, referrals ranked #1, followed by seminars/events, and Web sites as #2 and #3 respectively. In fact, when rating Web sites for effectiveness in new client acquisition, more than 73% rated it either neutral, somewhat ineffective, or not effective at all – and 11.2% of respondents do not even have a site.

The survey also addressed the use of marketing metrics and technology. Fifty-four percent do not track visitors to their Web sites and 47% have not gone through a search engine optimization (SEO) process. Only 7.4% of respondents are currently using marketing automation technology, but those who do utilize it rated the effectiveness of their marketing much higher than those not using marketing automation (75% versus 48%), despite having a slightly smaller marketing budget.

Based on the results of the survey, Stephens offers the following suggestions to advisers who are looking for ways to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts:

  • Take advantage of free tools like Google analytics to track Web site traffic, improve site performance and better understand your prospects.
  • Decide if you want help from an outsourcer. If you are going to do it yourself create a marketing plan.
  • If you plan to do marketing in house investigate marketing automation solutions and other technologies to see what's right for your firm.

"While there are no magic bullets," added Stephens, "a systematic approach can make an enormous difference."

Deals & People October 11, 2011

BofA Adding Advisers to Northwest Region

Bank of America is hiring more than 80 Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisors (FSAs) across the metro Northwest region, including San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and Las Vegas. 
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BofA reports that this will increase the total number of FSAs in the Northwest region to nearly 120. The FSAs will provide financial solutions and guidance to help customers manage their banking and investment needs. The hiring is part of Bank of America’s plan to nearly double the number of Financial Solutions Advisors nationally, to more than 1,000 by the end of 2011 (see “Bank of America Hiring More Than 500 Advisers”).   

Preferred customers – those with investable assets of $50,000 to $250,000 – are among the fastest-growing segments in the financial services industry, according to the company. Bank of America does business with more than 8 million Preferred customers. According to a Merrill Edge Report, some of the top priorities for Preferred customers include wanting a better retirement than their parents (85%), having access to both banking and investing solutions (73%), and maintaining the ability to track and manage their money (72%).   

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“Preferred customers have a unique set of financial needs that often go beyond the typical retail offering,” said Linda Shelby, West Coast Division executive. “By placing more Merrill Edge FSAs in banking centers throughout the country, we are better equipped to serve our Preferred customers. They have the benefit of personal attention from a specialist who can recommend solutions tailored to meet their specific financial needs.”   

Most recently, BofA hired nearly 200 advisers to work in New Jersey (see “BofA Hires 180 Advisers in N.J.”).   

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