Your IndustryJan 8 2020

Should you rethink your marketing?

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I am not a fan of changing things based on the time of year, more because you have reached a point where you need or want to.

But having said that, there is plenty you can look to change or address in your business now so you can move forwards with more clients or by offering better service to your existing clients, and the start of 2020 is a good time to do it.

There are a number of things happening this year that offer good triggers to engage with clients and to entice new ones; you just need to make sure you are working towards it in the right way.

There is plenty you can look to change or address in your business

So, here are five tips to help you get your 2020 marketing right:

1. Understand your clients – you may think you already do – after all, they are your clients.

But do you know what they are really interested in? For example, would some now be interested in ethical investing even though when you first met them they were not?

Or are they at a point in life where they might be interested in additional financial services, such as a pension review, income protection cover, or perhaps even key person cover if they have a business? If you do not know, then find out.

Regularly spending time helping your existing clients will go a very long way to boosting your business. If you do not have time to do this yourself, consider employing someone to work through this information for you, just make sure they know what you plan to do with it so they categorise it properly for you.

2. Understand your offering – again, this is simple, right? You have been doing this for years, so if you do not know what you can do for clients, then who does? Well, you might be right, but it never hurts to spend time working out how clients actually perceive you.

Look through your client communications, your key facts documents, marketing material, brochures or emails and see how clear and crisp your messaging is.

Ask for client feedback or get someone independent to read it for you and ask them to be honest about their feedback.

You may be surprised by what you learn.

3. Embrace constructive criticism.

We all know how annoying it can be when people harp on about something you have done that they do not like and are simply being mean-spirited about it.

But when it comes to criticism that can help your business move forwards, then swallow that ego and listen, because sometimes other people do know better than you.

This is particularly important when you go through the process in point two.You must filter what is constructive and what is not, but do not be too quick to dismiss other points of view.

You will gain in the long run by listening, and even pushing yourself to do something you may not be entirely comfortable with.

4. Consider the external events that provide reasons to contact clients.

There are many of these this year, such as Brexit finally happening on January 31, then the planned end of the transition period on December 31 2020, the Tokyo Olympics, and the US presidential election.

Each of these can and will have an impact on investments in the relevant countries, and the currency for each country, both of which can provide opportunities or threats to portfolios exposed to them.

If you are getting in touch with clients at the right time to offer advice and information then you should get more business, and it takes less time than you might think.

To be effective, you need to put yourself in their position to understand their motivations to act, and talk to those in any communications.

5. Expand your marketing horizons.

If you do not spend time liaising with journalists on trade or even local papers, then make 2020 the year that you change that.

There are a number of things you need to be prepared to do, primarily answer queries in a short period of time. But there are ways you can make the process easier.

Most journalists will be grateful for you emailing your quotes, for example, as it means they can literally strip them into a piece.

The benefit to you is that you have time to craft the words you want to use and there is no fear of being misquoted, which is one of the main reasons IFAs are reluctant to speak to journalists.

This is a great way to raise your profile if you are prepared to have an opinion and to put some time into getting involved in the discussion.

Companies quoted in the press have a higher profile and are usually seen as more authoritative by potential clients.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of ways you can help your promotional efforts this year, but it provides a decent start for any advisers who think they could do a little better at it.

Happy New Year.

Alison Steed is a freelance journalist