So what does it take to build a successful advisory business? More leads? A larger marketing budget? Fact is these two items would probably not help much. Unlike most consulting jobs, financial advisors need referrals, high retention, and repeat business year after year. The best way to achieve this is through relationship marketing, which is a strategy designed to foster customer loyalty, interaction and long-term engagement. Relationship marketing is designed to develop strong connections with customers by providing them with information directly suited to their needs and interests, and by promoting open communication. This approach often results in increased word-of-mouth activity, repeat business and a willingness on the customer’s part to provide information to the organization.
Examples would include:- Airlines - frequent flyer perks, through which passengers build entitlements for upgrades, preferential rates and services.
- Loyalty cards - offered by supermarkets and departmental stores, to reward customer’s commitment and loyalty.
- Corporate credit cards - offered by car rental companies and international chains of hotels.
- Customer loyalty clubs - set up and managed by a wide array of organizations, in consumer and other marketing areas.
Getting Started:
In order to provide relationship marketing, one has to recognize that different types of customers have different expectations. This must be reflected in the relationship building process. Therefore, in order to successfully introduce and successfully sustain a relationship marketing program, an advisor must have a different outlook towards its customers and reflect the same in marketing strategies formulated and implemented. You can also start by identifying your key customers, study the needs and/or expectations of both parties (company and customer), build the relationship marketing process as an integral process of the as an integral part of the your personal marketing strategy, and build your business by developing relationships with the identified customers by focusing on small winning situations.
Tips
- Stay on the cutting edge: Understand the power of social media.* Have active profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc… and attain additional knowledge on how to master these cutting edge marketing techniques.
- Integrate customer feedback: Allows you to improve your relationships by keeping up to date on how your clients feel they are being serviced.
- Embrace high-tech, but always maintain high-touch: Continue to reach out to clients, prospects, and industry leaders.
* Starting fall 2012 Dalton Education will begin offering certified social media education through it’s coalition of universities For more information, please give us a call at (877) 426-2373 or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.