Mountains and Cliffs

The customer acquisition process is straightforward; get found, capture a lead, nurture that lead into a legitimate prospect, convert the prospect into a client.   Unfortunately, straightforward as the process might be, it is anything but simple.  Success in the practice development area is dependent upon a solid pipeline of qualified investor leads.  Client referrals are certainly a good source for leads, but they aren’t likely to satisfy your firm’s lead capture needs.  In fact, according to the 2010 FA Insights Study of Advisory Firms; “Growth by Design” client referrals accounted for 48% of an advisor firm’s new client acquisitions.  While significant, that means that more than half of a firm’s new clients resulted from another aspect of their practice marketing mix.  Cold calling?  While a potential source of leads, between advisor discomfort with this approach, difficulties in acquiring solid prospect lists and the need to scrub those lists against the “National Do Not Call Registry” cold callings appeal to many firms is limited at best.  So what options are left to fuel a firm’s prospect pipeline?

Two words, Inbound Marketing.  Inbound marketing is the process of “getting found” by prospective clients.  Contrasted with outbound marketing tools which build brand awareness and consideration through traditional media, inbound marketing has many advantages. Importantly, it costs less than traditional marketing, provides better targeting, is more efficient on a cost-per-lead basis (sixty-percent lower according to HubSpot’s 2010 study; “The State of Inbound Marketing”) and it can be implemented in short order.  Key elements of an inbound marketing program include:

Search engine optimization or organic search (SEO)
Investor content (i.e. blogs, articles, video, podcasts)
Social media (i.e. LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube)

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Each of these elements work in tandem to increase the likelihood that prospective clients will find your firm when they are seeking information or investigating the potential for an advisor relationship.  Given that most consumers begin their search process on the web, utilizing a search engine such as Google, Yahaoo or Bing, the use of SEO can boost visibility for your firm’s website resulting in higher search engine rankings and therefore more traffic to the firm’s website.  The process begins with analysis of keyword usage to help determine consumer search patterns, competitive performance and the firm’s search performance.  This is followed by an audit of your website to evaluate the readiness of the site and to form the basis for adjustments to URL tags, page descriptions, H1 tags, anchor text and key word density. 

Relevant, quality content additions to the website and the firm’s blog, which can be also be leveraged as part of the firm’s social media marketing efforts, is a critical component to search and lead generation success.  This boosts a website’s indexable pages, enhances its relevancy in the eyes of the search engines and improves the overall user experience with the website.  The creation of advanced content offerings is required for use in the creation of landing pages and on-site lead capture forms as a means of enticing consumers to provide their name and contact information.  Offers such as free white papers, complimentary portfolio reviews and invitations to attend events or webinars are examples of advanced content that can be utilized by the firm.  Of note, studies have shown that firms that blog generate more leads and have a better conversion rate than firms that do not blog.

Social networking provides support in extending the message reach of the firm while building the firm’s perceived subject matter expertise by sharing access to the firm’s content.  In addition, it is an excellent mechanism to increase the number of inbound links to the firm’s website.  Search engines attribute a higher relevancy score to sites that have a large number of quality inbound links which results in better search engine rankings.

Given the rapidly changing nature of the search engines’ algorithms, changes in consumer search patterns and the need to constantly monitor results and tweak SEO tactics, it is best to consider outsourcing your inbound marketing efforts.  The cost is reasonable and the value yield in the form of a steady stream of quality leads will more than offset the investment.  If you would like to learn more about how inbound marketing can boost your lead generation efforts, contact Cliff Campeau, Partner at Evolutionize at cliffc@evolutionizemypractice.com to schedule your complimentary website “Search Engine Friendliness audit.