Is your marketing all about your firm? It shouldn’t be. We’ve noticed lately that marketing isn’t focused on the target audience, but rather on the firm creating it. It’s critical for marketing efforts to resonate deeply with financial advisors and investors, addressing their specific needs and concerns rather than merely showcasing the alts sponsor. Read on to learn how to get the “you” into your marketing to better engage with your audience.
Identifying the Shift in Marketing Perspective
Traditionally, marketing has often heavily emphasized the “we” — what our company does, our methods, and our perspectives. This approach, however, often overlooks the most critical component of effective marketing: the client or prospective client. Financial advisors and investors frequently encounter this self-focused messaging and are left wondering, “What’s in it for me?”
The essence of impactful marketing lies not in self-promotion but in understanding and articulating how your firm’s investment offerings can help solve advisor and investor problems. How does your firm help them achieve better investment outcomes or address a fear or anxiety? The answers to these questions should be at the forefront of your marketing strategy.
Evaluating Your Current Marketing Efforts
One practical method to assess the client-centricity of your marketing content is to conduct a simple internal survey of your materials. Scrutinize the language used in your communications:
- Count how often you use “we” versus “you.”
- Note how many times you mention benefits that directly affect your client.
- Reflect on whether these benefits are clear and compelling.
While it’s necessary to include information about your firm, the key is to integrate this information with strong, client-focused benefit statements. These statements should clearly communicate the value you bring to financial advisors and investors, helping them understand exactly what they gain by working with you.
How to Refocus Your Marketing to be More Client-Centric
For alternative investment firms looking to make their marketing more client-centric, here are some actionable steps:
- Review and Revise: Start with an audit of your current marketing materials. Identify every instance of “we” and “our” and see if you can reframe these to highlight client benefits.
- Engage with Your Audience: Implement mechanisms to gather feedback from your current clients about what they value most in your offerings. Use this data to tailor your marketing messages.
- Educate Rather Than Sell: Shift the focus from selling products to educating your audience about how they can solve problems or improve their investment strategies with your firm’s help.
- Utilize Case Studies and Testimonials: These are powerful tools that showcase real-life examples of how your firm has benefited other advisors and investors.
- Consistent Brand Messaging: Ensure that all marketing materials and communications consistently highlight how your services benefit the client, reinforcing your firm’s value proposition.
The shift in marketing strategy from a company-centric to a client-centric approach is not just beneficial but necessary for alternative investment firms aiming to succeed in a highly dynamic market. By focusing on how your services fulfill the specific needs of financial advisors and investors, your marketing efforts can become more effective and impactful.
If refining your marketing approach seems daunting, consider partnering with specialists like Marketing Intent.
With our guidance, you can transform your marketing materials to resonate better with your target audience, ultimately leading to enhanced advisor and investor engagement and better support of your firm’s capital-raising efforts.
