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Email Websites

5 Ways to Improve CTAs

Have your eyes ever failed you? You can’t find a pen that’s in your hand, a phone that’s on your desk, or for the sunglasses sitting in your car console. That’s what it feels like when you’re on a web page or reading an email and can’t see where to take action – like your eyes are failing you. Read on to learn how to make sure you’re using clear calls to action (CTAs) to engage wealth advisors and investors.

#1 – Include Multiple CTA Buttons

This is a point of debate among marketers, but we’re proponents for including more than one CTA in our marketing. Why? All advisors and investors are not in the same place on their journey to becoming an investor in your funds. Think about where your readers may be in their journey and guide them to the next logical step or information they need. For example on a website, direct them to information about the “why” behind your asset class AND to your property portfolio. We also have found it effective to use the same CTA multiple times. As advisors read through your content, they don’t want to scroll back up to take action. Help them out by repeating the CTA button to register for your webinar, request more information or whatever you want them to do. Be generous with your CTA buttons/links – make them visible.

#2 – Present a Problem and Provide a Solution

When advisors are reading about your firm, and you’ve strategically brought up the problem they are facing, also provide the solution. For example, if you’re addressing the need to offer investors a strategy that is resilient to inflation, add a CTA to “Learn how FUND is resilient to inflation.”

#3 – Offer Value

Advisors love educational information – not just on your offering, but on your asset class, the market and trends. Use accessing value-add and thought leadership content as a CTA. Make sure this content is high-quality and timely…and worth an advisor’s attention. Maybe you create a report on market trends, explain the demand drivers of your asset class or explain something unique about your investment structure. You could offer this content in a webinar as well, with your CTA as registering for the event. Make it a lead generator by requiring a form to access written content.

#4 – Personalize the CTA

Isn’t it great to see your name in emails? It not only makes the email more personal, it also garners attention as we see our name in writing. When using email automation systems, it’s easy to add a line in like this: “NAME, click here to register now,” or “Learn more here, NAME.” People are going to click.

#5 – Make The CTA Interactive

The last tip on improving your CTA is to make them interactive. You can ask questions or have people take a quiz. Make it fun and engaging. And collect data on the engagements and how your CTAs are performing so you continually improve them. With today’s technology, you can often grab an advisor’s information from their interaction – an automatic lead that you can follow up with.

There are so many options out there to improve your CTAs, and to design them in a way that’s eye grabbing and brings you to the forefront in engaging advisors over your competitors. If you would like to discuss how we can help improve your CTAs, reach out to us.

About Marketing Intent

We are a sales-focused marketing group specializing in alternative investments with a track record in marketing that helps drive sales. We live by the mantra, “nothing happens until something is sold.” Our marketing serves as the backbone of sales. Our work makes your prospects and clients take notice, ask questions and listen to your story. Learn how we can help create marketing that helps raise capital.

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Websites

Make Your Website Great

Websites are a journey.

When somebody visits your website, they should be taken along a path. Even though they may not necessarily know they’re on a path, you need to guide them.

Poor Functionality Interrupts the Journey

Recently, as I was searching for some clothes online for a weeklong trip, I thought of asset manager websites. I searched online at a cute boutique’s website and found some items I wanted to buy. However, the purchasing process was horrific. The functionality was outdated and time consuming. So, I just tapped out. I figured I could find the items elsewhere. I Googled the clothes and ended up spending longer on this than if I had just bought the clothes on the boutique’s website. However, I couldn’t take how annoying the boutique’s buying process and functionality was.

While advisors aren’t making a direct purchase on your website, this is exactly how you’ll make them feel if your website is clunky and cumbersome to navigate or doesn’t provide enough information to engage them. They will “tap out” and discard your firm from consideration for an investment allocation for their clients.

Clear and Concise Websites

Sometimes asset managers are too content sparse on their websites. Their homepage has little wording – it looks like a temporary page. It appears a bit boring so advisors don’t engage.

Or, there is too much information or jargon language that doesn’t immediately indicate what they do, what they invest in and what their offering is. Advisors aren’t going to spend the time to stick with this and sort through it to find the information they need.

Think about your homepage as an advertisement. You need to give enough information to gain interest, but don’t have to include detailed information on what you do, your firm and your offering here. Your goal is to tease the content, so advisors click through to additional pages to learn more. Tease your track record, your property portfolio, demand drivers and get advisors further into your site.

The Journey is The Key

After you engage advisors on your homepage, continue to lead them through your site.

Why should they invest client assets with your firm?

Why should they trust you?

Why is your asset class superior?

Tell them what to do next, where to go on the site, how to learn more. What do you want them to do next? Do you want them to contact you for more information? Do you want them to inquire about what types of properties and or investments you have to offer? Make it clear. We need to tell people what to do or else they won’t take action.

Lead them through the answers to their questions. The alts industry continues to grow, so advisors will move on from your site if you’re not answering their questions and developing trust. Build their confidence so they follow your call to action, follow the journey and ultimately engage with your sales team.

If you need help making your website clear, concise and with a clear journey for advisors – and keeping it out of the “not great” category – contact us today.

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Websites

3 Ways to Improve Your Website

Does your website provide a compelling journey for financial advisors, or is it a confusing maze of information? If you haven’t positioned your website as the start of your client journey, you’re missing out on a key engagement tool.

Below we’ll discuss three ways to improve your website and engage financial advisors to a greater level.

First, we’ll talk about how to design your website for financial advisors. Second, we’ll cover the information that will help them stay on your site longer. And third, we’ll discuss what you want them to do next.

Customizing Your Website

Let’s talk about customizing your website to financial advisors. In our industry, there are a lot of facets of business that commercial real estate or asset managers are involved in. There are different types of businesses, lines of business and investment strategies and sometimes we try to do a one size fits all approach to websites.

That can end up being too much information for financial advisors. So, it’s important to develop a specific path you envision advisors going down or develop a site that is specific to advisors.

Website Stickiness

How do you keep advisors on your website for longer? As you’re thinking about developing a site, think about what advisors want to know, their frequently asked questions and how to engage them. It’s a balance of giving them the information they need without providing too much information. Think about how to keep them engaged and capturing more of their time, so they go further and further into your content.

Tell Them What to Do Next

Finally, tell the advisors what you want them to do next. Do you want them to contact you for more information or to set up a meeting with your sales team? Make sure your calls to action are clear on your site.

We Can Help Improve Your Website

If you need help improving your website to engage financial advisors, please reach out to us and we’d be happy to help.

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Websites

Three Reasons Why a Low Quality Website Hurts Your Business

Have you ever come across a company and visited their website only to be shocked by what you found?  Maybe you came across jargon, outdated information, or even typos. This is why it’s so important to make sure your website is of high quality.

In this article, we’ll cover three reasons a low-quality website hurts your business: credibility and trust, your innovation impression, and the customer experience.

Credibility and Trust

Let’s dig into credibility and trust. When someone visits your website and they find typos or outdated information or they don’t understand what you’re presenting, they get a negative impression. They may be thinking – is that how this person/company operates? Do they not tie up loose ends? Do they not pay attention to details? Are they a poor communicator?

That isn’t the impression you want to leave with prospective or current clients. Think about what you’re communicating when your website isn’t current, clear and accurate.

Innovation

The second reason to have a high-quality website is your innovation impression. A high-quality website design immediately communicates innovation and creativity – whereas a poorly designed site communicates a lack thereof.

The “canned” websites that have become commonplace in the financial services industry also fall into the low innovation camp, using the same basic design as other firms and sometimes even the same or similar content.

You may be thinking – “Yeah, yeah, I know I’m not creative.” And a lot of people in the financial services industry do lean toward the analytical side, but we can still communicate and market in creative and innovative ways. This is particularly important for financial advisors who want to attract younger clients. They will be looking for the latest in website, technology and communication trends and how you’re appealing to them digitally.

The Customer Experience

Now let’s talk about the customer experience and what you’re actually asking someone to do when they come to your site. If they are visiting your site to find a particular piece of information about you or answer a question- and they have to dig around your site without success – you’ve created a negative impression and caused frustration.

If that visitor is a prospect, they are probably not going to pursue contacting you or working with you. You made it too hard for them and they will feel like you don’t have their interests/needs top of mind. It sounds basic, but people’s attention spans are limited when it comes to vetting a company or a person they are considering working with. They will move on very quickly if they don’t have a positive experience.

To recap, we’ve discussed:

  • The importance of a high-quality website
  • The damage a low-quality site can do to your credibility and trust
  • Your innovation impression
  • The customer experience for prospects and clients

Contact Us for Marketing Help

If you need any help improving your website, contact Marketing Intent. We’d be happy to help you stand out among your competitors.

Categories
Websites

5 Ways to Make Your Website Advisor & Investor Friendly

What’s one of the first things you do when you’re considering giving a company your business? You check out their online presence, often starting with their website.

Financial advisors and investors are no different. They analyze the information you provide and the impression your website makes to form an opinion on your integrity, your experience and if they can trust you with their money and to deliver your stated investment objectives.

Like much of marketing in the financial services, alternative investments and commercial real estate space, it doesn’t require a long and costly marketing effort to improve your firm’s website to better speak to your target audience.

Start by focusing on these key areas:

  1. Explain what you do. Use straight-forward, jargon-free language so advisors and investors understand quickly and don’t have to Google investment topics to boil it down for themselves.
  2. Tell the story of your asset class/product. What everyday trend, product or lifestyle is at the foundation of your asset class or product? Focus on it for a memorable investment thesis.
  3. Describe the problems you solve for advisors and investors. Again, simple language is best. And describe the “how” of your solutions to differentiate from your competitors.
  4. Outline your track record. Whether your firm has a long history or you have a new fund, make sure your track record includes key points of experience and accomplishments from across the management team.
  5. Feature your management team. Humanize your brand by providing bios and photos of key members of your management team. A large part of why advisors and investors choose an investment and asset manager is due to its people.

Need help repositioning your website in a timely and cost-efficient way?

Contact us to set up a time to chat about how we can help.