The Three Pronged Marketing Plan

It is a common misconception that marketing plans have to be complicated and expensive. But the fact is you can see results just by focusing your marketing and executing it consistently. This is possible by concentrating on a three pronged approach: client referrals, business partner referrals, and general marketing.

In a previous post, I discussed the importance of defining your target market in order to focus your efforts. So now that you figured out who you are going to target, how are you going to reach those people? It’s easy to start planning public seminars and direct mailings, but is that going to be the most effective use of your resources? To answer that question, let’s take a look at what the most successful firms are doing.

Each year, Schwab Institutional conducts a benchmarking study focused on RIA growth trends. The 2007 study found that, on average, growth leaders acquired 50% of new clients from client referrals, 36% from business partner referrals and 14% from other methods (e.g. salesperson, PR, radio, articles, seminars, events, mailing, and advertising). So before you run out and spend all of your resources on marketing to the general public, think about what you are doing to generate referrals from your clients and business partners.

Let’s assume you have decided to divide your marketing resources equally among the three areas: client referrals, business partner referrals, and general marketing. What are some strategies you can implement as part of your marketing plan? While there are a million options when it comes to marketing, here is a simple plan which could achieve your objectives.

Client Referrals
Asking for referrals from clients can be intimidating; however, there are ways to ask for referrals without putting your client on the spot. One great way to achieve this is holding a quarterly event for your “A clients.” This can range from an educational luncheon to a wine tasting event. Only choose those clients whom you wish to duplicate and encourage them to bring their friends. For those clients who socialize in circles you are interested in penetrating, offer to sponsor an event for that client. For example, if you have a client who is retiring from a large corporation with employees whom you wish to work with, offer to throw that client a retirement luncheon. There are sure to be other employees there who will be impressed with an advisor who cares enough about his or her client to throw a retirement party.

Business Partner Referrals
If you are looking to meet new business partners, the best way to achieve this is through networking. Join local associations or attend business networking events around town where you can meet CPAs and attorneys. Once you have established relationships, provide your business partners with marketing materials explaining your expertise and ideal client. Make it easy for them to identify who they should refer to you. If you are still finding that your business partners aren’t referring business to you, offer to sponsor a joint workshop where you and your business partner speak on a timely subject for your combined clients. Not only does this get you in front of your business partner’s clients, but it gives your partner access to your clients as well, initiating a lasting referral relationship.

Other Marketing Campaigns
To complement your referral marketing programs, you should consider campaigns that can be used for multiple purposes. For example, try writing a monthly article in a community or industry newspaper that targets your ideal client. You can use reprints of the article for a direct mail piece or as marketing collateral to give to prospects. You can also reuse the article in your client newsletter, add it to your website or post it to your blog. By writing just one article, you can stretch it to four or five uses.

As you can see, a marketing plan doesn’t need to be complicated. Just choose two or three campaigns for each of the three strategies and you have developed a well rounded marketing campaign that is focused on reaching your target audience.

 

Check back here next Monday for a new marketing tip or visit www.kristenluke.com for more information.