The $3,000 Marketing Plan

It is more important than ever to market your business. The current economy presents you with a great opportunity to pick up new clients. The dilemma is that revenue is down, so you don’t have the money you need to spend on marketing to get these clients. Don’t despair! There are many low cost options that can still have great impact on your business. For all of you out there looking for an effective strategy that requires very little money, I have created the $3,000 Marketing Plan. Read on to see what you can do in 2009 to grow your business for as little as $250 per month.

Webinars – $1188
If you haven’t integrated webinars into your marketing plan yet, this is the year to do so! For as little as $99 per month using GoToWebinar.com, you can conduct as many webinars as you wish. This strategy can help you reach hundreds of people all at once. Start a monthly webinar series for your clients and prospects. Remind your clients to forward the invitation to their friends and family members. If you want to reach a larger audience, list your webinar on free calendar of events websites and social networking sites like LinkedIn. Conduct webinars for your Centers of Influence (COI) as well and consider inviting outside panelists to present with you. Invite COIs to become panelists for your client webinars and extend the invitation to their clients as well. You can further the reach of your webinars if you record the session and post them to your website or email them to people who couldn’t make the event. As you can see, a couple hours of work and $99 each month can make a big difference in your marketing.

Email Marketing – $180
If you are still using print newsletters, it’s time to upgrade to electronic newsletters. Not only are print newsletters not environmentally friendly, they are expensive. For as little as $15 per month, you can subscribe to Constant Contact to reach your clients, prospects and COIs via email. The monthly fee allows you to send marketing emails to your list (up to 500 contacts) an unlimited number of times. This means you can send as many weekly market wraps, quarterly newsletters, invitations to special events and client surveys as you want for only $180 per year. To best utilize email marketing, continue to build your list of clients, prospects and COIs and send relevant information pertinent to each group. There are dozens of different ways to reach out to people through email marketing. All you have to do is be creative!

Networking Events – $1200
Some people love networking events, other people despise them. To continually build your list of prospects and COIs, you should regularly be collecting cards at events and adding them to your email and webinar campaigns. For purposes of the $3,000 budget, I have estimated that you should attend two events per month at an average cost of $50 per event. If you can go to more, great! Just remember to collect contact information and get the people you meet on the two drip campaigns mentioned above.

In-Office Round Table Discussions – $300
Twice a year, hold an economic round table discussion in your office. Invite other advisors who have varying perspectives on the economy such as bankers, CPAs, attorneys, and commercial real estate agents to name a few. Invite a select group of people (prospects, clients, COIs) so that the event feels exclusive. The event should be held in the evening hours with wine and cheese served. For 25 people, you can get away with 12 bottles of wine at $8 apiece and a $50 cheese and fruit platter from your local grocery story deli. That comes out to approximately $150 for each event. Such a deal for such a great relationship building event!

Cards – $125
Good old fashioned note and greeting cards go a long way. At a minimum, you should be sending holiday cards to all of your clients. You should also send thank you cards to clients who provide you with a referral and greeting cards on special occasions. Include a hand written note and your gesture will go a long with your clients and your word of mouth marketing.

The marketing plan described gives you a lot of flexibility and most likely provides you with enough activity to last you the entire year. The total cost of this plan? $2,993! With this budget, here is what you can accomplish in just one year:

• 52 Weekly Market Wrap Emails
• 4 Quarterly Email Newsletters
• 12 Client/Prospect Webinars
• 12 COI Webinars
• 2 Round Table Discussions

The most successful firms I speak with tell me that it is in economic times like these that their business grows the most. Why? Because they focus on marketing when other firms do not. This year, make sure you don’t neglect your marketing. Take advantage of the low cost marketing options available to you and watch your business thrive!

 

Kristen Luke is the Principal of Wealth Management Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in marketing solutions for independent financial advisors. She works with advisors to develop and implement strategies like the ones mentioned in this article.  Feel free to contact her for advice on your marketing challenges.  Visit www.WealthManagementMarketing.net for more information.