The top marketing strategy used by most advisors is still referrals, and that typically relies on the reputation of the principals. But that doesn’t create a business sustainable beyond the professional tenure of those principals.
Rather, a marketing strategy should go beyond the so-called “lifestyle practice” to focus on building a pipeline of prospects engaged with the firm on multiple levels.
Advisory firms have been trying to get marketing right since day one, with limited success. Most advisors don’t have the time or energy to commit to a comprehensive marketing plan when their main job is working with clients, even if they knew how to build out a plan beyond asking for referrals, hosting a radio show or speaking at a free retirement seminar.
That’s where Meghan McCartan, recently named the executive director of marketing at HighTower, and the head of the firm’s outsourced chief marketing officer initiative, comes in.
The “outsourced CMO” function is a relatively new corner of the advisory landscape, but one worth watching; McCartan’s effort is part of HighTower’s recent strategic shift, which includes a sharper focus on providing the firm’s advisors with the tools to pursue organic growth.
McCartan works with 15 offices across HighTower to build comprehensive strategic marketing plans and a tactical plan to help drive growth. She’ll take that plan through the execution phase, ensuring accountability and analyzing metrics and key performance indicators.
“There is an urgency in the industry as advisory businesses seek differentiators to drive organic growth, beyond the traditional reliance on referrals,” she says. “Advisors that can take advantage of well planned, metric-based strategic marketing efforts have the opportunity to take a giant step forward."
Whereas most advisors have no experience in marketing, McCartan’s resume is littered with it, having served as CMO at FiComm Partners, head of marketing and strategic relationships at FolioDynamix and director of marketing at MetLife Financial Services.
She’ll go into an advisor’s office and help them craft their story and create month-by-month strategic plans across different marketing goals they may have. She’ll help them create content via podcasts, videos and short articles. The strategy will also include trackable digital campaigns, via email and social media, that drives prospects to engage with the content and actively reach out for more information.
After a plan is executed, she’ll share metrics showing how the efforts worked out.
It’s about firm growth, yes, but also about turning practices into sustainable businesses. One office she’s working with is HighTower Bethesda, whose principals are looking to develop its next generation talent. The firm is developing a podcast, as well as a new video explaining how it’s different from other firms in the market.
“Putting these kinds of structures in place are what give the firm real value in terms of selling it at some point, in terms of turning it over to the next generation,” McCartan said.
