Creating Your Brand and Building a Strong Online Presence – Part One

Marie Swift - Marketing Communications Coach

Creating an effective brand helps you to stand out in a competitive marketplace – and no company does that better than Apple. From the outset, Apple successfully separated itself from the status quo by celebrating its uniqueness. Think about the “I’m a Mac” campaign that differentiates the trendy Mac from the traditional PC. Conversely, the modus operandi for decades in the advisory business has been to emulate the marketing of the Wall Street establishment. Rather than work to differentiate their practices, many advisors have sought to blend in with the major brokerage firms, adopting the quintessential nautical imagery like the captain’s wheel, compass and lighthouse as their own. In today’s Occupy Wall Street world, however, it may not be wise for independent advisory firms or non-Wall Street entities to be seen as trying to emulate the big Wall Street establishments.

For independent financial planners – and Garrett Planning Network members, in particular – it’s important to break away from anachronistic marketing messages and create your own brand by telling your own unique story. So, where do you begin?

Take a Good Look: There’s Only One You

When you move from another firm – whether that “other firm” was a large wealth management firm, a corporation providing services, a manufacturing firm, or a teaching institution – to start your own firm, the list of marketing must-haves can seem overwhelming: a client-centered brochure, a compelling website, professional looking stationery and business cards with a fresh logo, a branded PowerPoint template, a personalized email signature, a newsletter template, and branded promotional gift items such as pens and coffee mugs as well as branded apparel such as polo shirts and windbreakers. Anxious to present a professional image, many Garrett members jump right in, picking corporate colors and launching a website. Others hold back just a bit, not wanting to really spend the time and money needed to establish a truly professional brand.

Whichever side of the fence you’re on – the jump-right-in-and-maybe-putting-the-cart-before-the-horse type or the I’m-too-frugal-for-my-own-good type – for these efforts to be truly effective, it’s important to first take a step back and identify your unique value proposition by describing your services and their benefits to your clients.

To create this necessary brand foundation, ask yourself: What do clients experience as a result of working with me? Challenge yourself. How can you stand out in the sea of sameness? What is your distinct personality? What makes you different from all the others? What statements can only you make in your promotions and marketing communications? What ideas, images and motivations can you use that will distinguish your firm from all others? Don’t write down clichés. Really focus. How are you and your services different from every other financial advisor on the planet?

Your answers to these questions will lead to an all-purpose positioning statement, known in the trade as an elevator speech, because it’s short enough to convey who you are and what you offer within the time limit of an elevator ride. While you should be prepared to talk with passion, power and clarity about your entire range of services, think of your positioning statement as a foot in the door to that longer conversation.

Tell Your Story, in Your Own Unique Voice

Your statement should be at most a sentence or two – and interesting. For example, one Garrett member I know says it this way: “My friends call me the financial farmer. I help my clients plant the seeds, nurture their crops and harvest the fruits of their labors when the time is right.” That paints a picture effectively devoid of industry jargon or buzz words such as “Fee-Only” and “fiduciary.”

Another says: “I’m a Fee-Only financial planner, and I help people make better decisions about their money.” This is the first module of a whole marketing statement that she can add to as necessary for a particular situation. For instance, she might go on to say: “Services are flexible and may range from help with one or two financial issues—perhaps a 401(k) review or working with you to lay the framework toward achieving a specific short-term goal—to more in-depth planning assistance—such as a complete portfolio review or retirement projection. Or even a second opinion, such as whether a life insurance or annuity policy is right for you. Whatever the issue, I can help. Plus there are no account minimums or long-term contracts required.” This type of language conveys that she is a Fee-Only planner who offers flexibility in how she works with clients. She finds that prospective clients these days are much more in tune with the fact that there are Fee-Only financial planners, and many specifically seek them out. Many also like the fact that they can obtain professional, objective advice without having to turn over all of their assets for the adviser or sign long-term contracts.

In both instances, the Garrett members distinguish themselves in an interesting manner and in a way that is easily understood.

Make It All about Them, Not You

As a note, when it comes time to write your marketing materials, try to write in the same clear, “client-centered voice” that informed your positioning statement. This means using the words “you” and “your” twice as many times as you use the words “I”, “me”, “we” or “us.”

Once you know what makes your firm different, it’s time to identify your target market. To whom are you offering your services and why? This, too, will inform the brand you develop. For example if you are targeting individuals and families with assets of $5 million or more, your marketing materials will have a different look and feel than if you seek to work with middle America. Of course, net worth is just one client characteristic. It’s helpful to further define your ideal client along demographic and psychographic lines. You’ll want to address title, profession, geography, age, emotional makeup, values, needs, problems, challenges and goals.

You want to know the social and professional groups your top clients belong to, what newspapers and journals they read, and what other types of professional services they use. Based on this information, you will be able to prospect more effectively to similar individuals.

Once you’ve gathered all this client data, draft a one-page profile of your ideal client. Not only will this keep you focused in your prospecting efforts, but it will be useful to share with your current clients so they can help generate attractive referrals. Remember, this document should not be an essay. Often, it’s most effective to convey whom you serve in a concise, bulleted format. Just as your positioning statement should be interesting and understandable and, therefore, repeatable by your clients, your client profile should be easy for current clients to digest – and straightforward enough that they feel comfortable sharing it with a colleague or family member.

Tell Your Story Consistently Across All Marketing Media

Next time, I’ll talk about extending your story and client-centered message through your website and assorted marketing materials.

Between now and then, you can follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/marieswift) or read my weekly Marketing Maven blog on www.Financial-Planning.com (it publishes every Monday).

If you are a Garrett member, you can use the password protected Knowledge Bank to post questions and comments, and join me and other Garrett members for our monthly Marketing Matters webinars.

Marie Swift is president and CEO of Impact Communications, Inc. (www.impactcommunications.org), a creative communications and marketing firm that has for over twenty years focused exclusively on serving independent financial advisors and allied institutions. She has served as the Marketing Communications Coach for the Garrett Planning Network since its inception in 2000.