What Top RIAs Do Right With Marketing

Marketing Strategy Insights for RIAs

Could spending 1 percent more on marketing and business development yield 20 percent growth in revenue?Marketing means growth—no really; if it seems intuitive, why aren’t more firms creating a marketing strategy?

Fidelity Clearing and Custody, the division of Fidelity Investments that provides clearing and custody for RIAs, record-keepers, broker-dealers, banks and insurance companies, released new findings in mid-April from its 2014 Fidelity RIA Benchmarking Study on the best practices of “Marketing Leaders,” which consisted of RIA firms with strong marketing and business development capabilities.

The study found that compared to other RIAs, marketing strategy leaders are 42 percent more likely to prioritize growth, dedicating more resources and spending 33 percent more–or 2.4 percent of their revenue vs. 1.8 percent–on business development and marketing. They are also seeing 40 percent more client growth, 23 percent more asset growth and 20 percent more revenue growth.

“This is good news for the 65 percent of RIA firms that do not feel as strong at marketing: investing in marketing can pay off, but it’s not just about what you spend,” said Mathias Hitchcock, vice president, practice management and consulting, Fidelity Clearing and Custody. “An investment in time can be just as important. Committing time to even the most fundamental areas of marketing, such as developing a plan or creating a referral process, can yield big gains when it comes to overall growth.”

According to the study, investing both time and money in marketing and business development is helping marketing leaders excel in three key areas – their ability to plan effectively, ingrain their firm story and apply a disciplined referral process.

Marketing Leaders are planning for growth by implementing plans, aligning talent and maximizing their marketing mix.

Marketing Leaders are leveraging the power of a compelling and differentiated firm story.

According to one marketing strategy leader, BakerAvenue in San Francisco, having your firm story reflected in all channels can help a firm stand out. “We express who we are through everything we do — from our branding to the space we sit in to the people we hire,” said Jerry Luff, chief operating officer, BakerAvenue.

Marketing Leaders are taking a disciplined approach to building a flow of referrals.

United Capital Financial Advisers in Newport Beach, embraces COIs as a source of successful growth. According to Gail Graham, chief marketing officer, “we have a program that helps our advisors identify potential referral sources, supports them in developing a marketing plan and provides customized coaching to help them hone and deliver their approach.”

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