Occasionally, our website design agency speaks to financial advisers and planners who see their website as a “shop window”. What this usually means is that they do not see their financial website performing any special functions, or achieving any purpose outside of merely being “present” for those who happen to look for it. This approach to financial websites, however, is wrong.
A huge amount of potential is missed out on when a “shop window approach” is taken to a financial website. By choosing to recognise it as a marketing and brand engagement tool, however, you can pivot your financial website to achieve far greater things – such as bringing in more leads, which eventually makes it more than pay for itself.
Below, our team at CreativeAdviser shares how financial firms can start to do this with their website. We hope you find value in this content. If you’d like to discuss your own financial website design project with us, please get in touch to arrange a free consultation over the phone with a member of our team.
Prospect self-qualification
How do you encourage more people to get in touch with your business who are a good “fit” for you? Also, is it possible to reduce the volume of irrelevant inquiries, too? Here, your financial website and other digitally-based marketing channels (e.g. social media) can be incredibly helpful.
When someone visits your website, what do they immediately think about it in relation to themselves? If a non-qualifying prospect looks at it and think: “This isn’t for me, they’re clearly too expensive/bespoke for me”, then this saves you a lot of time talking to them on the phone later. Moreover, if another prospect who fits your “buyer persona” looks at it and likes what they see, they’re more likely to qualify themselves and get in touch.
To achieve this effect, you need much more than a static “shop window”. After all, anyone can walk past a shop in the street and walk inside, even if they don’t plan on buying anything. To minimise the wrong kind of footfall, you need to build up a reputation amongst your audience and communicate with them regularly. This is where a regular blog and content plan becomes very important. By publishing one article a week on a topic pertaining to, say, pensions or investments, this helps to send out the message you want to your website visitors. It can also have a very helpful SEO benefit!
Lead generation
Most financial planners and advisers see client referrals as a primary (if not the sole) source of lead generation for their business. Whilst this is typically very important, it limits your marketing to fewer channels and thus restricts growth. By “diversifying” across multiple marketing channels which fit your budget and can also be realistically be managed well, however, you can expect to generate more interest from current clients and prospects.
A financial website is one such channel that many financial firms are ignoring as a lead generation tool. Yet, with a strong marketing strategy in place, many locally-based financial planners and advisers could expect to eventually reach a point where their financial website is bringing in inquiries every month, in the double-digits.
There are different potential sources of traffic to your financial website which you can consider within your strategy. Their suitability and priority will depend on a range of factors including your goals, competition, budget and target audience. Here are some which you could discuss with a financial marketing agency:
- SEO. Here, you bring in traffic from search engines such as Google, which list your website’s pages in users’ search engine results (after they make a query). You do not need to pay Google for the listing, but a lot of hard work is required to generate amazing content which Google will take notice of and want to offer to its user base. Here, a professional writer and marketer can help.
- Display ads. These adverts show your brand to people across the internet as they browse other, relevant websites (e.g. a blog about pensions or investments). They can be a powerful way to extend your business’s reach to new audiences without breaking the bank on ad spend. Here, you may need a graphic designer and marketer to help you design ads which will connect with the audience. This person/agency can also help you manage your Google Ads account effectively.
- Social media. Facebook, LinkedIn and similar platforms can be a good way to generate traffic to your financial website from your target audience. However, here you will need to be smart with your strategy. Bear in mind that social media platforms make money by keeping users of their sites for as long as possible, and by getting them to click on ads. A marketing agency can help you make good decisions with your marketing here which ensures your budget is used well.
- Email marketing. When you email a client or prospect, having a great website in place will be hugely important in the campaign. This is where you can house the content they want to see, and build the landing pages which enable them to see your pitch and take the action you want them to take. In the financial world, bear in mind that there are strict rules about who you can/cannot send emails to, and what content is allowed. Data protection and privacy issues need to be considered carefully here. Yet, with a strong email marketing plan in place, this can be a fantastic way to get more website traffic and engagement – possibly more leads and referrals too.
