Fact or Fiction: The Magic Bullet Marketing Strategy

Kalli here. I've been in marketing since 2006 and in financial marketing since 2011. And no matter where I'm working or who I'm working with, some things remain consistent: elusive success stories, comparison, and unrealistic expectations.

You've heard those stories too—a friend of a friend or someone at a conference who tried something new in their marketing strategy and now can’t keep up with new business. Meanwhile, you're left asking, "Do you know someone who could use my help?" at the end of your meetings.

So you scramble. You copy their strategy, their content, their execution—waiting for new clients to come barging in. And you wait… and wait. You see some traction, sure, but nowhere near what you expected.

These stories are the exception, not the rule.

They're akin to winning the lottery. Explosive growth is a winning gamble–emphasis on the gamble. Not to mention, you can only see what you're shown. When you see the success of other firms or advisors, you don't know what they started with or if their circumstances are the same as yours. It's easy to grow by 200% when you start at zero. But more importantly, they did something new and different and it paid off. If you're copying what someone else did, it's no longer new or different.

New and different comes at a price.

Consider our A.U.M. - Ask Us Marketing™ interviewee Tim Goodwin who signed 13 new clients over 12 months from Google Reviews alone. It worked because it was fresh, largely untapped, and he was one of the first. It won't be as effective the more people do it. But being the first means Tim took on a big risk. Testimonials and reviews, while largely untapped, carry a compliance risk that the pioneers must take on.

Just because it's new and different doesn't mean it will work.

Doing something in your marketing that’s never been done before can get you ahead of the competition, but is there a reason why no one else is doing it? Some strategies are just weird and irrelevant. Remember when businesses rushed to Meta’s Threads? What was initially heralded as the “Twitter Killer” never took off, resulting in a cautionary tale of going all-in on a novelty. Time, effort, and marketing dollars—wasted. And if you’re a small firm or newly independent advisor, that risk comes with a price you’ll definitely feel.

Tried and True

Growing your firm at a steady 25% may not sound sexy, but it’s sustainable AND attainable, no matter the size of your firm. It’s also scalable. Sure, you can run a big push for new leads or referrals, but consistent growth is often less about snappy-sounding strategies and more about–you guessed it–consistency. 

Think about it. What do you tell your clients about investing? Explosive growth is a one-in-a-million shot in the dark; chasing a market high is more likely to cause a drastic loss than a big-ticket win. Marketing is no different. That means if you want to grow your firm, it’s time to ditch trends in favor of strategy:

Step One: Know Your Audience.

What platforms do they use? Where can they naturally discover your brand? What do they care about? Knowing who you want to speak to and where to find them tells you where to point your marketing efforts and get the most bang for your buck. Case in point: “boosting” a post on Meta may generate great-looking results (10-20x more reach!), but all that means is that you paid more to get your post in front of EVERYONE. Do you really want to spend money so kids, bot accounts, and international users will see your content? None of those impressions are going to become viable leads. Targeted marketing=effective marketing, and it starts with knowing where the bullseye is.

Step Two: Know Your Win.

Understanding where you can update your website is crucial. You don’t go to your web host—you go to your CMS. If your CMS is outdated or difficult to use, updating your website becomes a hassle, and security vulnerabilities may emerge. A user-friendly CMS ensures that you can efficiently manage content, keep your site secure, and make timely updates without technical barriers.

Step Three: Know the Steps to Get There.

You won’t reach your win overnight. Map out small steps so you always know what’s next, and so you can get the rest of your team on board. How many new clients do you need in order to hit your NNA goal? How many referrals do you want to receive quarterly? Do you need to improve your referral process first? You get the idea.

Step Four: Monitor and Adjust.

What works today may not work tomorrow. Social platforms are an ever-changing creature, and the topics that resonate more with your audience will mirror what’s going on in their lives, either due to timely financial tasks, politics, or the market state. Monitor and adjust to evolve your tactics (start here to find out if your marketing is hitting the mark).