Despite the upheaval of the past year, many RIA firms have continued enjoying organic growth. Now, perhaps more than ever, clients are looking for professionals they can trust to help them make sense of – and adapt to – the continually shifting landscape.
Adapting your mindset and incorporating just a couple of new initiatives can help your firm enjoy a major productivity boost. Consider the following five tips.
1. Define Your Ideal Prospect
Every successful RIA firm can identify their ideal client persona. However, many make the mistake of defining their ideal client based on investable assets alone. If you want to grow your business, you’ll need to take a deeper dive – plus you’ll need to know where to find your target clientele.
Completing a Buyer Persona Template will help you explore what motivates your ideal prospect, the challenges they face, and the objections they’re likely to raise. Once you’ve taken the time to answer these questions, you’ll be able to tailor your marketing messages towards those who are most likely to respond to them.
2. Double Down on Digital Marketing
Often, small and medium-sized RIA firms haven’t put much focus on brand awareness campaigns; they’re simply more focused on running the practice. However, digital marketing platforms have made it much easier and less expensive for smaller firms to get their name in front of their target market without needing much expertise or a large budget.
Successful RIA firms are growing their brand recognition, and therefore their book of business, by using paid social and digital marketing. Distill messaging that sets you apart from your competitors and place it where your prospects are already spending time online and on social media. The key is to start your campaign with a small investment, measure your ROI, and then continually refine your approach. As you identify the messages and platforms where traction is gained, consider doubling down.
3. Embrace TAMP Technology & Outsourcing
Finding the right Turnkey Asset Management Platform (TAMP) can completely revolutionize your RIA business. These platforms allow you to outsource and streamline your portfolio management, reporting, billing, and more. This allows you to better direct your clients’ portfolios while also freeing up more of your time to focus on growing your business.
Ideally, you’ll want to find an open-architecture provider that offers integrated technology and best-in-class portfolio solutions. This will give you the tools you need to grow your business faster and serve your clients more efficiently.
4. Improve the Customer Experience
There’s no shortage of competition in the RIA market, making it extremely important to focus your attention on delivering a high-touch customer experience. No matter what’s going on behind the scenes, always make it a priority to make things feel completely seamless from the client’s perspective.
Clients today value technology tools that facilitate communication with their Advisor and simplify the process of making investment decisions. For example, a branded client portal can be a high-impact tool for offering a richer and more unified client experience. And, pairing that data-rich portal with a mobile app can be a differentiator against other RIAs that haven’t as quickly moved into the modern age. Perfecting the client experience across in-person and digital channels leads to client loyalty and asset retention. In turn, this fuels long-term growth and profitability.
5. Switch to a Sales Mindset
Many RIAs create too far a separation between their service team and salespeople. The single “rainmaker” approach to running an RIA firm is also outdated. The most profitable firms are now combining sales and service to not only improve the experience for clients, but to build internal efficiency as everyone is up to speed on what needs to be done. It’s important to recognize that every interaction between your client and your firm creates a potential sales opportunity or increases the odds your client recommends your firm to friends and family.
To improve your firm's profitability, you must ensure all of your salespeople are committed to providing outstanding customer service and your service team knows how to provide top-notch sales support. Cross-training and making sure all of your team members are comfortable in their new, wider roles will lead to additional opportunities for growth.
Elevate Your RIAs Profitability
RIAs as a whole are currently positioned to enjoy a tremendous growth opportunity due to industry tailwinds. However, those who embrace one or more of these tips are even more likely to succeed.
GeoWealth offers the technology and services RIAs need to grow their book of business. We provide a fully integrated technology platform and an industry-leading TAMP with best-in-class portfolio solutions. Contact our team today to learn more about how our wealth management solutions can help you grow your business and enjoy a whole new level of profitability.
