By Jayson Forrest
For providers of managed accounts, marketing this structure to advisers is not like selling a product. Instead, it can often be a long process involving whole-of-business transformation, explains Rob Hardy (Rob Hardy Consulting Services).
Marketing is not rocket science but it is a science,” says Rob Hardy — a business and marketing consultant at Rob Hardy Consulting Services. “Marketing isn’t about logos on pens or setting up an event. Instead, marketing is about understanding your clients, it’s about brand protection and development, it’s about lead generation and nurturing prospects, and it’s about client development.”
Having worked across a range of industries, including financial services, Rob brought a deep understanding of both sales and marketing to his presentation on ‘Marketing managed accounts to advisers’ at a recent IMAP workshop.
With managed accounts FUM reaching $161.7 billion as at 30 June 2023 (an increase of $17.2 billion on the previous six months), Rob acknowledges the strong growth of this sector and the increasing interest in this structure by both advisers and advice businesses.
However, Rob believes the key for any managed accounts provider wanting to roll out its solution to clients — such as advisers and dealer groups — is to first develop a robust marketing strategy that can connect and engage with both advisers and investors.
“For providers of managed accounts, selling this solution is a relatively long process,” says Rob. “The typical timeframe from a Business Development Manager’s (BDM) first conversation with a client to the first tranche of money coming in the door is between 6-10 months, but this does depend on how much engagement takes place between both parties. And that’s why a well implemented marketing strategy is so important.
“Remember, the goal of selling managed accounts is not about the number of advisers writing money into managed accounts but rather, to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of an advice business, as well as obtaining as much of an adviser’s FUA as possible.”
Rob Hardy - Consultant
This IMAP workshop was sponsored by BT
Remember, the goal of selling managed accounts is not about the number of advisers writing money into managed accounts but rather, to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of an advice business, as well as obtaining as much of an adviser’s FUA as possible
Whole-of-business transformation
Selling a managed accounts solution is not like selling a product, says Rob. Instead, it’s about whole-of-business transformation, which encompasses: the choice of platform for managed accounts; which clients are suitable for this solution; how to implement a managed accounts structure; and reframing the client value proposition.
“This can be a complex undertaking for an advisory business, but it needn’t be,” says Rob. “A properly executed marketing strategy that is backed-up with action by the provider, will instil confidence in the client that the provider will supply the necessary support to enable this transition to take place as smoothly as possible.”
Importantly, Rob adds that any well executed marketing strategy, particular around managed accounts, should be aimed squarely at helping the end-user — the adviser.
“A marketing strategy shouldn’t be all about a provider’s product,” says Rob. “Advisers are not going to choose you just because of the product or solution you offer. Given how complex the process is for advice firms to re-engineer their whole business to switch to a managed accounts solution, I believe all the auxiliary services you are able to offer advisers is absolutely vital.”
These auxiliary services may include: helping advisers have conversations with their clients about managed accounts; assisting with educating advisers about managed accounts; helping with client segmentation in relation to the suitability of managed accounts for different types of clients; and assisting with platform migration. Rob says services like these are as important as the product itself, and are valued by both advisers and advice firms. This type of ongoing support also helps to differentiate a managed account provider’s offering.
Advisers are not going to choose you just because of the product or solution you offer. Given how complex the process is for advice firms to re-engineer their whole business to switch to a managed accounts solution, I believe all the auxiliary services you are able to offer advisers is absolutely vital.
It’s a long process
As with any marketing strategy, it’s often a long process to convert a prospect into a client, and managed accounts are no different. As part of this long process of client conversion, Rob says there are three sale processes involved:
1. You need to sell to the dealer group;
2. You need to sell to the adviser; and
3. You need to help the adviser sell to the end-investor.
“Remember, each of these three stakeholders want something different from this process, but you have to be consistent with your messaging, and the solution and services you’re delivering to them,” says Rob. “That’s why this process is so long and complicated.”
And importantly, when marketing a managed accounts solution to clients, Rob says it’s important to remember this isn’t about business-to-business engagement but rather, it’s about engaging with people on a personal level.
“Change is something that doesn’t come easily for most people, and is something they are likely to put off for as long as they can,” says Rob. “So, change means getting that person to do something differently, which also means they need to understand the reasons for changing and embrace that change. That’s why you need good sales and marketing processes to make this journey with managed accounts as seamless as possible for your clients.”
Database marketing is not about smashing clients with emails. You need to respect people’s inbox, and provide them with interesting and valuable content. Remember, there are only a finite number of advisers in the marketplace, so you don’t want them to unsubscribe from your EDMs
Messaging and marketing
The key to obtaining an adviser’s FUA is a clearly articulated value proposition that is presented through a well executed marketing strategy. A fundamental part of any sales and marketing strategy, particularly in relation to pre-sales messaging, is taking the time to know your client, actually listening to them, knowing when to speak to them, and allowing them to understand your business and your managed accounts offering.
“It’s important to get your prospects interested in your solution,” says Rob. “One of the best ways of doing this is to explain how your business, and not just your product, can help them. This can be from a range of perspectives, including: efficiency gains, education, compliance, investment management, and portfolio performance.
“Your messaging to prospects has to speak to their needs and resonate with them. Your product messaging should be specifically framed around: ‘What will this solution do for me as an adviser?’ Therefore, don’t make client messaging all about yourself and how great your business is. Advisers are only interested in knowing how your managed accounts solution will improve their lives and business.”
According to Rob, when formulating a marketing strategy, managed account providers shouldn’t be afraid to make a statement with their messaging. He says it’s important to understand you’re not going to be able to convince or sell your offering to every potential client, so target the type of client you want.
“When marketing a product, you need to be distinctive. Don’t be grey, instead, be either black or white,” he says. “Go out with a statement that creates a reaction and resonates with people. For example, ‘The biggest risk to your portfolio is you. Let us remove that risk with our managed accounts solution.’ A statement like this is memorable.”
An effective messaging campaign will generate leads for the business. This lead generation typically comes through various channels, including: professional development days and networking; website content; mainstream and industry press; electronic direct mail (EDM); display advertising; online search engine optimisation (SEO); and search engine marketing (SEM) — a method of promotion and advertising to help a company’s content rank higher among search engine traffic.
“There’s also programmatic advertising, which is a system that automates the processes involved with purchasing and placing ads, including targeted advertising content, on websites and apps,” says Rob.
If you’re not getting value out of the software you are using that’s probably because you’re not using it properly. However, if used properly, marketing automation will totally change the way you engage with prospects and clients. It’s hugely powerful.
Don’t over do it
However, while all these aspects of marketing can generate leads, Rob cautions about over doing it, particularly in relation to digital/online strategies.
“Database marketing is not about smashing clients with emails,” he says. “You need to respect people’s inbox, and provide them with interesting and valuable content. Remember, there are only a finite number of advisers in the marketplace, so you don’t want them to unsubscribe from your EDMs.”
However, Rob does believe EDMs are an important tool for any marketing strategy. To maximise their effectiveness with clients, he says businesses must test every aspect of an EDM. This includes: the use of creative; engaging content; subject line; and the day and time the EDM is sent. For example, he cautions against sending an EDM on a Monday morning, as people’s inboxes are generally full from weekend emails, so the likelihood of an email getting lost or deleted without viewing is high.
“Remember, don’t make every email you send a selling email. This will only disengage people. Keep your EDMs short, and redirect readers to your website for the content. Photos and images will also help create added interest in your EDM,” says Rob. “As for frequency, I would definitely limit EDMs to no more than two per week.”
Interestingly, Rob believes marketing strategies that include direct mail are particularly effective. He says that’s because most correspondence these days is delivered electronically, so it becomes a novelty for people to actually receive items in the post.
“Don’t ignore mail. This has become an underused and forgotten part of marketing. Having printed material is not only great for brand recognition, it’s also more likely to be remembered by the person reading it. And it’s also a terrific way of standing out from the competition.”
Marketing automation: A revolutionary tool
If there was one piece in the marketing toolbox that is absolutely vital for any business, Rob believes it’s ‘marketing automation’.
Marketing automation refers to a broad range of automation and analytic tools for marketing. It utilises software to complete marketing tasks and execute predetermined campaigns across multiple online channels — like email, social media, and websites — at scheduled intervals.
In addition, the software sits over a database and tracks a prospect/client’s interaction with all of a business’s online infrastructure. For example, it tracks visits to your website, clicks on emails, and tracks registrations for webinars and events. It then pulls all this information together and overtime, builds up a profile of a person — from their first engagement with the business through to actually becoming a client.
“Marketing automation technology actually tracks an individual’s activity before you even know who they are. So, if somebody visits your website or opens an EDM, a tracker on the software begins recording all engagement that person has with the website, including what pages they visit and the type of content they engage with — via articles, podcasts and videos,” says Rob.
“Marketing automation allows you to see the client’s journey with the business, and enables you to pull together a profile of the client in terms of what interests them most with what your business is doing and the products you’re offering.”
According to Rob, this technology automatically triggers marketing activities based specifically on a person’s engagement with the business. This means once you build up an understanding and profile of a person — and the content they’re interested in — the software is able to automatically generate follow-up emails and tailored content for that individual.
“This technology allows you to personalise emails to clients, and even personalise the website content for individuals. So, if a person has read particular content on your website the last time they visited, the website can be set up to ensure that the next time they visit, the home page has a promotional piece of content about the particular product they had previously shown interest in,” says Rob. “Marketing automation is incredibly powerful and is revolutionising the way marketing is now done.”
Importantly, marketing automation also creates alerts for BDMs that notifies them when a prospect has engaged with the business via EDMs or the website, as might be the case when they download information about managed accounts. These alerts inform a BDM of the person’s interest with the business’s offerings, suggesting it may be a good time to directly reach out to the prospect.
Some examples of integrated marketing automation software include: Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua, Dynamics, and HubSpot. Rob believes when it comes to software, “you get what you pay for”, and he suggests these examples are some of the better quality options currently available in the marketplace.
“Automation doesn’t replace the marketing team, but it enhances it,” says Rob. “If you’re not getting value out of the software you are using that’s probably because you’re not using it properly. However, if used properly, marketing automation will totally change the way you engage with prospects and clients. It’s hugely powerful.”
About
Rob Hardy is a business and marketing consultant at Rob Hardy Consulting Services. He has a deep understanding of both sales and marketing, having worked across a range of industries, including financial services.
Rob spoke on ‘Marketing managed accounts to advisers’ at an IMAP workshop sponsored by BT.
You can find out more about Rob through the website https://robhardy.com.au/
and email Rob on rob@robhardy.com.au or ring +61 (0)404 033506