Automate to Innovate: Boosting Your CFP Marketing with Technology

Marketing technologies have rapidly evolved over the past decade. Gone are the days when TV ads and billboards were the top ways to market your financial planning practice. Today, modern marketing involves a mix of digital and traditional tactics. Financial professionals gain a competitive advantage by adopting advanced marketing strategies, such as CFP automated marketing. 

Along with modern marketing, CFP® professionals should use up-to-date tools to support their practices. Asset-Map is a comprehensive financial mapping and conversational planning tool for advisors that helps engage clients through visualizations. 

In this guide, we will discuss the importance of automation in the financial services industry and how automated marketing supports CFP® professionals. Read on for tips on building stronger client connections, how to measure success, and more.

The Power of Automation in Financial Services

Automation is becoming a force in many industries, especially financial services. With automation, financial planners can streamline their marketing processes to reach their target audience. Automation also enhances precision by reducing human errors and following pre-programmed instructions. Lastly, automation helps boost client engagement to ensure a collaborative financial planning process.

Tools like HubSpot, MailChimp, Pardot, and Constant Contact are often used to facilitate marketing automation. Automation is key in everything from email marketing to engaging customer profiles using customer relations management (CRM). Additionally, Asset-Map can be used to support financial planning marketing efforts with its aesthetically pleasing visualizations.

Automation not only speeds things up but also saves financial planners valuable time. Financial firms with little to no marketing support should utilize automated marketing to reduce manual processes. For example, they can schedule email newsletters to send automatically, send surveys after key interactions, or organize customer data at the click of a button. 

Implementing Effective Marketing Automation

You’ve probably heard about automated marketing but might be unsure where to start. We’ll hit on a few CFP automated marketing tools you should know about and how they can be used to support your practice. These are only a handful of top marketing automation tools for financial advisors. 

HubSpot

HubSpot is a CRM platform for managing sales, marketing, and customer service. It includes tools for organizing customer information and email, social media, and content marketing capabilities.

MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing automation tools. It helps businesses manage campaigns, automate workflows, analyze data, and more. It’s especially beneficial for sending financial advisor newsletters.

Pardot

Pardot by Salesforce helps businesses capture, manage, and nurture leads through automated online marketing campaigns. With comprehensive analytics, business owners can track campaign performance over time. 

Constant Contact

Constant Contact is another email marketing automation tool that also provides SMS and social media marketing tools. Teams use Constant Contact to create seamless workflows, generate leads, and convert leads into contacts.

Asset-Map

Asset-Map is designed specifically for financial advisors. It uses visualizations to promote client engagement and better financial outcomes. It uses each client’s data to create tailored maps for financial planning. Asset-Map’s advisor marketing kit also provides a suite of materials like sample emails, videos, flyers, and more to use in your automated marketing efforts. 

Building Stronger Client Connections 

Building stronger client relationships should always be a top priority for a financial advisor. The importance of client trust and communication can never be overstated. Using interactive tools like those mentioned above helps clarify financial concepts for clients. 

Clients want to feel seen. Marketing automation tools help advisors segment their audiences and tailor their messaging strategies, creating more personalized experiences for prospective and current clients. Strong client connections are the foundation of successful financial planning. When clients trust their advisor, they’re more likely to follow the plans made and engage in conversations. 

Asset-Map, in particular, is highly effective in building strong client connections. Its data visualization capabilities help clients better understand their financial situation and their advisors' strategies. Asset-Map creates organized visualizations that boost client engagement and understanding. Continuous digital engagement enhances client trust and advisor accessibility.  

Best Practices for Marketing in Financial Planning

Marketing financial planning practices are all about attracting ideal clients and building trust with your audience. The best approach is often to combine digital marketing and traditional strategies, including:

  • Social media

  • Email marketing

  • Content marketing

  • Search engine optimization (SEO)

  • Paid ads

  • Direct mail

  • Workshops or webinars

  • Print ads

  • Networking events

Keeping up with technological advancements in marketing ensures that you remain competitive. One such advancement is automated marketing, which financial advisors should utilize in their efforts. When using automated marketing, be sure to follow regulations set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Some other best practices for financial advisor marketing include:

  • Focus on brand cohesion. Your financial advisor brand should be unique to who you are and what you offer. Create a brand guide to support cohesive brand messaging, color schemes, elements, and more. This will make your business recognizable to clients and exude professionalism.

  • Hone in on a niche market. Financial advisors should also consider their niche when developing marketing strategies. Tailor your messaging and marketing materials to attract the right clients. Become a thought leader in a specific niche to boost your reputation and share your expertise.

  • Showcase your credentials. Advisors should display their credentials to build credibility and gain client trust. If you have your CFP® or CFA®, ensure potential clients know you’ve gained advanced credentials. Sharing your credentials will help you stand apart from early-stage advisors. 

  • Use social selling. Social selling is a highly effective marketing strategy and supports less customer churn. Financial advisors should spend time on social media platforms like LinkedIn to build relationships with potential customers. 

  • Add value. Marketing isn’t only about selling yourself and your skill set to prospective clients. Your marketing materials should provide value by addressing client pain points and sharing how you can help your client base. 

Measuring Success with CFP Automated Marketing

Financial advisors must measure their marketing success to see the impact of their efforts. Tools like Google Search Console can help evaluate the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns in financial planning. 

Google Search Console measures website traffic, impressions, clicks, and more. If you run paid ads, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) like return on ad spend (ROAS), click-through rate (CTR), and cost-per-click (CPC). Email automation platforms can gather data on open rates, unsubscribe rates, etc., to inform your success.

Monitoring KPIs allows financial advisors to see how marketing is impacting their business. KPIs should be tracked regularly to inform marketing strategies. Also, use client feedback to help measure success. 

Integrating client feedback can refine marketing approaches and improve engagement. By supporting marketing efforts, you can create lasting relationships. Financial advisors can collect this feedback from customers using surveys or forms or asking for feedback in a session. 

Transform Your Practice with Automation

Digital marketing and automation have transformed the financial planning industry. Financial advisors use automated marketing tools to streamline strategy execution and measure results. Use a mix of digital and traditional marketing methods to reach and build trust with your audience.

Financial advisors can transform their planning sessions with Asset-Map. Asset-Map can complement financial advisor marketing with visualizations and reports. Engage clients in deeper conversations using Asset-Map to clearly outline their financial picture. 

Technological advancements will continue to push financial planning professionals to evolve. Asset-Map is at the forefront of modern financial planning. Schedule a demo to see how Asset-Map can level up your practice. 

TJ Hill