 “Dripping” on clients with emails that offer valuable content can improve client relationships, spark valuable conversations, and create additional business opportunities, but simply firing off emails with links to said content is not going to work—they’ll just sit unread in your clients’ already overflowing inboxes, lost in the deluge. Here’s a process that will make your emails stand out and get read. We are told, “content is king!” But is it really? We are told high value content delivered to clients and prospects on a regular basis will:
While I believe these opportunities exist, actualizing them is not a given. That is because it is so difficult to get content to the intended clients and prospects. The focused attention of your clients and prospects is your scarcest resource. Why is that? Each of us receive perhaps 100 or more emails a day, often with multiple topics. “Globally, a staggering 269 billion emails are sent each day and there are currently just over 3.7 billion email users worldwide,” according to document manager Templafy. Others have observed that, “The pace at which information is being published is almost too intensive to conceive. Critical appraisal of the literature is a skill unto itself. It has been estimated that if an individual attempted to keep up with all the literature related to his or her own discipline by reading one article per day, by the end of one year, they would be 99 years behind.” No wonder across all industries, the average email open rate for the second quarter of 2016 was 25%, according to Experian’s benchmark report. The average open and click rates of Mailchimp customers in Business and Finance is reported to be even lower, at 20.98%. This along with several other factors indicates much content is ignored or at least not read and considered.
Drip campaigns In our business, we use drip campaigns to keep ourselves, as advisors, “top of mind” and engaged with those that receive our material. Some advisors use “Publication Powered Digital Marketing for Financial Advisors” to send relevant and valuable materials to their clients, prospects, COIs and others. The material may in fact also be curated and designed to make it even more relevant to the receiver. In one recent email, clients (including me) received the following articles:
These all appear to be excellent titles and ones that should create interest and be of value to many clients. That’s exactly what FAs need to provide their clients…excellent, interesting and valued material. You want clients, prospects, COIs and others to know: “I am thinking about you” and “You are important to me.” You may be sharing important information. Even though it may not include a call to action, a drip system is a marketing campaign worth executing—if at least some are read and seen as valuable. Fortunately, there are excellent companies that make it easy for advisors to implement such services, but new approaches are also needed. An improved drip campaign Given how hard it is to get through to people, your drip mail content must be relevant to the recipient as well as different. And your email must, be followed up with personal contact—e.g., a phone call or meeting—if you want your drip campaign to have a positive impact. More personalization and one-on-one connection is needed for an effective drip campaign. To do this well, an advisor needs to focus her or his attention on their best opportunities by casting a narrow net. Here’s how to start:
Process Start with one preview of a piece of content every two weeks in a personalized email to each of the 60 top clients and prospects. Take a minute or two each to pick the preview by client and address it from you directly to the person, making the subject personal. That is perhaps a commitment of one hour a week. For example, there was an article in Forbes about eliminating money mistakes in 2019. If some of our clients need budget management, this might appeal to them—but at 1,000 words, they may not read it. You could send something like the 125-word note below to the right clients and prospects and then call to discuss it to engage the client and/or prospect. I call this kind of quick summary a “snippet.” (Subject) Syd, there’s a good article in Forbes I’d like to make you aware of. (Body) Syd, we’ve talked about budgets before and the Forbes article suggested five areas where we can gain control of spending. (1) Eating out every day is expensive. The article said the average household spends $3,008 eating out each year. (2) Being scared to invest. The article (and I) suggests setting investment goals, learning about investing opportunities, and getting started. (3) Don’t regularly dip into savings accounts. Consider if perhaps we are trying to save too much. (4) Be very careful with credit card spending. (5) Pay attention to your retirement. Next time we talk, let’s discuss your thoughts on this and put some more detail into your financial plan. David Follow-up calls Now let’s think about how to schedule your crucial personal follow-up.
Developing the content You get lots of content from outside providers, your firm, industry publications, wholesalers, newspapers, Google Alerts, and other sources. You and your entire team should each identify one informational piece a week. If you think it is a meaningful, high-value content piece that would be of interest to some or all of your clients, write a short summary, or as I call it, a snippet. Twice a month as stated, “personalize” an email to the 60 clients and prospects like the sample above. The piece may be about any number of topics though I suggest it not be investment-specific. Some sample categories include:
The piece can include a soft closing comment (a gentle “call to action”) such as “Let’s talk about this.” You should include the source of the piece or a URL where appropriate. All you need to do is select one of the pieces for each of your 60 or so names and email them the piece that fits. After just a few months, you will have a number of choices to select from and after a year, you will have many choices to email to 60 recipients. (Naturally, you will keep a tracking system of topics of interest by person and what was sent to whom. You will also keep the articles current.) Given what you know about your best clients, prospects and COIs, this is an example of value that a robo advisor will not likely be able to replicate well in the short term—just think about how Amazon is often close but no cigar. If you want to improve your business by exploring ways to have your best clients read content of value to them and create new levels of client service, make an appointment on my calendar to discuss if and how I can help you. David I. Leo David Leo is Founder of Street Smart Research Group LLC. He is an author, speaker, coach, consultant and trainer to financial professionals. David is an experienced business manager who works solely with Financial Advisors, Planners and firms who want to organize, structure & grow their businesses by attracting, servicing, and retaining affluent clients. If you would like additional details or have any questions about his articles or an interest in coaching schedule a free 45 Minute Strategy Session @ https://calendly.com/davidileo or contact him @ [email protected]. Call 212-598-4229 (Office) or 917-379-1249 (Cell) and visit @ www.CoachDavidLeo.com |
