Marketing - Not really a part of the business that many paid attention to up until last year. For much of that time new accounts were a nice addition to the accounts already held and not, as this year, a vital necessity. Much of the marketing we at XL Recruitment did last year was via word of mouth and it wasn't really deemed a priority- perhaps not the best plan for business growth - but then, we are already providing financial advisory staff to the majority of the blue chip companies in the UK, along with a multitude of the national IFA and assurance organisations up and down the country.
Things have changed. The contracting economy and diminished returns from existing business have made it absolutely essential that we market ourselves to new potential clients- getting ourselves and the XL brand exposure to new contacts on a weekly, if not daily basis. It will be the same for any financial professional whatever discipline - whether an IFA, financial adviser or mortgage adviser. The principle won't change - it will still involve you marketing yourself to a new audience with a view to acquiring new business.
As a recruiter working in the financial services industry we are only now starting to take a look at the myriad ways to market ourselves - something we should have been prepared for and up to date with a while ago, certainly it would have helped. With the Internet well established, nowadays there are so many different tools to create exposure for you and your brand and its important to know what works for you and what your potential clients will use in order for you to create a proper targeted media campaign.
Marketing is of little use if its done in an unfocused and scatter gun manner. Its not enough to just create a business profile on Facebook and send out a thousand email newsletters. Its vitally important to put a disciplined plan in place. Think about where your clients come from, what websites and media they will use. You need to focus on those areas.
Its also really important that you can measure what you are doing - its no good throwing money around on marketing that doesn't work. Again, choose what will work and spend time, money and energy on that. If seminars worked before - use them again, if you had success cold calling - get back on the phone - just make sure its to the market that you need to be targeting, not a random section of the population.
The most important things to do are to:
- Determine what resources you can use in terms of time, energy, money and people and that will give you an idea of what can be done.
- Determine who and what constitutes your target market? You have to find out who your audience are before you can think of what to deliver to them.
- Think about what your strengths are - its no good getting up in a seminar and delivering a pitch if you're not very good at it or not confident with it. Choose what you are good at and focus on that - the more confidence you have in what you are doing - the more likely it is you will get better results.
- Always be prepared to use something that you haven't before. Don't discount something just because you haven't used it - it could be a hugely effective marketing tool- Always look at things with an open mind.
Its more important than ever that we use marketing to get the best results we can and no business plan, whether personal or part of a bigger picture, will succeed if it doesn't involve at least a modicum of marketing nowadays, especially in the financial services industry.
