The last few years have brought significant activity in the wealth management space, with headlines featuring acquisitions, consolidations, expansions, advisor movement, marketing trends, and new efficiency solutions. Recent reports project that 20% of asset and wealth managers will be acquired by the end of 2029 and discuss reaching wider audiences and planning for future growth.
At BFT, we’ve had the opportunity to witness some of this activity firsthand.
The Battle Between Business Growth and Marketing
During periods of intense growth or M&A activity, organizations tend to focus on deals and operational or back-office efficiencies. People often overlook marketing and brand work until after completing deals or when end clients express confusion about services and structure. Teams typically align marketing with business goals only after recognizing it as a critical issue or barrier to progress.
We’ve seen our wealth management clients face several pain points:
- They realize their marketing needs improvement.
- Marketing has always lacked adequate money and people resources.
- They lack both the systems and clear direction for executing marketing strategies.
- They need a knowledgeable partner who can work alongside them.
- They want to understand and see ROI.
The Importance of Working with the Right Marketing Partner
In our work with wealth management clients, we’ve joined crucial conversations about branding, positioning, messaging, and digital presence. We specialize in helping under-resourced marketing teams develop and implement strategic, business-driven marketing and brand growth plans.
One of our first steps is to conduct discovery sessions with both internal stakeholders and target audience members. While the exact format depends on the client’s needs, these sessions reveal key insights and vital information that inform our recommendations. We use conversations, research, and branding or digital exercises to identify important goals and the firm’s vision. We look for industry and competitive challenges and review audience perspectives to guide marketing strategies.
Key Insights from the Wealth Management Field
Our financial industry experience has surfaced several major marketing initiatives and related issues. Here are some areas where clients have sought our advice:
- Audience relevancy – As you acquire new practices or aim to appeal to multigenerational audiences, you must seriously review your communication channels, information touchpoints, and audience relevancy. What works for one audience won’t necessarily work for another and could even hinder growth efforts. Additionally, it’s important to recognize the nuances involved in communicating with clients, advisor recruits, prospects, and internal teams. Your communication platform should account for these nuances.
- Brand evolution – Clients often ask how to evolve their brand to support growth in new areas. In many cases, teams don’t know how their clients, partners, and prospects perceive current brand interactions. Understanding these perceptions, experiences, and needs is essential to creating a successful brand strategy.
- Marketing and sales integration – Often, a limited number of senior partners or a business developer generate leads, but they may use different approaches and styles. To draw key audience insights and measure ROI, you need an integrated outreach program that captures, tracks, and acts on all leads and activities.
Partnering for Strategic Growth
Whether you’re a large RIA in acquisition mode or a boutique RIA planning a rebrand and expansion, integrate marketing closely with your business plan.
The landscape is changing rapidly, so ensure your marketing efforts remain current and relevant.
If you’re looking for a marketing partner who understands the challenges of wealth management and can help address them, please reach out—we’d be happy to share our experience.
