If your New Year’s resolutions include the phrase “go digital,” developing a robust website should be the first thing on your to-do list.
Aside from acting as an online business card, says Kirtarath Dhillon, social-media and public relations coordinator with Advisor Websites in Vancouver, a sophisticated website can provide warm lead generation and audience analysis — and even help you save time around the office.
If you are using your website only to provide basic contact details — or if you are not using a website at all — here are four business opportunities you may be missing:
1. Building a reputation
Sharing your opinions online is a good way to begin positioning yourself as an expert in the financial services industry.
“Anyone has the access to go ahead and be a successful thought leader online,” Dhillon says. “All it takes is to set up a blog.”
Often, the media will look online to find industry experts to share thoughts on practice management or the latest news, Dhillon says. This sort of recognition can be pivotal to the growth of a financial advisor’s career. Link a blog to your website and drive visitors to it through social media.
2. Gaining insight into your audience
With online tools such as Google Analytics, you can conduct analysis on your audience to help improve your marketing and communication efforts, Dhillon says. For example, Google Analytics can provide details about your web visitors and the reasons why they visit your website in the first place.
This insight can be particularly helpful if you’re interested in providing more educational value to your client base, Dhillon says. If certain blog topics, such as estate planning, receive an extraordinary amount of page views, you can assume that your audience would be eager to learn more about this topic.
3. Improving efficiency
At the most basic level, a robust website can reduce phone calls to your office by providing detailed information regarding your services, office location and hours of availability, Dhillon says.
You can also set up various integrations and automations to streamline your administrative processes. For example, he says, you can save time by integrating your customer relationship management (CRM) system with your website.
So, for example, if a client fills out your website’s contact form, that information can be automatically added to your CRM system.
4. Attracting a younger demographic
Millennials are far more likely to search for information on the Internet than they are to call an office for information, Dhillon says. Providing detailed information about your services, your team and your credentials will be key to earning their interest.
It is unlikely that millennials will want to set up an appointment, Dhillon adds, without first determining your legitimacy online.