If you’re like most financial advisors, you underestimate how difficult it is to get clients to regard you as more valuable than your competitors, says Kirk Lowe, Toronto-based founder of Tactibrand.
Lowe uses the grocery store as an analogy: “Most people are indifferent about which grocery store they go to,” he says, “because there’s the same thing at every store, for the most part.”
So, your challenge is to demonstrate what sets you — and not your products — apart from other advisors. A branding process helps you define how you are unique and superior to your competitors.
Lowe provides three questions you must ask yourself to help you determine what makes your practice special:
1. What advantage do I provide?
In other words, is there one promise you can make that other advisors cannot? Or is there an element to your business that separates you from the competition?
This is probably the hardest question, says Lowe, and it may take time for you to arrive at an answer.
Consider the services you provide and how you put your own twist on them. For example, maybe what makes you different is your flexibility in providing last-minute appointments to clients’ family members, regardless of whether those relatives are clients. You understand that if an emergency arises with a client’s mother or uncle, the client is looking for help for their loved one, not an explanation of fees for services rendered.
2. What keywords describe me?
This exercise is more difficult than it sounds. The biggest challenge is to go beyond the industry clichés.
“Comprehensive,” “holistic,” and “integrity” are some of the overused words Lowe often hears advisors come up with.
“You tell me this is what makes you different,” he says, “and I’m going to tell you that everyone else says the exact same thing.”
Marketing professionals can assist with questions like these by steering you away from the clichés and helping you brainstorm concepts that are different from other advisors.
3. What are the industry trends and what are my competitors doing?
“If you’re not privy to where the industry is heading and what consumers are demanding,” Lowe says, “you’re going to be in trouble.”
The same can be said if you don’t know what other advisors in your community are up to.
“You have to know what your competition is doing,” Lowe says, “because your story is only good if it’s better than the guy’s down the street.”
Look at other advisors’ websites and see what your network is saying. Do other advisors have services that make them unique? Could these services be a way for you to expand your business and provide some friendly competition?
For example, a local advisor provides house calls to new parents so they don’t have to find a babysitter or pack the baby bag for a one-hour appointment. You have heard a lot of positive buzz regarding the advisor’s flexibility. Maybe you can incorporate that type of personalized service into your practice.
This is the second instalment in a four-part series on branding for advisors.
Next: Proving your message is true.