Multi-pronged approach required for strong public image

Advisors at Investors Group, gave their firm an 8.7 in the image category, demonstrating that taking a traditional approach to marketing — through national print and television advertising — is still the best way to foster a positive public image. The firm also received the top score (7.3) in the consumer advertising category.

The philosophy behind In-vestors Group’s multimedia approach is consistency. “What’s nice at Investors Group,” says Kevin Regan, the dealer’s executive vice president of financial services, “is that — in advertisements or at local charitable evenings — I see the same kind of language and message that the client experiences with the advisor.”

That power of alignment, he says, “between what you would like to be, what you are, how you depict it and how advertising brings it to life for our clients” positions the firm’s message in a consistent manner.

But Investors Group also understands the importance of advertising in local markets by providing marketing support for advisors. “We make dollars available through marketing funds,” Regan says. “Advisors can access them to supplement the work that they might do, whether they are hosting a seminar or doing charitable work.”

SUPPORTS ADVISORS

Regan adds that offices across Canada can pool marketing budgets to create synergies among all members of a particular region.

“They can gather the money together and do things on an area-wide basis,” he says “So, you have almost multiple levels going on simultaneously.”

Saskatoon-based Sentinel Financial Management Corp., which scored 8.6 in public image, offers no structured consumer advertising campaigns. However, it supports advisors who wish to market themselves through a co-operative advertising program — and the firm often foots about 50% of the cost.

“So, if an advisor comes to me and [the idea] makes sense, then we will support him or her,” says Merlin Chouinard, Sentinel’s president and chief compliance officer.

Common marketing efforts include supporting local charities or events. And, Chouinard notes, the firm is careful that all campaigns fall within the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada’s regulations.

Sentinel also hands out prizes at these events, such as steak knives and barbecue tools, to promote the firm’s name in the community.

“There’s a whole culture we have here to promote the firm,” Chouinard says. “We try to focus it and not waste money.”

Adds a Sentinel advisor in Sas-katchewan: “If I need something for marketing, the company is very good at helping. All I have to do is ask.”

A colleague adds: “Sentinel does very good job of having all types of marketing material available and updated.”

Marketing support for advisors’ practices and consumer advertising aside, the results of Investment Executive’s 2008 Dealers’ Report Card confirm that a consumer Web site should be a branding tool on every dealer’s radar.

Most advisors who are disgruntled with their firm’s online presence say the Web sites aren’t updated often enough and lack interactive features and newsy bits. An advi-sor in Alberta with Portfolio Strategies Corp. says the site for the Calgary-based firm is “extremely archaic and doesn’t provide any valuable information to the consumer.”

Another Portfolio Strategies advisor in Alberta adds that the firm’s Web site is sorely lacking: “It doesn’t appraise the market and doesn’t provide any information on what goes on with the firm.”

Overall, Portfolio Strategies advisors gave their firm a lowly 5.4 in the “consumer Web site” category.

It’s much the same story at Montreal-based Peak Financial Group, which ranked 6.1 in the category. A Peak advisor in Quebec says the firm’s 10th-anniversary banner is still up on the site. The problem? “We are approaching our 15th anniversary,” he says.

INTERACTIVE FEATURES

On the flip side, PFSL led the pack in the consumer Web site category with a score of 9.4 after it revamped its online profile with a Canadian site apart from U.S.-based parent Primerica Financial Services’ site.

@page_break@”We finally launched a Canadian bilingual site in May of last year, which goes a long way for our friends in Quebec,” says Jeff Dumanski, PFSL’s president and chief marketing officer. “We are no longer piggybacking on the U.S. site.”

One PFSL advisor in British Columbia praises the interactive features of the site for being “in very plain English for the average client,” while another advisor in B.C. says it “helps the client understand some of the basic financial concepts.”

The PFSL Web site acts as an educational tool by profiling Canadian clients’ success stories and links to its advisors’ electronic business cards, Dumanski says: “You can go to the specific advisors’ pages to see who they are and what their background is.”

As for Investors Group, whose advisors gave the firm’s online efforts a rating of 7.4, the firm’s consumer Web site is a natural extension of its overall branding campaigns. “We view it as a complementary element to how we interact with prospective clients and existing clients,” says Regan, adding that the Web site plays a key role in attracting potential clients.

Meanwhile, Sentinel, which also got high marks in the consumer Web site category (8.5), offers one of the more interactive Web sites. It allows users to fill out mortgage applications online, for example.

“Consumers are very pleased with it and it gets the name out there,” Chouinard says. “Online presence is there for a purpose — to support our mortgage division — while mutual fund sales and real estate planning are still done on a personal relationship basis.” IE