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Articles

Email versus Print

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There are three common objections from financial advisors to using websites and email newsletters as part of their marketing and communications strategies. Kirk Lowe addresses these and shows how an Internet based marketing strategy can target affluent clients and generate referrals.

Articles

By Kirk Lowe, President
Freedomarketing

If you're not interested in affluent clients, don't bother reading any further.

Although advisors have begun accepting the validity of using a web site in their marketing mix, many have only made an effort to build a web site that merely gives them a presence, not necessarily an edge. Even fewer advisors have accepted the merits of email newsletters and their role in the marketing mix. Although these are viable marketing initiatives they are often met with some skepticism.

Here are three common objections I hear from financial planning professionals when I discuss integrating the Internet into their marketing and communications strategies.

Objection #1

My clients are older, they don't use the Internet and even if they did they wouldn't want to use the Internet to communicate with me, their financial advisor.

When I ask, "When did you ask your clients how they preferred to be communicated with for various messages you send?" the answer is almost always, "I didn't ask". Here's an idea of what they would have said had you asked. According to a recent study done by Ipsos Reid, a significant amount of the affluent are connected to the Internet:

	Among those between the age 45-65 with financial assets between $100,000 - $250,000, 77% have Internet access, and those over $250,000, 85% have Internet access
	Among those over the age of 65 with financial assets between $100,000 -$250,000 50% have Internet access, and those over $250,000, 60% have Internet access
	If you have an equal amount of clients from these four categories you're looking at an average of 68% of your clients having Internet access. That's more than enough to begin introducing the Internet into your practice.

Although the Internet may or may not be their preference, it is an efficient and effective way to communicate. They will certainly see this after being introduced to it.

If 32% of your clients don't have an email address does that mean you shouldn't pursue implementing an eNewsletter? Absolutely not! Challenges always present opportunities; successful people know this.

Here are a couple of ideas to help introduce email communication to your clients who don't currently use the Internet. Conduct a phone survey that introduces your new initiatives and gathers information such as email addresses and preferences. Explain the benefits to your clients of receiving communications via email and how it will help you better service them and give you more time to spend with them. For those clients who don't have Internet access, invite them to a 'How To Use The Internet' seminar. Show them how easy it is to use the Internet and how many things they can use it for that will make life a little easier for them (online banking, shopping, etc.). This will take away the fear of learning how to use the Internet and will give them more reasons to use the Internet. Fear and perceived lack of need are the two most common reasons people give as to why they don't use the Internet.

Here's another way to look at introducing the Internet in your practice. Most clients would prefer you visit them at their home or office but you don't in most cases. This would be highly inefficient. You explain that you don't have the time or resources to help your clients unless they come to you, so they do. So why do you need to quantify why you are integrating the Internet into your practice. It is how you do business and it benefits everyone, you, your staff and your client.

Objection #2

My clients are inundated with email and other advertising; they don't want to be bothered to read anything else. They'll just delete any email messages I send whether it is an email newsletter or a personal email I send to them.

If they agreed to receive it and know it's coming, coming from you, then why would they not read it and just delete it. I don't believe this should be a concern if you properly introduce them to it.

There are several assumptions I'm making here. I'm assuming that everything you send to your clients is of value. If you send irrelevant, untimely and uninteresting information, I would expect they would not want to read any of it. But it really wouldn't matter how you sent it, would it? You need to keep the information relevant, useful, fresh and timely, but don't abuse the ease and low cost of emailing by sending messages too frequently.

Objection #3

My clients prefer receiving something tangible, something they can read at their leisure, wherever that may be. That's why I send a printed newsletter.

This one's easy. Provide a 'printer friendly' version for clients who wish to read your newsletter away from their PC. It's as simple as that.

Here are some other facts and benefits that support using email:

	Email is significantly less expensive and more time efficient than print mail. Email messages cost pennies to send with little effort to implement and sustain. Print costs $0.48 to mail, plus the cost of paper, envelopes, and your time folding, stuffing, licking and stamping.
	Email campaigns are measurable and reporting is readily available. You can track clicks throughout your newsletter. Direct mail presents many challenges and much effort to measure its success.
	Email is interactive. You can link to your web site or others.
	Email is very accessible. You can easily refer your friends' and colleagues' email addresses, open emails and save emails.
	Email makes referring very easy; that is referring to an email newsletter, not necessarily a meeting with you. With access to your address book as your messages arrive; it's easy to refer friends. It's even easier to refer them to an eNewsletter than it would a meeting. You'll generate more people in your pipeline and you'll be able to communicate with them with relative ease. Simply send them the same email newsletter as your clients.
	Email newsletters are easy to print if your clients prefer to read them away from their PC. It's quite simple.

Can using the Internet help generate referrals?
If you have clients who use the Internet is their a chance that there are other people like them, you know, affluent Internet users? Might they be in need of your services as well?

Do you think that your clients have friends and colleagues that use the Internet also? Do you think that they might refer their friends to your email newsletter? Would they be as willing to refer them to your office for a meeting with you? Chances are you are more likely to get a referral to your email newsletter than to your office. That doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for these type referrals, but why not incorporate both.

Not only will you get referrals to your email newsletter. Clients and prospects can direct friends and colleagues to archived articles and newsletters on your web site. What a great place to research their financial planning needs, on your site.

To summarize:

	It's inexpensive.
	It's easy to implement.
	It's easy to sustain.
	It's measurable.
	It's dynamic and interactive.
	It's accessible 24/7.
	It saves your time and your staff's time.
	It significantly increases the efficiency and synergy of all your marketing initiatives.
	It's builds your pipeline through eReferrals.
	It's 'Chauffeur Driven', Freedomarketing implements and manages your eNewsletter for you.
	It's fresh.

It's an opportunity to significantly increase your marketing and communications efforts with relative ease. This will ultimately lead to more referrals and client loyalty.

Kirk Lowe is President of Freedomarketing, a marketing consulting firm that specializes in helping financial services professionals build their businesses through integrating technology with traditional marketing and communications. He can be reached at (888) 677-8946 or kirk@freedomarketing.ca.