Use these tips to market yourself as the obvious choice for retirees.
Financial Advisors Attracting Retirees: When I ask financial advisors “Who is your target market?” I often get a blank stare. Then an “um” and a reply “I work with, you know, the retired crowd.” So I say “So what’s your message for the retired crowd?” and there is silence. If this sounds like you, you are a financial advisor generalist. Don’t be one. Be more targeted with your message!
I am famous for saying:
“If you market to anyone and everyone, you market to no one.” ME!
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I get it. As a Financial Advisor Coach since 2004, I understand the over 50 crowd has accumulated the money and they want to know what to do with it before they retire or after they have already retired. But if your message to them is the same old generic pitch, you are NOT going to get them as clients.
Marketing to retirees and pre-retirees requires getting inside their head and finding their hot buttons and points of pain through Niche Marketing also known as Target Marketing.
So, actively marketing your business is the foundation of building your client base as a financial advisor. But unfocused marketing causes you to try to cater to everyone – which attracts no one. So, it’s crucial to have a clear marketing strategy in the form of a Financial Advisor Marketing Plan https://www.prosperitycoaching.biz/a-marketing-to-the-affluent-9-week-course/.
Today, we’re going to run through how to come up with an effective marketing plan to attract retirees and pre-retirees; what marketing strategies you may wish to implement as a financial advisor; and finally, to help you focus your marketing efforts toward retirees and retired couples, what the concerns of retirees are and what keeps them up at night. Read on below to learn more.
What Is a Financial Advisor Marketing Plan Attracting Retirees?
As the name implies, a Financial Advisor Marketing Plan is a specific plan that details how you’ll actively market and advertise your services to your current and prospective clients.
Having a specific plan, as opposed to a vague one, allows you to:
- Identify your target audience
- Determine your unique selling proposition (USP) also known as a Value Proposition
- Outline your marketing objectives
- Allocate your marketing budget efficiently
What Should I Include in My Financial Advisor Marketing Plan for Retirees?
Your marketing plan should be as specific as possible. Given that and the fact that every financial advisor is different, only you can determine how best to write your marketing plan. But to guide you, consider the elements below as things you may wish to consider adding to your unique plan.
Marketing Objectives for Financial Advisors
Before you even think of beginning your marketing efforts, you must reflect on why you’re marketing your business in the first place. For example, you may be ramping up your marketing efforts in order to:
- Attract new prospects
- Increase your visibility
- Build authority within your niche
As you come up with objectives for your marketing campaign, it’s essential to be as specific as possible. Coming up with specific goals makes it easier to create an actionable plan comprised of bite-sized steps to follow.
Marketing Budget for Financial Advisors
No matter how grand your marketing objectives are, none of them will matter if you can’t afford to implement steps to meet your objectives. The budget portion of your plan should include:
- How much you can set aside to spend on marketing efforts (read How much should a financial advisor spend on marketing)
- What the estimated ROI is for each marketing activity
Marketing Tips and Tricks for Financial Advisors Attracting Retirees
Once you’ve set your objectives, you’ll need to implement marketing strategies to promote your services. As mentioned earlier, your marketing plan is unique to you; thus, you’ll need to sit down to brainstorm what marketing strategies to use. But to help you get started, consider the tips and tricks listed below.
Start a Blog
Starting a blog – and regularly updating it – is a fantastic way to showcase your expertise while improving your search engine ranking. It would be best to publish blog posts that incorporate keywords that prospective clients search for to solve their biggest points of pain.
Blogging is a digital marketing strategy also know as Inbound Marketing!
Big tip: NEVER, I MEAN NEVER put duplicate content on your blog. If you were given pre written articles from your marketing organization or b/d, this is duplicate. It will cause a PENALTY to your website and you will NEVER GET ANY TRAFFIC.
Starting a blog also increases your credibility. In the digital age, having your own little space on the internet signals to prospective clients that you’re serious about what you do.
Use Social Media to reach retirees
When making cold calls and asking for referrals, your reach is limited. On social media sites – such as Facebook, where retirees hang out – you reach multiple people at the same time. What’s more, you can easily connect with clients from the other side of the country! All in all, social media is an efficient and effective way of communicating with and advertising to clients.
One last note on social media – retirees do use it. Social media is no longer used exclusively by teens. Retirees are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and are becoming more comfortable using all sorts of tools on the internet.
Host Virtual Events for retirees
Despite the country opening and life going back to normal for many people, COVID has made virtual events a norm. Gone are the days of virtual events being reserved for international meetings.
When hosting a virtual event, it’s important not to bore your attendees with hardly any audience engagement. If you’re stumped thinking about how to liven up your online webinar about retirement planning, you may wish to do some pre-event polling. Doing so makes your potential attendees feel that whatever you’re going to present at the webinar will be tailored to their needs.
Target your Seminar / Webinar to Retirees by solving their pain!
Even though you may be holding a webinar on a mundane topic such as preserving one’s nest egg, it won’t do you any harm to use quizzes or visual aids to engage the audience.
Additionally, it’s essential to become intimately familiar with the platform you’re using. If you’re hosting a webinar on Zoom, take a few minutes beforehand to familiarize yourself with all the settings, buttons, and features available to you; running into a technical problem during the webinar itself can ruin your momentum and cause attendees to lose interest.
When choosing what marketing techniques and strategies to use, you’re also going to want to prioritize some tools more than others. No one has infinite resources, so you’re going to want to consider how best to focus your efforts.
Give away a free E-book that tugs at the heart strings of Retirees and then write Personalized Marketing Emails also known as autoresponders
When retirees search the internet, they are often seeking a solution to the pain they are experiencing. With a free E-book, you can attract them right to your website. You will capture their names and emails and then you can follow up with a series of automated emails.
An easy and effective way to attract retiree clients is with your marketing emails and add a personal touch. Address each area of your E-book in each of your follow up emails and provide VALUE.
Make it a point to personalize your emails as this can be done automatically. Don’t let your automated emails feel dry and bland. Add some flavor!
What Should Financial Advisors Know When Marketing to Retirees?
Retirees and retired couples have specific concerns that keep them up at night. By being aware of their concerns, you can tailor your marketing efforts, such as E-books and blogs, to cater specifically to their demographic. Take a look at some of the top concerns of retirees below.
Retirees Not Having Enough to Retire
The COVID-19 pandemic served as a financial wake-up call for many and caused them to think more seriously about their work and retirement plans.
In a recent report, 36% of surveyed Americans believed they would never have enough money to retire comfortably. What’s more, about 41% stated that it would “take a miracle” for them to be financially secure in retirement.
Doubtless, the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on retirement security in the US. Specifically, it did this by lowering interest rates while increasing inflation rates. Additionally, the continuous instability of the market is causing issues for long-term financial security. Despite this, many Americans wish to retire as soon as possible and helping retirees determine HOW MUCH THEY NEED TO RETIRE will be providing tremendous value.
Paying for Health Care
The cost of health care is also a key retirement concern for Americans. Twenty-eight percent of surveyed Americans are worried that their medical expenses will be too high for them to handle. More strikingly, less than 15% of those approaching retirement age have even bothered to think about how much they’ll spend on health care after retiring, even considering Medicare.
Having Too Much Debt
More than one in ten Americans worry about being too deep in debt after retiring; their worries may be valid. In 2015, the average 65-year-old American had over $48,000 in debt. Compare this to 2003, when the figure was at a lower $34,000. During this period, debt rose by about 60% for all borrowers aged 50 to 80.
Many such pre-retirees DO have money put away in their retirement accounts so they can benefit tremendously from your advice to pay down debt prior to retirement.
Investment Instability
Although some may feel they’re saving enough for retirement, they may be worried that their investments may not be able to keep up and provide sufficient income when they need it. In the long term, the stock market has delivered a decent rate of return. But what if a recession strikes the moment one chooses to retire?
Compound these concerns with a few things the pandemic has made visible to us. The pandemic shed light on how previously stable stocks – airlines, hospitality businesses, and the like – can plummet due to unpredictable events and situations.
If “stable stocks” are no longer stable and dividend-paying stocks choose to cancel their dividends, how can investors be confident that their investments today will support them in their retirement years?
This is where you can help retirees and pre-retirees with Retirement Income Planning so that they draw down their investments in the right order.
The Death of a Spouse
The unexpected death of a spouse has ramifications that extend beyond emotional grief for one approaching retirement age. This tragic event also affects one’s retirement income and taxes.
Aside from the cost of health care and hospice, those who a spouse leaves behind also have to deal with the reduction in Social Security benefits and pensions; unfortunately, many people aren’t aware that even though their income may stay the same after the death of a spouse, their income tax liability will change because of the change in their filing status.
Hot buttons and points of pain for retirees and pre-retirees
Aside from the issues listed above, retirees and retired couples also tend to worry about the following:
- How can I avoid probate?
- What can I do to ensure my legacy is maximized?
- How can I pass my retirement assets on to my children while legally minimizing taxes?
- What strategies can I use to reduce future taxes?
- How can I keep Uncle Sam out of my pocketbook?
- How can I maximize my Social Security income?
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re a new financial advisor or are an experienced financial advisor hoping to work with more retirees and retired couples, thinking about the ideas and implementing the strategies laid out above can only do you good.
If you’re in need of more assistance marketing your financial advisory business, contact me today. I have been coaching financial advisors since 2004 and would be glad to help you!
