Peak Advisor Alliance research showed that 70 percent of millennials perform online background searches before making a purchase decision, and 64 percent of boomers are doing research online before they’re interacting with a brand. The research also showed that 66 percent of millionaires want to use electronic media to interact with their advisors.
“It’s come to the point where you need to put dedicated time and effort towards your digital presence to ensure that your remain competitive,” Steuter said. “Investors need a place to interact with your firm when you are not physically available, and it has to be a place that they can trust.”
By telling a story to imbue their brand with emotional impact, and by using a strong digital presence to connect with prospects and reinforce their branding, advisors to the affluent are better positioned to benefit from traditional methods of client prospecting.
“There’s a canard that 50 percent of all knowledge of your brand is held by only 20 percent of your clients,” Steuter said. “The question is what are those clients saying about you. Most advisors have no idea how that story is being told and replicated to prospects, but they can get a grasp on it by creating a message that is easy to understand, compelling and easy to share.”