The investor survey respondents gave high marks to value propositions that emphasized confidence, empowerment and accountability.
Advisors should also speak directly to a client’s potential dreams and aspirations and discuss how their own visions align with the clients’.
According to Pershing, advisors are failing to tailor their messages to the client base they wish to target, and are missing an opportunity to emphasize the importance of trust, accountability and transparency.
When Pershing’s researchers were asked to look across social media for advisors’ value proposition statements and messaging, they came back largely empty-handed, according to the report. Yet prospective clients are turning to digital tools to find their advisors—more than three-fifths of the investors surveyed said they researched advisors online.
More than two-fifths of the respondents, 41 percent, said they used Google to find information about potential advisors, making it the top source, followed by LinkedIn, which was used by 27 percent of the respondents. The SEC’s advisor search, Facebook and Twitter rounded out the top five digital sources used by investors to find advisors.
Potential clients, especially younger ones, are also looking at advisors’ personal social media accounts for information, with one in three of the survey’s respondents looking at an advisor’s personal Facebook page and over 50 percent of them deciding not to work with an advisor because of something they saw posted there. More than two-thirds of the respondents under the age of 40 had checked a prospective advisor’s personal Facebook page, and of those, 66 percent had decided not to work with an advisor because of something they saw there.
Pershing warns advisors to be careful about posting their opinions on social media, and to make sure that posts expressed on personal pages remain in line with their firms’ value propositions.
Advisors should also keep in mind the differences among client generations. Younger investors care more about personal happiness, enjoying their lives and having a positive attitude toward their wealth as opposed to mere financial performance. Older investors tend to be more conservative and respond more positively to messages on capital preservation and income generation.
Investors under age 40 tend to be more entrepreneurial and are more likely to respond positively to value propositions offering guidance through life events. Investors over age 65, on the other hand, care more about trust, integrity and fiduciary advice.
Pershing identified “power words” that investors prefer most, including “committed,” “comprehensive,” “dedicated,” “independent,” “objective,” “financial planning” and “reliable.”