As a small business owner, you’re unlikely to have time to individually reach out to hundreds of contacts on a regular basis, but this is a problem that technology can solve! Email and marketing automation tools help elevate your communication, saving you precious time while still inviting your contacts into conversation.
There are many marketing automation tools available to choose from, but picking the right one is vital. There are several questions you need to think through on the technology side:
1. How easy is it for you to use?
Complicated tools that you and your team don’t understand will not be utilized. Make sure setup is simple and support is available. You want new team members to pick it up quickly and/or receive readily available training and help. Changes to settings, configurations, and edits to content should all be quick and easy.
2. Does it integrate with your CRM?
If you’re already segmenting your contacts into groups inside a CRM, an integration is a must – you don’t want to double your work! Automatic syncing to update groups for the automations you’re sending should happen regularly, without you having to log in.
3. Does it have a compliance portal?
A streamlined compliance process can save you hours of time and frustration. The best email marketing automation tool for financial advisors will also include pre-approved materials written by those that are already sensitive to compliance concerns and the ability to send content for approval directly.
4. Are analytics available?
Seeing analytics on your digital marketing efforts is important. You need a system that tracks deliverability, open rates, and conversions to know if your campaigns are successful. With a limited marketing budget, you want to be certain that the marketing automation subscription is benefiting your audiences.
5. Is customization an option?
You’ve worked hard on your branding and want to promote your business – so customization is a must for the content you send! You should be able to send emails from your custom domain name with your company logo and colors, post directly to your professional social media accounts, and (ideally) link contact to your website.
Everything that comes from you and your practice is a reflection on you. Communications impact the brand and reputation of your office, so unless you’re not planning on creating every single thing you share, you’ll also need to carefully scout the content available on your marketing automation tool. A few questions you should consider:
1. What types of content are available?
Look for a content library containing articles, letters, emails, social media posts, and more. Ask about variation of topic inside the library and within the automations. Check on length of campaigns and frequency of automations as well, since different groups may have different preferences. Another important feature is being able to sort through the library with a keyword search and/or filters.
2. Can you write your own content and edit theirs?
With most systems that include pre-written content, you’ll be able to edit their content to customize the message for your audience. That is important to ensure before subscribing, as is the ability to write your own, custom content. This allows you to craft your own messages, stand out, and share your own stories and updates. Especially if you’re using this tool for bulk client emails, this is a must!
3. Are the content curators from the financial services industry?
With such a technical (and regulated) industry, compliance sensitivity and some financial understanding will prove very helpful. When your content library is full of relevant financial information and targeted content about financial topics, your job is much easier. Look for examples of professional but approachable emails that contains appropriate calls to action (CTAs) for your audiences.
4. Do they regularly share timely and relevant financial news?
The best providers will have both evergreen and timely content for your client communications and prospecting drips. Look for a service that posts new content to their library regularly and ask how long it takes to respond to current events. Any automated campaigns should be freshly written each time it sends, ideally speaking to both financial topics and current or lifestyle events.
Your broker-dealer should be providing you with marketing support, ideally including some technologies to make your live easier. At USA Financial we provide exclusive content and additional support for a marketing automation tool called MarketingHQ, which is powered by FMG.
