For advisors who are looking to differentiate themselves from the sea of sameness, one of the main areas to focus on is how engaging your website is and how much trust it can develop with your client avatar…FAST! Why?
When someone learns about you, either through a COI, through a client, or on social media, the first thing they do is go check you out on your website. Wouldn’t you check out a doctor if you were referred to him or her? Wouldn’t you want to learn about the recent wins and articles a lawyer wrote, just to understand who will be representing your case?
As Chief Marketing Officers [learn about our Outsourced CMO program] to a large network of advisory firms and one of of the nation’s top financial advisor marketing agencies, we’ve seen our fair share of websites to have great perspective into website best practices for advisors, and we must say, the picture of the old couple sailing on an ocean must be the most overused of them all. Advisory websites tend to look very similar to each other, and really don’t provide much value to the visitor, especially if that visitor barely knows you and has just stumbled on your site through search engines.
It begs the question, what SHOULD you be included on your home page so it invites more people in, converting them from quick bounces and exits to intrigued visitors?
One of the most powerful ways advisors can differentiate their brand and stand out is by embracing psychology. We all make decisions through psychology, so why not tap into that science when looking to stand out to your audience and help them make their decisions around you?
Here is a very basic psychological tool you can directly implement on your website:
It’s psychology 101 that when we see something we deem as “popular”, we automatically assume it’s good and we want to jump in. It’s the same reason why when you see 50,000 reviews on Amazon with a 4.2 rating you validate it as a better item than something with a 5.0 star rating but only 5 reviews. The more reviews the better, one would assume.
It’s the same reason why when you see a restaurant with a line going out the door you automatically assume it’s better than the one that has no one in it. It’s just psychology!
A lot of our decision making behavior can be explained by this interesting psychological phenomenon that us marketers use frequently. Professional sales people have used this sales skills throughout humanity!
This psychological phenomenon is called social proof.
Social proof is the psychological preference for doing what other people are doing, because if other people are doing it, it proves that it must be good.
Social proof in a marketing context is evidence that other people have purchased and found value in a product or service offered by a business. Because people are more likely to purchase a product that others are already purchasing (aka, jumping on the bandwagon), social proof can be a way to increase conversions by showing customers how popular you are.
We have spoken about how to use social proof in your sales meetings and prospect calls. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the video here!
In this article, we’re going to show you how to take advantage of social proof when it comes to your website.
As your website may be your storefront and the first place people will check to verify if they want to speak with you, we believe these two elements of your website will be huge when it comes to converting people from visitors to interested leads. There are many many more ways to beef up your home page, but we think these two critical components can be a good starting point.
Two important items needed on a financial advisor or wealth manager website
1) Stats and Data
As much as we like feeling like someone’s only client, we don’t want that to actually be the case! What I mean is that we want to know this firm we are considering working with has been around the block and has worked with enough people in our situation. They are veteran’s in dealing with our financial planning and investment needs.
One of the top ways of showcasing this is through stats and numbers. Numbers of years in business, number of clients, number of doctors, numbers of financial plans, etc.
Unless you started a week ago, you most likely have such numbers to showcase. Obviously make sure they are factual and have the right disclosures, but we’ve definitely seen enough firms have this on their site, including some we’ve worked on.
How do you showcase stats on your home page?
Start looking at your numbers to see what you can and are allowed to use that your target market will be impressed by. Below are examples:
Number of years in business
Client to advisor ratio
Turnover rate
Net promoter score
Diversity on your team as a percentage of your overall employees
Number of financial plans done last year
Number of articles published
And so so so much more
2) Testimonials
The second most essential way advisors can embrace social proof on their website is to start showcasing on it what others have said about their firm. Similar to a Yelp rating that we want to read what others liked about a doctor or a fitness program, it’s important to showcase how you have changed your clients lives for the better through your financial planning and investment services, using the words of some other clients.
You don’t have to necessarily showcase the name of your clients. You can even include there that for privacy reasons you are not including the full client name.
Some advisors have taken this even further by including testimonial videos on their website.
I know what you’re thinking: What about compliance?
We’ve got you covered through this video interview with RIA and Advisor attorney Chris Stanley of Beach Street Legal. In the video you can hear my personal thoughts on this method.
What do we like to see on a financial services website? Well, it first all starts with your BRANDING! What do you want to be known for, what kind of emotion do you want to evoke in your target viewer?
From there, we go into design and coding mode.
Here are just three trends we like seeing in financial services, wealth management and asset management firms incorporate into their websites:
Content-centered website design without sacrificing creativity. Throughout the pages, we want to see strong pictures and appealing videos displayed elegantly.
Simple and easy-to-read designs with high readability, with some strong bold typeface showcasing your brand and messaging. Minimalistic yet modern to appeal to a busy professional looking to simplify his/her life through your services
Color schemes that showcase flair and personality, and include some fascinating animations and elements which you can gather from some AI imagery
Would you like help revamping or redoing your website to engage more of your target audience? Want better branding from your messaging and design palate, but also to reduce your exit and bounce rate and get more leads from your site?
If so, please schedule a call with us!
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