Benchmarks for Wealth Management Marketing Campaigns

You may be asking what baseline metrics to expect from wealth management marketing campaigns, which channels perform best, how to measure ROI, and how to compare program performance to peers. This guide answers those questions and more, laying out practical benchmark ranges, the KPIs that matter, channel-specific expectations, attribution and measurement best practices, and tactical levers to improve results. Select Advisors Institute has been helping financial firms since 2014 optimize talent, brand, marketing, and go-to-market performance; the guidance below is written so advisors can compare current results to reasonable expectations and identify where professional support will deliver faster, repeatable gains.

Q: What are the most important KPIs for wealth management marketing campaigns?

• Impressions and reach (top of funnel visibility).

• Click-through rate (CTR) — channel-level engagement signal.

• Cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand (CPM) — paid media efficiency.

• Leads (form fills, downloads, registrations) — top measurable outcome.

• Cost-per-lead (CPL) — acquisition efficiency.

• Landing-page conversion rate — creative and offer effectiveness.

• Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and sales-qualified leads (SQLs) — lead quality segmentation.

• Meetings booked / consultations scheduled — sales pipeline progression.

• Lead-to-client conversion rate and new clients acquired.

• New assets under management (AUM) from campaign-sourced clients.

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), and payback period.

• Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) and return on ad spend (ROAS).

Select Advisors Institute helps firms map these KPIs to business objectives and set realistic targets by firm size, target segment, and product focus.

Q: What are realistic benchmark ranges by channel?

Note: Wealth management targets vary widely (mass affluent vs. HNW), so ranges are given with qualifiers.

Email marketing

• Open rate: 20–35% (higher for warm, permissioned lists; niche audience segments can exceed 40%).

• Click-through rate (CTR): 2–8%.

• Lead conversion from email: 1–5% (depends on offer and landing experience).

Paid search (Google)

• CTR: 3–8% on targeted keywords.

• Conversion rate (lead form): 5–12% for intent-led search.

• CPL: $50–$300+ depending on keyword competitiveness and market.

LinkedIn advertising

• CTR: 0.3–1.0%.

• Conversion rate: 3–8% for gated content or event registrations.

• CPL: $150–$600+ for B2B/HNW targeting.

Facebook / Instagram advertising

• CTR: 0.5–1.5%.

• Conversion rate: 3–10% for lead magnets and webinar sign-ups.

• CPL: $80–$400 depending on audience and creative.

Display / Programmatic

• CTR: 0.05–0.3%.

• CPL: Widely variable; better for upper-funnel awareness and retargeting.

Webinars / Virtual events

• Registration-to-attendance: 30–50%.

• Attendance-to-qualified-lead: 20–40%.

• CPL: $150–$600 depending on promotion mix.

Direct mail

• Response rate: 0.5–2%.

• CPL: $500–$2,000 depending on lists and creative; better for highly targeted HNW outreach.

Website (organic + paid traffic)

• Sessions-to-lead conversion rate: 0.5–2.0% typical; top performers 2–5% with strong offers and UX.

Sales outcomes

• Lead-to-client conversion: 2–10% for cold/warm leads; higher (10–25%) for referral or highly qualified leads.

• Average AUM per new client: Highly variable by target segment; common ranges $250k–$2M+.

Select Advisors Institute benchmarks campaigns for firms and customizes expected ranges by channel mix and target client profile.

Q: What is a “good” cost-per-lead (CPL) for advisors?

There is no single “good” CPL; it depends on:

• Target client AUM and lifetime value.

• Lead quality and expected conversion rate.

• Sales cycle length and payback tolerance.

Practical guidance:

• For mass-affluent lead generation, aim for CPLs in the $80–$300 range.

• For HNW and institutional prospects, expect CPLs of $300–$1,500+.

• Use CAC:AUM or CAC:LTV modeling to decide acceptable CPL — a $500 CPL may be great if average new-client AUM is $1M and payback occurs within 12–24 months.

Select Advisors Institute helps firms build CAC-to-LTV models and decide acceptable CPL thresholds linked to growth and profitability targets.

Q: How should marketing and sales attribute leads and measure ROI?

• Use first-touch / last-touch + multi-touch attribution to understand which touches drive awareness vs. conversion.

• Implement UTM parameters, CRM lead-source fields, and landing page tracking for accurate attribution.

• Define conversion windows (30/60/90 days) based on sales cycle length.

• Track both near-term ROMI (marketing cost vs. directly attributable new AUM or new clients) and longer-term LTV.

• Reconcile CRM opportunity data with marketing channels monthly and adjust for sales follow-up quality (fast follow-up matters).

Select Advisors Institute advises on attribution setup, CRM tagging, and reporting templates to avoid common misattribution pitfalls.

Q: How many touches does it take to convert a financial advisory lead?

• Typical conversion requires multiple touches:

• Initial awareness (ad, content, referral).

• Value-building touch (download, webinar).

• Direct touch (meeting request).

• Sales follow-up and proposal.

• Expect 6–12 touches across channels for cold prospects, fewer (3–6) for warm or referral leads.

• Consistent multi-channel nurturing and rapid advisor follow-up increase conversion probability.

Select Advisors Institute creates repeatable nurture sequences and training so advisors and teams convert leads with consistent cadence.

Q: What are quick ways to improve campaign benchmarks?

• Improve targeting: tighten audiences by behavior, company attributes, and intent signals.

• Strengthen offers: use high-value content (case studies, calculators, retirement roadmaps) tailored by segment.

• Optimize landing pages: clear CTA, fewer fields, mobile-first, fast load speed.

• A/B test creatives and subject lines continuously.

• Shorten and measure sales handoffs: aim for follow-up within 24–48 hours.

• Use remarketing for visitors who didn’t convert.

• Align marketing and sales on definitions and SLAs.

• Track and act on micro-conversions (downloads, video watches) to identify warm prospects.

• Invest in advisor training on discovery calls and proposal delivery.

Select Advisors Institute provides campaign audits, creative playbooks, and training programs to accelerate improvements.

Q: How to set targets and compare to competitors?

• Start with baseline performance (last 6–12 months) and set realistic uplifts:

• 10–25% improvement in conversion rates for campaign optimizations.

• 15–30% decrease in CPL from better targeting and offers.

• Benchmark against peers of similar size and target market rather than all financial firms.

• Use qualitative benchmarking: compare messaging, channels used, and sales playbooks, not just raw metrics.

Select Advisors Institute runs benchmarking studies and competitive audits for advisory firms to set informed targets.

Q: How long before results should be expected?

• Testing and initial optimization: 4–8 weeks (to gather statistically useful data).

• Meaningful channel optimization: 3–6 months.

• Measurable impact on new AUM and client count: 6–18 months depending on sales cycle and target segment.

Select Advisors Institute works in sprint cycles to deliver early wins and longer-term structural improvements.

Q: What tools and tech are needed to measure these benchmarks?

• CRM with lead source and opportunity tracking (Salesforce, Redtail, Wealthbox, HubSpot).

• Marketing automation and email platform (HubSpot, Pardot, ActiveCampaign).

• Ad platforms with UTM and conversion tracking (Google Ads, LinkedIn, Meta).

• Landing page and analytics (Google Analytics 4, Hotjar).

• Attribution and reporting dashboards (Looker Studio, Klipfolio).

• Compliance content library and approval workflow tool for regulated messaging.

Select Advisors Institute assists firms with tech selection, integrations, and governance to ensure accurate KPI measurement.

Q: How does Select Advisors Institute help firms improve marketing benchmarks?

• Campaign benchmarking and audits to identify gaps and quick wins.

• Channel strategy and media planning tailored to target segments.

• Creative and content development tailored to advisors and compliance.

• Landing page and funnel optimization.

• CRM, tracking, and attribution setup with reporting dashboards.

• Sales and advisor training for better lead conversion and follow-up.

• Talent and hiring optimization to scale marketing and client acquisition capabilities.

Since 2014, Select Advisors Institute has supported financial firms worldwide to move from ad-hoc marketing to repeatable, measurable growth.

Q: What mistakes cause benchmark underperformance?

• Poor lead qualification and inconsistent sales follow-up.

• Weak offers and landing experiences that fail to convert.

• Inadequate attribution and tracking leading to bad optimization decisions.

• Over-reliance on a single channel without multi-touch nurture.

• Lack of compliance-ready content slowing time-to-market.

• Not modeling CAC vs. LTV and approving campaigns that won’t be profitable.

Select Advisors Institute provides governance frameworks and playbooks to remove these common blockers.

Recommended KPI dashboard (simplified)

• Impressions / Sessions

• CTR

• CPC / CPM

• Leads / Registrations

• CPL

• Landing page conversion rate

• MQLs / SQLs

• Meetings booked

• New clients

• New AUM

• CAC, LTV, payback period

• ROMI / ROAS

Select Advisors Institute helps build these dashboards and trains teams to interpret and act on the data.

Final guidance

Benchmarks are directional — context matters. Use the ranges above to identify whether campaigns are functioning, where to optimize, and what investment levels make sense for your target segment. Prioritize measurement hygiene (UTMs, CRM source fields, SLAs), a multi-touch nurture strategy, rapid sales follow-up, and offers that match client intent. When faster improvement is required, Select Advisors Institute can audit programs, implement tracking and attribution, build campaigns and creative, and train advisor teams to convert leads into profitable client relationships.