Advisor Branding: 30 Ways To Be Different

Financial Advisor Branding Tips


Most financial advisors and firms aspire to be seen as different and/or better than their peers. While we don’t often see unique approaches to marketing in this industry, done well it can have a powerful impact on successfully marketing your financial practice.

For many advisors it’s a struggle to define their brand; I’d say this is a universal challenge for entrepreneurs. The good news is that it’s not as difficult to define your difference as you might think. When considering the ideas below, you’ll want to ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I do this differently than my peers/competitors?

2. Do I do this better than my peers/competitors?

3. Do either of the above matter to my ideal audience?

Here’s 30 ways you can create a meaningful difference for your brand:

  • Passion
  • Target audience expertise
  • Situational expertise (life event, tax circumstance)
  • Own an idea
  • Leverage history
  • Solve a problem no one else has solved
  • Redefine how people work with financial services
  • Be more personal
  • Change the client experience – build a new client expectation paradigm
  • Break away from conventional wisdom
  • Partner with other non-financial brands
  • Share values with your audience
  • Be scarce – work with fewer people in fewer situations
  • Be professional, but unusual
  • Be shocking
  • Re-invent a category and own it
  • Tell a story no one else can own
  • Your professional interests
  • Personal interests
  • Approach
  • Business model
  • Credentials
  • Team
  • Dedication
  • Education
  • Access to talent
  • Access to solutions
  • Tangible service (you write financial plans)
  • Behavior
  • Be the underdog
  • Advisor branding is paramount for having a clear focus, relevant value to your audience, and enhanced advisor marketing.