Written By: Ginny Hudgens | The Strategic Implementer
An "ideal client profile" is a tool used by financial advisers to define the demographic of their ideal customer. But it may not be enough in today's digital era to entice and engage high-net-worth investors. Newly wealthy millennials, in particular, are incredibly picky about who they interact with if they don't immediately see the benefit in doing so.
In today's highly connected world, it's more important than ever for financial advisors to understand and speak the language of their target audience. To do so, you must expand your knowledge of your target client by learning more about them, their profession, their mindset, their preferred methods of communication, and the reasons they would want to work with you.
That's where the "client persona" comes in.
A recent Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study found that advisory firms that build a client value proposition and marketing plan around a documented client persona attract 42% more new clients and 45% more new clients.
What Exactly is a Client Persona?
Hootsuite defines a customer persona as a "detailed description of someone who represents your target audience." It's similar to an ideal client profile, except it's written from the viewpoint of the client, not the adviser. Creating a client persona requires In-depth research into the characteristics and motivations of a target audience. When done properly, a client persona provides a map for your marketing efforts, dictating what you say and how you say it to potential customers. Some advisors create several client personas to reflect the variety of clients they want to attract.
How to Develop a Client Persona
A client persona is an idealized representation of a particular sort of client that is brought to life through research and analysis. It should include not just demographic and financial information but also your analysis of the problems they face, interests, and motives. It's worth the time and effort it takes to determine who makes up your ideal client.
Here are the steps to creating a client persona:
Aim for specific demographics or niche markets. Focusing on a smaller subset of high-net-worth people may help you better reach them. Within the high-net-worth demographic, for instance, you may develop distinct personas for professionals, executives, and company owners, or any combination thereof.
Explore your client database
Client files are a rich source of information for building personas, including demographic details and financial information. Use a spreadsheet to create a data model based on variables such as occupation, area of expertise, age, marital status, number of children, level of education, annual income, net worth, and kinds of assets. For business owners and executives, Include details about the company, such as its industry, revenues, organizational structure, and clientele.
Conduct Client Interviews
Your clients are a gold mine for actionable data, such as challenges, interests, and other insights. Inform them you'll be using a client persona in your marketing and client interactions and would like their input in developing them. Meet with the client in an informal setting.
Here are some questions to include in your interview:
- Can you tell me about some of your most pressing aspirations? Why do you place such value on them?
- What are your professional or business objectives?
- What are the obstacles you face in accomplishing your aims?
- What keeps you up at night?
- What's on your reading list—books, publications?
- What groups or networks do you belong to?
- What social media sites do you belong to?
- What criteria do you use while deciding on a critical course of action?
- What information sources do you rely on?
- To what extent might someone in my position assist you in resolving some of your most pressing issues?
- How do you prefer to communicate with your advisors?
Study their Social Media
Facebook and Instagram are where you can find out more about their interests. Check out their LinkedIn profile to learn more about them professionally. You can find out more about their professional connections on LinkedIn. You can learn a lot about someone's interests and habits by seeing who they follow on Twitter and what they retweet.
Complete the Client Persona
A client persona shouldn't be more than one page long and should be divided into the following sections:
Background (private, professional, academic); Family; Demographics (age, gender, socioeconomic position); Financial (income, net worth, asset kinds); Goals/Aspirations; Hobbies/Interests; Challenges; Biggest Fears/Concerns; Communication Preferences; Information Sources; etc.
Compile relevant data and patterns on a spreadsheet to begin making a composite. You should be able to zero in on the composite of each category as you develop the character. Give your composite character a name, like Barry Business Owner Executive, after you're done with them.
Using Client Personas to Your Advantage
What you say and how you say it in emails, blog posts, webinars, and presentations should all be informed by your customer persona. You can hone your message until it strikes a chord with your intended audience. This helps you zero in on what's essential and direct your energy and resources accordingly. More importantly, make it a priority to find opportunities to engage with your ideal client.
Put your client persona to work for you by:
- Enhancing your niche appeal. Show that you're not an advisor who offers stock advice.
- Being specific in your conversations. Produce more targeted presentations with messages that hit home.
- Adding extra context to your writing. Knowing your audience's likes and dislikes is vital to generating compelling content that will resonate with them.
- Establishing trust quickly. Faster rapport building is possible with more targeted messaging.
- Being more consistent with your messaging. Using customer personas allows you to better understand your leads and how to get them to engage with you.
Financial advisers are learning that the ideal clients they want to attract aren't fond of cookie-cutter messaging. If the content of your website, blog, or email campaigns doesn't directly address the concerns of your target audience, they'll probably look elsewhere.
The Bottom Line
In an age dominated by targeted digital communication and highly specific consumer needs, financial advisors can no longer rely solely on traditional methods to attract high-net-worth clients. The power of a well-researched and detailed client persona is undeniable, providing a more refined approach to understanding and addressing the unique concerns of potential clients. The statistics speak for themselves: advisory firms that invest in this approach are significantly outpacing their peers in attracting new clientele.
The time and effort dedicated to building these personas, deeply understanding their aspirations, fears, challenges, and communication preferences, not only enriches the advisor-client relationship but also paves the way for more personalized and effective marketing strategies. As the financial advisory landscape evolves, those who truly understand their clients will not only survive but thrive in this competitive space.
Interested in redefining your approach and creating client personas tailored for success?
Schedule a consultation with The Strategic Implementer today and embark on a journey to attract and engage your ideal client like never before.