Marie Swift
Marie Swift is president and CEO of Impact Communications, a marketing and PR firm that for over 17 years worked exclusively with independent financial advisors and the institutions that serve them. She is a popular speaker and coach for the Garrett Planning Network, Kinder Institute of Life Planning and FinancialPlanning.com. A frequent contributor to industry publications, her articles appear regularly in Financial Planning magazine, Bank Investment Consultant magazine, Research.com, Transitions e-zine and MorningstarAdvisor.com. Follow her on www.Twitter.com (marieswift). Read her Best Practices in the Financial Services blog at www.marie-swift.blogspot.com.
Managing Your Time and Money – Here’s a Great Tool to Help You Prioritise Tasks and Focus Your Mind
Over the past several weeks, I’ve given you dozens of low-cost marketing ideas – things you can implement and benefit from right now. But with all these options, it's more important than ever to figure out how to budget the time you expend on your marketing efforts. I recommend the Daily Progress Report, a system created by Allyson Lewis, CFP. You can download the form for free from her website, www.SevenMinuteDifference.com.
Proper use of Lewis's form can help you keep on track. Use it to list your top priorities before you leave the office at night and to make sure you know where you're leaving messages and with whom you're communicating. You can use it to play what Lewis calls the "Five Before Eleven" game-which, in a nutshell, means that you have to get your five top priorities done before 11:00 a.m. each day.
Using Surveys to Gather Information and Let Clients Know You Care
Conducting a client survey is a good way to let them know that you care what they think. More important, it will yield valuable information about your clients and your market. With survey information in hand, you can anticipate problems, capitalize on opportunities and expand business relationships. www.SurveyMonkey.com and www.Zoomerang.com are both quick and easy to use, although I recommend that you pay the $20 per month fee to get the ad-free service. You can "brand" your survey template with your logo or even have a graphic designer create a custom banner.
Expand Your Reach with Web 2.0 and Social Networking Online
As I continue along with my series of low-cost marketing ideas, let’s branch out and talk about online outreach.
Podcasts (audio presentations clients can download) and blogs (electronic diaries of sorts, which can be orchestrated in advance to meet corporate communication guidelines and compliance rules) are other low-cost ways to get your message out.
A podcast doesn't have to be fancy or syndicated through iTunes or RSS feeds. For instance, I use a system called www.impact.AudioAcrobat.com, through which I can schedule and record interesting conversations and post them on my blog, www.marie-swift.blogspot.com.
Paper Still Has Its Place – A Little Bit of Paper Can Go a Long Way and is a Tangible Reminder of You
Virtual Face Time – The Next Best Thing to Being There in Person
In my last post, I encouraged you to ramp up your marketing efforts. The good news is you don't need to pay big bucks to promote yourself. There are all kinds of low-cost ways to spread your message via the Internet, as well as the tried-and-true low-tech, high-touch strategies of the past. While meeting with your clients and prospects in person is always the best way to build relationships, you might also consider doing webcasts or teleconferences to supplement your in-person efforts.
Use Face Time To Build Relationships and Market Yourself
The good news is you don't need to pay big bucks to promote yourself. There are all kinds of low-cost ways to spread your message via the Internet, as well as the tried-and-true low-tech, high-touch strategies of the past. Here are some of the options available to you and how you might use them.
