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A large majority of advisers do not have an Internet marketing plan, a study by IFA Life reveals.
This comes despite growing use of the Internet by consumers as a way of purchasing goods and services.
IFA Life's survey found 99% of advisers have no formalised Internet marketing plan.
Even conventional marketing efforts are neglected, with only 5% of the 1,000 IFAs surveyed admitting to a formal strategy. Those firms with a comprehensive plan are set to benefit from the industry wide inertia, IFA Life says.
Traditionally, the IFA business model relied heavily on ad hoc client referrals.
However according to founder of IFA Life, Philip Calvert, this will inevitably cause problems in the future if their approach to marketing is "not structured."
Surrey-based IFA, Informed Choice, claims only 19% of its business is derived from referrals.
The rest, according to chief executive Nick Bamford, is a combination of media efforts including a company twitter account, daily updates of the corporate website in order to optimise Google searches, as well as an ezine newsletter delivered to 1,100 subscribers and a quarterly newsletter.
"We regularly ask people if they have looked at our website and almost 100% have. Even if clients come through referrals they want to validate us for themselves online," he says.
"Given the importance of a persuasive online presence, we are a week away from launching a new embedded website from which people will easily be able to upload any page to the internet."
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| Comment | IFAs 'too reliant on referrals' |
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On Internet Marketing Plan
Yes a lot of people professing they know the ins and outs of internet marketing do not really know much about it. Therein lies the problem as who to trust to sign up for courses and information. And even though you have signed up, information is still not complete and whoever it is you are paying good money to, wants you to sign up for more. Evelyn Guzman http://www.homebusinesssteps.com (If you want to visit, just click but if it doesn’t work, copy and paste it onto your browser.)
Posted by: Evelyn Guzman
Having the customers you need requires proactive marketing
Any business can be more profitable if it seeks out the right customers, rather than accept the customers who walk through the door. There's nothing wrong with referrals - as long as they fit the right profile. You might be interested in this story of how one IFA changed their business model. http://www.goldsbrough.biz/hjscott
Posted by: Matthew Goldsbrough
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What an unmitigated load of piffle. No doubt this has been put out by a firm willing to help your on line presence and perhaps even supply leads for a fee. We have a web site. It’s mainly for the convenience of those new clients who have been referred and want a little more background before the first meeting. I get 100% of my business through referrals and believe me I’m quite busy enough. Not that I get a flood, but what with them and the ongoing work from existing clients I make a living. The very idea to have the great unwashed wasting my time is horrific. I’ll leave that to those who prefer to put themselves about in that way. I don’t have the time (or inclination) to see people who may or may not do business with me. When someone is referred there is no doubt – business is done. I know I’m not unique and I guess the report is probably right in that respect – most decent IFAs get their business by referral. It's a logical outcome. It’s the best way and it is utter nonsense to try and state otherwise.
Posted by: Harry Katz