Sneak Preview of Advisory Board Presentation

This Friday I will be presenting a 75-minute program at FPA Business Solutions 2011 on client advisory boards. Here is a sneak preview of one of the video segments of my talk. 

  This segment includes interviews of a selection of financial advisors who use client advisory boards, reflecting on their rationale for having one and their experiences with it.  None of these advisors are my clients.  I searched for advisors with relevant experiences to include in the presentation, and found many people who approached their boards in different ways, with different outcomes, and it gives the program some nice depth and variety.

If you will be in Boston this week, I hope I will get to see you at the conference!

Let Your Clients Guide Your Marketing

Emerson Investment Management knows the value of getting client guidance in their marketing message.

The firm has sought feedback from its client advisory board for over five years. Among the issues they have brought the board is their marketing communications. First, Emerson sought the board's guidance on determining their differentiator, their competitive advantage. One of the clear messages was that the clients appreciated the depth of the relationship the firm had with them, what managing director Stacy Austin Reinhart describes as "stickiness."

So, the firm retained a marketing consultant who developed the campaign around the slogan "Invested in Relationships." The folks at Emerson like that, and thought it reflected the clients’ feedback well.

Before proceeding, they brought the new campaign to the client advisory board.

The board unanimously disliked it. They felt it didn't connect with them; that it felt impersonal. But they worked on it. After some discussion, they made a small but significant change: "Invested in You."

Everyone on the board expressed the feeling that it spoke to them, it was more personal, and accurately described their feelings about their experience with the firm.

As part of their thank you, Emerson brought the board members a special treat at their next meeting. "We bought everyone sticky buns" said Reinhart.

Your best clients know how to describe your value better than you do. They live it; it's personal. And, if you want to connect with more people like them, it will pay to seek their guidance when developing your marketing messages.