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I can't help thinking that this is the secret to marketing professional services from now on
Anyone who deals with money is under the spotlight right now. Whether you're a banker, pension or investment company, IFA, financial planner, mortgage company or whoever, the whole of Financial Services is under scrutiny.
As consumers we all know that we need to take greater control of our finances, and inevitably we'll need the help of professionals along the way. Yes, the Internet is helping us to do more and more 'DIY' financial planning, but to create and implement an effective financial plan will always need face-to-face help and advice.
So how do you find an IFA or financial planner that you can trust and rely on?
In the 'old days' a friend down the pub might have a suggestion. The modern equivalent is the social networking website where you can quickly and easily get recommendations from a wide range of people.
Then you can look at the online profiles of the people who have been recommended to you, where you can get a sense for their service, their credibility, their likability, their areas of expertise and their trustworthiness. In an ideal world, perhaps attending a financial adviser's seminar would help to you to come to your decision as to whether they are the right adviser for you.
But now, a website called YouTube (you may have heard of it 
) is replacing your mate in the pub. What to many people is seen as a place where you watch and share amusing videos, is turning in to the most incredible marketing tool. A tool which is helping consumers to make faster and easier decisions about who they work with to look after their finances.
The world of Financial Services has been incredibly slow to embrace online communication technology, but the industry is realising that social media will and is helping to restore trust and its reputation.
Take a look at how these two financial planning firms are using video to raise their profile and to attract Internet-savvy consumers. The first video below is for a company in Belfast, and the second is from an IFA in London who will soon be launching a new financial planning service.
Neither of these are like anything else I or you have seen before in the world of financial advice.
North Financial Management
Serenity Financial Planning - preview of the video that Financial Weeks will be using to launch their new financial planning brand
These really do set the standard for financial planners online. And a refreshingly high standard too.
If your firm would like a video along the same lines, please send an email to video@ifalife.com for further details.
Phil
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Author: Philip Calvert
Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | 11:08:57 AM
Comments
IFA Marketing, IFA Web Presence, IFA Business Processes actually suck. Only a handful if firms are getting it right and the once 2013 gets here many are not going to survive it.
In the main your profession has been let down by the Web Design Industry, most of the sellers of online Marketing and of course by your Trade Bodies. Much of what you need to know in order to connect with the 'new breed of web savvy' customers is in the Public Domain and all you need to do is take some of your own advice, consult with someone who knows and take some action.
Spending expensive time on any number of You Tube videos will not do it without a strategy to back it up.
Richard Smith
http://www.theinternetconsultancy.com/?IFALIFE
IFA and Techie
You have a point - net video is fast becoming 'de rigeur' and any firm not embracing it will possibly find themselves left behind.
A mix of this and your other excellent points vis-a-vis Life Planning - now that would be interesting.
Referrals will probably always be the most popular source of new enquiries for IFAs, but how can you be sure they will keep coming?
Consumers turn to the Internet first to find an IFA. Specifically they go to Google - and then they go to YouTube (official).
Phil
Many of the DIY online people you refer to will manage just fine without adviser intervention - especially as systems and tools become more sophisticated.