Marketing On a Time Budget Part 1: Five Steps for Foolproof Planning

Marketing On a Time Budget Part 1: Five Steps for Foolproof Planning

I know you’re busy. You get 800 emails and calls a day, have a constant tidal wave of paperwork flowing in and out… I get it. You don’t have time to spare to make sure you are driving traffic to your website or to check your emails’ open rates, or for that matter, even have emails going out to your clients.

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My clients consistently share they would like to put more effort into their website, client emails, and content but lack the time. The primary deterrent from marketing is a lack of time, and many people think of marketing as a disruption to their business, but it doesn’t have to be. There is a way to market your business on a time budget. You can market your practice without disrupting your business by following some simple suggestions to improve your reach and keep in better contact with your clients.

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Create a plan that will save you time & money with these 5 steps for foolproof planning.

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You have to identify what your business goal is in order to avoid frivolous dollars and time in areas that don’t align with your end goal.

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For example, I work with some advisors who their goal is to grow their practice by a dollar amount or by an increase in client numbers. They would focus on different methods in order to reach more prospects than another advisor who is primarily concerned with client retention. This step will help you focus on where you should spend your time and money and keep you from going down a road that will waste your time.

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Determine the value of each new client and retaining clients. This helps you quantify how much you would be willing to spend in time or money to achieve your goal. If a new client is worth $5,000 in revenue annually, spending $10 per new lead doesn’t seem out of proportion. Or, if you’re looking to double your revenue, spending $10-$20,000 on marketing is a reasonable annual investment. It is helpful to compare your marketing and advertising budget in relation to your business goals so that you also have an idea of how to measure your results.

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You should also consider what the value is for you personally to have help managing your marketing and client communications so you can focus on your clients’ needs. Many times a marketing partner is helping you continually strategize for your business goals in addition to keeping your business on track with maintaining a modern website, a polished social media presence, and consistent client communications that you may not be able to stay on top of yourself. Or, an employee or junior advisor could handle these tasks for your business to free up your time.

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Which marketing tactics have been working? Sometimes you just need to take time to evaluate where your business is coming from currently or how you have found retention to work best in your business.

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For example, when I looked at six months of new clients I identified two sources that were the most effective.  While I’m not going to abandon the other venues, it does give me insight into what is working best and where I can maximize the results by putting more time and effort into those areas. This can save you time by doubling up your efforts in areas that have proven successful in the past.’

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This could be tools, a person, or a company to help you maximize your marketing efforts to reach your business goals quicker and more efficiently. Is there an employee who would be great at coming up with social media content? Or, maybe there is a better email marketing tool you could use to make it easier to generate campaigns and will give you better insight into how your emails are doing. You may decide an outside marketing service is necessary. I work primarily with companies who need part-time marketing support and don’t have the bandwidth in-house to tackle all their marketing needs.

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You will need to have a game plan but then the discipline to follow through. It can be extremely helpful to have others help you stay accountable. This could be a monthly meeting with a co-worker to discuss marketing projects and progress. I’ve even seen advisors partner with another firm in a different state to share resources and ideas. They meet regularly to exchange ideas and results. Another option is an outside marketing coach or professional to plan and execute the projects for you. Establish deadlines for each project to create some urgency and share them with another person to help you stay accountable.

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Have questions about any of the 5 steps to foolproof planning? Reach out to me to discuss your marketing options.

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