10 Ideas to Supercharge Your Retirement Plan Marketing

If your business is looking to increase its prospecting efforts, gain new clients, receive more inbound referrals and/or keep more existing business, then this article is for you. Here are 10 ideas designed to help you enhance your digital presence, earn more business and strengthen important relationships.

Are you ready?

1. Clean up your contact list. Your contact list is one of your most important business-building assets. These people represent your pipeline; they are your potential buyers and referral sources, so treat this list with respect.

First, download and review the information. Look for any typos, misspellings or other inaccuracies. Here are a few common things to look out for: case errors (john) or misspellings (Jon) or other inaccuracies (John S.). If you know the contact well, be sure to use the name they prefer (John vs Johnathan).

Also, look for contacts that have hard bounced. A good question to ask is why did they bounce? Is there a new contact at the company? If so, identity that person and invite them to join your email list.

Aim for over 1,000 contacts on your list. These people should include clients, quality prospects and centers of influence.

2. Audit your marketing materials because the cultural disruption caused by the pandemic has changed a lot of business normalcies. Actions from handshakes to face-to-face meetings are currently obsolete.

Take an hour and objectively look at your brochures, overviews and pitch deck to identify any imagery that needs a refresher.

For example, in your marketing content, do you show a big employee education meeting? If so, that might give viewers a flash of anxiety - too close! Six feet apart! We are hypersensitive to social distancing because we are conditioned by our shared pandemic experience.

For an easy fix, switch out that image for a nine-panel Zoom video conferencing image. Little changes like this show that you are up to date with the times and culturally aware.

When you review your pitch deck, look to see if you have information about emergency savings programs and financial wellness resources. These are two major areas of interest for participants. If you can show the employer how your firm has ideas to remedy participant headaches, it is another way to demonstrate your listening acumen.

3. Make Google your friend. The internet is your biggest center of influence. Use that to your advantage and become friends with Google.

To get started, you need to understand what is said (or not said) about you online. Open an Incognito browser and type in your name. Look at your search results. Ideally, you want the first three results to return:

1. Your business’s website
2. Your LinkedIn profile
3. An article that you wrote and/or were quoted in

Additionally, you want your Google Business profile to appear on the right-hand side of the results. This profile should show your company’s website, phone number, address and images. If you do not see this - no worries - Google “My Business” and set up your account page (it takes about 15 minutes).

These results are either going to produce accurate information, making it easy and convenient for prospects to contact you, or very difficult by highlighting out-of-date or wrong information. Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes; which experience do you want them to have?

Work towards optimizing your search results so when your clients, prospects, or centers of influence are seeking you out for your retirement plan expertise, they can easily find and contact you.

4. Revamp your LinkedIn profile. Ask a friend, colleague, wholesaler and/or trusted peer to review your LinkedIn profile. Find your savviest social media relationship and ask them for their feedback. Do they see any areas for improvement?

Top 3 areas for improvement:

• Headshot (less than 3 years old)
• Outdated contact information
• Vague career information

5. Freshen up your website. Your website is the face of your business. It makes your strongest impression. Think of it like this, if you are referred to a company, what do you do first? You look them up, right? You look at their website. It creates an immediate gut-level reaction that either boosts your confidence or sours your impression.

This is why your website needs to always instill confidence, support your professional reputation and showcase your retirement plan expertise. If you believe your website does this - great work! If you are unsure, set up a call with your technology team and ask them to provide constructive feedback. Ask what other firms are doing? What are the 2021 website trends (yes, this is a real thing)?

You want your website to impress, confirm confidence and help your site visitor take the next step (contacting you).

6. Expand your digital outreach. One of the most effective ways to communicate is via email. Aim to send information that helps your contact list stay informed of retirement plan trends on a bi-monthly basis.

Use email to regularly educate your contact list. Share best practice guides, regulatory updates, e-newsletters, explainer videos and other educational content to teach them how to efficiently oversee their company’s retirement plan.

Your contact list wants to hear from you. They want to learn how to become better fiduciaries. And who better to teach them than you?

7. Make a mobile-friendly business card. Ditching traditional business cards reduces the spread of germs and is eco-friendly. To make your own mobile business card, use this simple tip. Open your phone and add your full contact information including your email, professional headshot, business phone number, cell phone, business address and any other relevant contact information. Then the next time you connect, you can easily “share contact”.

8. Work your network. The pandemic has impacted everyone’s social life and without networking, work can feel a little lonely. Reach out to your professional relationships because they want to hear from you. They miss you. Email one of your favorite clients, wholesalers or partners and invite them to a virtual catch-up session.

They will probably be excited to connect with you and learn how you are doing. You’re probably looking forward to learning how they are doing as well. So much has happened in the last year, so there will be ample topics to catch up on.

Two easy meeting suggestions are either a virtual coffee catch-up (7 - 9 am) or a virtual Happy Hour (4 - 6 pm). Both are slightly outside the normal workday so the conversation should feel more relaxed and personal.

9. Host a webcast. Virtual events are breaking attendance records. With most people in front of their screens, you could host a webcast to talk about a pertinent retirement plan topic (e.g. SECURE Act, Benefits of Financial Wellness, Cash Balance plans, regulatory changes, et al).

To get the word out about your virtual event, here are a few promotion tips.

Invite your entire contact list, we recommend four rounds of invitations:

• 1st invitation: 14 days before
• 2nd invite: 7 days before
• 3rd invite: 1 day before
• 4th invite: the morning of the virtual event

Also, post about your webcast on social media. Use the same invite schedule and post four times about the event. You can also set up an event on LinkedIn and one click to invite your network. By combining both email and social, you are informing your network and could pick up some additional social interest.

As a best practice, during your webcast, ask the attendees to submit their questions. Then at the end of the presentation, answer those questions. Your audience will feel like they have been heard and will get specific value from your great presentation.

10. Thank you and thank you. The next time you want to show sincere appreciation, send a handwritten Thank You note. These tokens of gratitude go a long way to making the recipient feel special.

Think of the last time someone sent you a Thank You card, how did it make you feel? Pretty good, right? Well, wouldn’t you like to spread those good feelings to your closest and most cherished relationships?

Returning to something normal

It’s going to take time, but eventually, life will resume to some sort of normal. By following these 10 ideas to enhance your retirement plan marketing, you will find that your business is positioned for supercharged success.

Thanks for reading and Happy Marketing!

About 401(k) Marketing

We believe the retirement plan industry can do better. Our clients are the best professional retirement plan advisors and TPAs in the business. They care deeply about saving America’s retirement future. We are proud to share their voices through industry writings, professionally designed marketing materials (including websites), and expert content collateral. We lend support by promoting businesses through ongoing awareness campaigns. www.401k-marketing.com

About Retirement Plan Marketing

Retirement Plan Marketing is a product of 401(k) Marketing and is an ongoing turnkey marketing solution for retirement plan advisors. It is an easy-to-follow, consistent marketing program designed to get you noticed in your community and generate new retirement plan sales. When you deliver relevant plan sponsor content, you add value to your conversations and can work your way up to become known as the “go-to” retirement plan advisory office. www.retirementplanmarketinginabox.com