Which Marketing Tactics Work Best for Financial Advisors?

Marketing is one key to your success as an advisor. Without a well-defined marketing plan, you may find it more difficult to reach your target client base and grow your book of business. Knowing which financial advisor marketing tactics deliver the best results and return on investment can help you decide where to focus your time, effort and resources.

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How Advisors Market Their Businesses

The marketing landscape is a broad one that encompasses a variety of digital and traditional channels. A 2024 Kitces report titled “How Financial Planners Actually Market Their Services” sheds some light on which promotional strategies advisors rely on the most.¹

Here are the top 10 ways advisors market their services, from the most-used method to the least, according to the Kitces study:

Client referrals (88%)
Referrals from centers of influence (62%)
In-person networking (42%)
Social media (40%)
Email newsletter (37%)
Blogging (32%)
Search engine optimization (30%)
Client events (28%)
Webinars and seminars (25%)
Lead generation platforms (24%)

Other marketing strategies used by advisors include writing for third-party platforms, sponsorships or paid ads, podcasts, cold-calling and direct mail campaigns. In terms of overall satisfaction, advisors are most satisfied with the results they get from referrals, paid solicitors and lead generation platforms.

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Effective Financial Advisor Marketing Tactics

While there are plenty of ways you can market your business, some may produce better results than others. When measuring how successful a marketing tactic is, it’s helpful to consider the overall return on investment. One way to measure that is by revenue generated per new client.

Here’s how success rates and revenue per client for different advisor marketing tactics compare, according to the Kitces study:

Tactic	Success Rate	Revenue Per Client
Client Referrals	95%	$5,000
Cold-calling/Door-knocking	89%	$3,750
Centers of Influence	85%	$5,000
Lead Generation Platforms	73%	$4,000
Media Appearances	71%	$7,000
Direct Mail	67%	$7,000
In-person Networking	64%	$5,000
Seminars	55%	$7,679
Paid Ads	50%	$5,295
Client Events	44%	$10,000

Source: Inveen, Dan, et al. How Financial Planners Actually Market Their Services. Kitces, https://www.kitces.com/kitces-report-financial-planner-advisor-marketing-tactics-strategies-referrals-centers-influence-networking/.

Out of all the financial advisor marketing tactics included in the report, client events yielded the highest revenue per new client. However, the overall success rate was on the lower end compared to client referrals or even cold-calling.

How much are advisors spending on these types of marketing strategies? That’s a helpful question, as it can put the success rate and revenue per new client into perspective. Here’s how client acquisition costs compare for some of the marketing tactics mentioned above.

Client events: $59,929
Seminars: $19,097
Client referrals: $4,272
Centers of influence: $4,198
Lead generation platforms: $634

While client events yielded the most revenue per new client, they also carry the biggest client acquisition cost. Lead generation platforms, on the other hand, require a much smaller investment while yielding positive results, as measured by success rates and revenue per client.

It’s worth noting that client acquisition costs and time spent marketing generally increase as revenues increase. For example, firms with less than $250,000 in revenue spent $1,064 on average to acquire new clients, and committed 11% of their time to marketing. Firms with more than $5 million in revenue spent $10,408 and dedicated 20% of their time to marketing.

That’s something to consider if you’re focused on growth. You may need to spend more on marketing to attract more high-net-worth clients to your firm. And you may need to invest more time in finding the marketing tactics that work best for your business.

Another helpful metric to consider in this situation is the efficiency of your marketing plan. The Kitces report found that while smaller firms spent the least amount of money and time on client acquisition, their marketing practices were significantly more efficient than larger firms. The report found that as firm size increases, marketing efficiency decreases. Having that knowledge could help you minimize or avoid inefficiencies that act as a drag on your marketing strategy.

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Deciding Which Financial Advisor Marketing Tactics to Use

Marketing is not one-size-fits-all and your strategy should reflect your firm’s goals, capabilities and the clients you most want to attract. Developing a marketing plan that’s effective and efficient begins with understanding your ideal clients and your overall market niche.

Developing one or more buyer personas can offer insight into who your prospects are, the financial challenges they face and how they navigate the world both online and offline. That insight can help inform marketing decisions and guide campaigns that resonate with ideal clients.

Next, consider your marketing budget. If you’ve only recently gone independent, you may have a smaller pool of funds to dedicate to marketing. You may need to lean into low-cost marketing tactics initially, such as networking and developing centers of influence, social media and search engine optimization. Once you begin to gain some traction, you may branch out to paid ads or lead generation services that connect you with qualified referrals.

As you implement your plan, track your progress. Some of the KPIs you might use to measure success include:

Customer acquisition cost
Search rankings (if using website SEO)
Open-rate and click-through rates (for email newsletters)
Engagement rates (for social media content)
Sign-up and attendance rates (for webinars and seminars)
Conversion rates
AUM and revenue per new client

Your customer relationship management (CRM) platform may include tools that allow you to track some or all of these metrics in one place. Reviewing them on a regular basis, either monthly or quarterly, can offer insight into which marketing tactics are working and where you may need to pivot to see better results.

And if you’re looking for a simpler way to market your business, SmartAsset AMP can help you automate your lead generation and marketing efforts.

Bottom Line

With so many financial advisor marketing tactics to choose from, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially if your firm is early stage. It may be prudent to adopt fewer strategies initially to maximize resources and test results, before expanding your marketing budget. Once you have some clients under your belt, you can focus on strengthening those relationships with superior service to generate more referrals.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get sta r ted today.
As a busy advisor, your time is often your most valuable resource. Outsourcing marketing to a third-party agency is something you may consider if you’d like to have more hours in your day to focus on serving clients or handling other business tasks. If you’re considering working with a marketing agency, take time to vet them carefully. Ask questions about the types of advisory firms they typically work with, their track record of producing results and the fees they charge.

Article Sources

All articles are reviewed and updated by SmartAsset’s fact-checkers for accuracy. Visit our Editorial Policy for more details on our overall journalistic standards.

Inveen, Dan, et al. How Financial Planners Actually Market Their Services. Kitces, https://www.kitces.com/kitces-report-financial-planner-advisor-marketing-tactics-strategies-referrals-centers-influence-networking/.