The Opportunity

An investment adviser and financial planner for a leading independent investment dealer in Canada engaged Ext. Marketing to build on his client outreach strategies through a dynamic leadgeneration campaign.

The adviser lacked online presence and had limited client outreach before engaging Ext. Marketing. His goal was to target affluent young professionals, business owners, as well as those planning for retirement in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The Challenge

The wealth adviser market is relatively saturated, and it can be difficult to compete with the marketing budgets of the brokerage houses within Canada’s large banks. Ext. Marketing was tasked with crafting a strategic campaign that would allow the adviser to target his ideal market segment and maximise lead engagement; all while closely managing his media budget.

The Plan

Ext. Marketing set out to accomplish two key objectives for adviser:

• Encourage leads to download a lead magnet in exchange for their contact information

• Encourage leads to book a meeting with the adviser via a lead nurturing email series

To kickstart the campaign, Ext. Marketing conducted a thorough audience analysis to identify the target market. We then crafted compelling messaging tailored to this audience’s needs. At key points throughout the conversion journey, the adviser’s unique investment process - as well as the option to schedule a call - were highlighted to maximise conversions.

The journey included the following stages:

• Awareness Stage (Cold Lead): The prospect would see a relevant ad on Facebook or LinkedIn that spoke to their pain points and directly addressed their needs. That ad would offer access to a financial planning guide and subsequent submission form to filter interest and gather contact information.

• Consideration Stage: To convert cold or warm leads into hot ones, Ext. Marketing utilised a multi-channel approach that included ad retargeting and an email nurture series, while also delivering value-added content at every touchpoint.

• Acquisition Stage (Hot Lead): At this stage, the prospect was familiar with the benefits of the adviser’s wealth advisery services and was ready to schedule a consultation.

• Conversion Stage: This stage was designed to allow the adviser to meet with leads and convert them into new clients.

Optimization Process: Throughout the entire campaign, Ext. Marketing monitored and optimised performance through A/B testing to maintain quality of prospects, low ad fatigue, low cost per click (“CPC”), low cost per lead (“CPL”) and a high return on ad spend.