Working with a financial advisor marketing provider is a lot like being in a relationship (hear us out!). There are good days and bad days, but overall, your marketing provider should bring consistency, support, and make your life better, while also bringing the gift of new clients.

For financial advisors, marketing pain points can be some of the most stressful parts of running your business. You know marketing is vital to attracting and retaining A+ clients, but you often don’t have the time to develop and maintain a high-quality DIY marketing strategy.

What’s even worse than not having a DIY marketing strategy? Paying a marketing provider that doesn’t provide the consistency, comfort, or results you need. And much like a relationship, sometimes it’s necessary to move on. 

Here are 5 signs (and 10 red flags!)  it’s time to break up with your current marketing provider.

Marketing Performance and ROI

We’ll be the first to tell you that marketing strategies take time, and expecting overnight results is unrealistic. (It can take up to a year to see significant results from a brand-new content strategy.) If your marketing provider continues to promise grand results without the performance to back it up, or they don’t acknowledge how long it takes to generate a consistent lead pipeline, it may be time to break up. 

Questions to Ask

1. Are you seeing a positive return on your marketing investment (ROI)? A good marketing ROI is 5:1; your marketing strategy should generate $5 in sales for every $1 spent.

2. Are your number of qualified leads increasing, and are they converting into clients? Increased leads are one thing, but you’re looking for qualified leads that convert into A+ clients. If you’re seeing lead growth, but mainly in level C and D leads who ultimately don’t sign on, consider moving on from your marketing provider.

Red Flags

1. Lack of transparency in reporting performance metrics. Does your marketing provider proactively send you information about how your strategies are performing? Or do you have to hunt for the information yourself? How do they respond if your metrics are not hitting the mark? A reputable marketing provider will have no problem providing KPIs (and they’ll even help you understand them—check out our recent blog for the 12 critical marketing KPIs you should track!).

2. No measurable improvement in lead generation or client acquisition. If you’re working with a marketing provider, you should see a difference in the number of leads generated and clients acquired, and you should be able to track those leads to a specific marketing campaign. If you don’t have insight into any of the above, it’s time to break up. It’s also important to remember that you may receive more prospective client inquiries, but if they’re not actually converting into clients or they don’t align with the ideal clients you’re trying to attract, something is off. It could be a misalignment in your content’s voice, branding, or messaging or a mismatch with your marketing provider.

Indigo Solution 

At Indigo Marketing Agency, we provide monthly marketing metrics with all three tiers of our Total Marketing Package. We’ll look at everything from Google Analytics to your social media profiles and email marketing metrics to understand what’s working and what’s not with your marketing.

Our transparent reporting will show you exactly how your marketing efforts perform each month. Plus, you’ll have a dedicated account manager to keep you on track and adjust your strategies if the metrics aren’t performing as we’d like. There’s no setting it and forgetting it on our end; you, on the other hand, can kick your feet up and relax!

With our Growth tier, you’ll receive a custom lead magnet funnel and appointment scheduling funnel—strategies designed to maximize ROI by focusing on generating high-quality leads and making it easy to convert more A+ clients.

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Communication and Responsiveness

The number-one complaint we hear from financial advisors about their previous marketing provider is that they could never get in touch. The last thing you want is to pay for a team that ghosts you after you’ve already signed on the dotted line. If this is the case for you, it’s time to break up!

Questions to Ask

1. How often do you hear from your marketing provider? We think you should hear from your marketing provider at least once per month, but we’ve found that the most productive cadence is bi-weekly strategy calls. 

2. Are they responsive to your questions and concerns? You should never experience a “black hole” email with your marketing provider. Consistent responsiveness and addressing your concerns are important aspects of a marketing provider relationship that can often fall by the wayside after an advisor signs on as a client.

Red Flags

1. Long response times and poor communication. If it takes more than 2 business days to acknowledge your email and longer than a week to provide a complete response, it’s probably time to break up with your marketing provider. 

2. Lack of proactive updates and strategy adjustments. You wouldn’t wait until the market has crashed to reach out to your clients about their financial plan and portfolio performance. Your marketing provider shouldn’t be waiting until there’s an issue to reach out to you. Proactive communication and ongoing strategy updates are key to keeping your marketing goals on track.

Indigo Solution

We pride ourselves on our proactive communication and consistent responsiveness. Our team is always available to answer your questions and provide updates on your marketing campaigns, ensuring you’re never left in the dark about your marketing efforts.

Those in our Nurture and Stand Out tiers will receive monthly communication about their content strategy and marketing metrics. Advisors who sign up for our Growth tier get access to bi-weekly calls with their dedicated account manager. No matter which tier you choose, the Indigo team is always an email away and ready to fine-tune your marketing strategy.

Customization and Personalization

Attracting and converting your ideal client doesn’t come from canned content and recycled posts. Your clients want to feel like their needs are uniquely understood (and met) by your services, so your marketing should reflect that.

Don’t settle for cookie-cutter content that doesn’t address the specific needs of your target audience. 

Questions to Ask

1. Is your marketing strategy tailored to your specific needs and goals? A good marketing provider will customize the recommended marketing strategy to your goals rather than make generic promises. A great marketing provider will allow you to pick and choose the services that make the most sense for your business rather than forcing you to pay for services you don’t need.

2. Do you feel your provider understands your business and target audience? This is such an important question. Marketing agencies are a dime a dozen, but there are only a few who truly understand the financial services industry and even fewer who tailor content to connect with advisors’ specific audiences.

Red Flags

1. One-size-fits-all strategies with little customization. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for financial advisor marketing. If your current provider doesn’t allow for custom content and strategies, you likely won’t experience the long-term marketing success you’re looking for.

2. Lack of understanding of your unique value proposition and target market. What is marketing if not being able to deeply understand the value of a product or service and being able to effectively communicate it to the audience most likely to purchase it? A marketing provider that doesn’t take the time to truly understand what you do or who you work with won’t be able to effectively communicate your value. This is a huge sign that it’s time to break up.

Indigo Solution

At Indigo, we specialize in creating personalized marketing strategies tailored to the specific needs of financial advisors and their clients. Many of our account managers and writers have firsthand experience in the financial services industry. We even have a few CFP^® professionals and CPAs on staff!

Our onboarding process involves an in-depth kickoff call, during which we get to know you, your financial advisory business, your goals, and most importantly, your target audience. The result is a fully customized marketing approach that reflects who you are as an advisor and resonates with your ideal clients.

Content Quality and Relevance

You’ve probably heard the phrase “quality over quantity.” We like to say quality and relevance over quantity when it comes to a marketing content strategy. Any marketing provider can post a blog every month, but what’s the point if the content doesn’t connect with your ideal audience?

Questions to Ask

1. Is the content relevant and valuable to your audience? Posting just to post won’t increase your followers or convert prospects into clients. Relevant and valuable content is the number-one way to improve the performance of your marketing strategy.

2. Are you getting original, high-quality content regularly? Be honest: how often do you get high-quality content that you are proud to post versus content that’s just okay but you don’t have the time to revise yourself? It’s. Time. To. Break. Up.

Red Flags

1. Poorly written, generic, or irrelevant content. There’s nothing worse than poorly written marketing materials, but generic and irrelevant content is close. For example, if you work with mid-career professionals but your marketing provider is giving you content about retirement withdrawal strategies and how to claim Social Security, it’s another sign you’re ready for a breakup.

2. Inconsistent content delivery. If you wanted inconsistent content, you would stick to a DIY marketing strategy. Missed or delayed deadlines, inconsistent posting, and irregular communication are all signs that your current marketing provider is not the one.  

Indigo Solution

Our team of experienced content creators and talented writers focuses on producing high-quality, relevant content that speaks directly to your audience’s needs and interests. The first step in our marketing process is to identify and optimize your social media and email branding to create a writing style guide unique to each advisor we work with.

Once completed, we incorporate your unique voice, tone, and branding elements into each piece of marketing collateral produced. During onboarding, we also create a 12-month marketing calendar to identify topics that will engage your ideal audience and keep us on track for consistent content delivery.

Innovative Strategies

As a financial advisor, you know the importance of staying up to date on continuing education and industry trends. Without a forward-looking, growth-oriented focus, you wouldn’t last as an advisor! The same could (and should) be said for financial advisor marketing providers. As the digital market continues to evolve, innovation is necessary to keep your business top-of-mind for potential clients.

Questions to Ask

1. Does your provider stay updated with the latest marketing trends and technologies? Connecting with industry influencers, attending marketing conferences, and posting regular content focused on industry thought leadership are great ways to stay up to date. 

2. Are they bringing innovative ideas to the table? If you’re the one doing all the legwork to identify fresh ideas and new marketing strategies, it could be time to break up with your marketing provider. 

Red Flags

1. Reliance on outdated tactics with no innovation. Posting articles on LinkedIn and PDFs on your blog, avoiding SEO, and pretending social media and videos don’t exist are all outdated tactics that should have no place in your marketing strategy. If your marketing provider is not encouraging you to innovate, it’s probably time to break up.

2. Lack of new ideas or strategies to keep your marketing fresh. Has your marketing strategy been status quo for the last few years? That is a huge red flag. Marketing tools and technologies are constantly changing, and your strategy should adapt to include the latest techniques. (Pro Tip: Has your marketing provider talked to you about the power of financial advisor videos or Instagram Reels yet?)

Indigo Solution 

At Indigo Marketing Agency, we stay at the forefront of marketing trends and technologies by continuously innovating and adapting our strategies and services, ensuring your marketing efforts are effective and relevant. 

From social media marketing, webinars, and SEO to custom modern websites, personalized blog content, and our partnership with Wealthtender, we bring the latest ideas to help you stay ahead of the competition.

It’s Time to Break Up—Now What?

If your current marketing provider is falling short in any of these areas, it might be time to consider a change. We know breaking up is never easy, but sometimes it’s the right choice. 

At Indigo Marketing Agency, we are committed to helping financial advisors like you realize your marketing goals with tailored, high-impact strategies that deliver results. We offer:

• Comprehensive marketing strategies including content marketing, social media, SEO, email campaigns, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, custom website design, and more.
• Monthly analytics to help you make data-driven decisions about your marketing strategy. 
• Custom content that matches who you are as an advisor and resonates with your ideal audience.
• Proactive communication to address all your marketing needs and concerns promptly.
• Innovative and adaptive solutions that ensure your marketing efforts are aligned with the latest best practices.

Are you unsure if it’s time to part ways with your current marketing provider? How about getting a free second opinion from our team?