A Guide for Financial Advisors in 2025

This article gets into what moves wealth managers that want to improve their business can do in terms of marketing strategy. With a need to bring in new clients – even more urgent amid multi-trillion dollar wealth transfer – this is an important topic.

Business development is make or break for firms
– if they don’t win new clients, fend off competitors
and stay on top of trends, they eventually die. More positively,
a firm that is moving forward is a fulfilling place to be
– new resources, opportunities to serve clients in new
ways and build careers. As a result, developing a strong
marketing strategy is essential. That is definitely true for the
large number of newbie RIAs and other wealth managers that have
been established, sometimes by breakaway teams leaving large,
established banks and wirehouses.

Discussing the important parts of marketing strategy is
Rosemary Denney, the founder of Wealth
Matters Consulting

The editors are pleased to share these insights; if you wish
to comment and stir the pot of debate, email [email protected]
and [email protected]

For the past 20 years, we’ve worked as marketing professionals in
wealth management. We’ve seen what works to foster growth,
observing over the years that the firms with a strong marketing
strategy could grow intentionally at a higher pace with the right
clients. Over the decades, the marketing approaches have evolved
with technology, but the premise remains unwavering – communicate
your value proposition through a content-based marketing system
consistently over time. This approach is undeniably superior to
lead-generating, paid strategies, not only helping to foster
relationships with your prospects leading to growth, but also
with current clients and COIs, strengthening those relationships
and leading to more referrals. 

As 2025 approaches, wealth management firms must make a decision:
either prioritize an effective marketing strategy to stay
competitive or fade into obscurity as other firms communicate
with their clients, prospects and ecosystem of professionals. In
today”s environment, marketing is no longer optional; it has
become table stakes. 

But don’t worry – this is not an impossible task. Whether you opt
to hire an external firm to do the heavy lifting or build a team
internally, we’ve outlined ten fundamental steps to help you
develop and execute a marketing strategy that will help you
define who you are, what you do and why you are the right fit for
your target audience. 

 

1. Define your brand identity

Every strong marketing strategy begins with a clear understanding
of your firm’s identity. Take time to define who you are, what
you do, who you serve and what sets you apart from your
competition. This brand identity should form the cornerstone of
all your marketing activities – from how and what you communicate
to the look and feel of your collateral.  

 

2. Focus on your target audience

This may be the most important piece. Identifying your ideal
client profile is critical to shaping your strategy. Start by
analyzing your top clients –their demographics, challenges
and goals. Use these details to create personas – a
representation of what type of clients benefit the most from your
services and with whom you enjoy working. Once you define your
ideal client, work on identifying their most common challenges.
This can come from the conversations you have every day as part
of your work with client families. 

 

3. Invest in the visuals

Your brand’s visual identity should connect with your ideal
clients on a personal level, and you should not skimp when it
comes to your brand’s look and feel. Most advisors are not
graphic designers, so make the investment and hire a team to help
you. Invest in professional logos, consistent color schemes,
well-designed collateral materials and a user-friendly website
that reflects your understanding of their needs and captivates
your audience through a compelling visual experience. Communicate
your knowledge and expertise through content that showcases your
thought leadership, media exposure and proven results.

 

4. Develop a content calendar

Identify the top 12 questions or challenges your clients face.
These insights will form the foundation of your content calendar.
Use tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm additional topics relevant
to your audience. Your goal should be to provide critical
information to your audience – clients, prospects and COIs
– about these top challenges in an effort to help them make
informed decisions about their wealth. 

 

5. Start with content that will resonate with your
audience

Choose a content format that best suits your audience’s
preferences. Podcasts offer in-depth discussions, making them
ideal for high net worth individuals. Videos provide quick,
digestible updates for institutional clients. Webinars engage key
influencers like accountants or attorneys and tap into their
networks. Each format should focus on delivering value and
addressing your audience’s real challenges.

 

6. Amplify your content

Maximize your content’s reach by repurposing it across multiple
platforms. Share podcasts on your website and social media, break
them into short clips for more engagement, create blog posts
based on podcast topics and capture video snippets for YouTube.
This consistent approach helps maintain momentum and keeps your
audience engaged. It also helps to fully leverage each piece of
content – it’s not easy to produce an interesting piece of
thought leadership, so make sure to leverage each piece as much
as possible! 

 

7. Sprinkle in a lead magnet or two

Cultivate your list by gathering contact information – valuable
resources like estate planning checklists, quarterly investment
trend reports, legacy planning guides and economic outlook
newsletters are great tools to engage a new audience. While these
are not a replacement for thought leadership, these lead magnets
can expand your audience and encourage prospects to provide their
contact details, helping you build a relationship from the first
interaction. 

 

8. Track success with analytics

We have so much information at our fingertips to make informed
decisions, and marketing has become an exact science. Use tools
like Google Analytics to track the performance of your marketing
efforts. It’s important to interpret the data, identifying what
resonates and where to adjust. The regular review allows you to
rework your strategy if needed, to be sure you’re always moving
in the right direction.

 

9. Evaluate and adjust Regularly

Avoid the temptation to “set it and forget it.” Marketing is all
about testing and adjusting – over and over and over again.
Regularly assess your marketing efforts. Is your audience
responding at all to the content you are distributing? You should
be getting feedback – negative or positive – if you are
sending out content. Collect feedback from your audience and
adjust your approach as necessary. Enhance your approach over
time and layer in other forms of content. It’s important to have
a rich library of thought leadership created over time.
 

 

10. Do not delay

Analysis paralysis can be the death of us. Don’t wait to get
started – even if you’ve been struggling with growth for a
decade or two, it is never too late to get started. And the
longer you wait, the more time you give your competitors to reach
your clients. 

 

While any successful marketing strategy takes thought and
intentionality, it’s not an impossible task. Breaking down the
process of kicking off your marketing into ten doable steps can
make the task seem more approachable, but if this is making you
sweat, don’t hesitate to call in reinforcements with an
experienced marketing professional focused on your
industry. 

About the author

Rosemary Denney founded Wealth Matters Consulting in 2012 to
help wealth advisors, multi-family offices and RIAs create
compelling brands and grow their business. Rosemary Denney has
worked in the wealth industry for nearly 15 years. 

Prior to founding Wealth Matters Consulting, she worked at
GenSpring Family Offices, one of the world’s largest and
fastest-growing multi-family offices. She joined GenSpring in
2007 as the firm underwent a complete re-brand and name change to
form the now globally-recognized brand. Managing projects in
marketing and media relations, she worked with national media and
industry publications, working to create and execute
the marketing and public relations plans for all of GenSpring’s
14 offices nation-wide. Rosemary Denney began her career in
politics, working with the City of Tampa’s Mayor Pam Iorio as
part of her media relations team after graduating from Auburn
University.