The problem
Why financial services marketing stalls.
Most firms are not short of effort. They are short of a plan that holds up to compliance, sounds like the firm and gets measured.
Everyone sounds the same
“Comprehensive, personalized, fiduciary” appears on almost every firm's website. Prospects cannot tell you apart, so they default to whoever referred them.
Referrals that depend on luck
Clients and centers of influence like accountants and estate attorneys will send you people, but only when they know exactly who you help and are asked in the right way.
Compliance as a bottleneck
Content sits in review for weeks because it was never planned with review in mind. By the time it is approved, the moment has passed.
No link between marketing and new assets
Reports show opens and clicks. Nobody can say which activity led to a first meeting, let alone to new assets under management.
What we do
What a fractional CMO does for your firm.
We start with Strategy First, then run the plan on the Marketing Operating System. We have hands-on experience marketing an investment management firm, so we know how a regulated firm has to work. For a financial services firm, that covers:
- Your ideal client and niche defined, so the firm is known for a specific kind of client
- A core message and point of view that sets you apart from every other firm
- A referral system with clients and centers of influence such as CPAs and estate attorneys
- Educational content, events and email that build trust before the first meeting
- A content calendar planned around compliance review, not in spite of it
- A scorecard on first meetings, new clients, assets and where they came from
How we work with regulated firms
Marketing that gets through review.
Your compliance team decides what goes out. Our job is to make their review fast and predictable.
Review built into the calendar
Every piece has a review date before its publish date, so approval is part of the plan rather than a surprise.
Education over promises
The strategy leans on useful, educational content and a clear point of view, rather than performance claims that invite questions.
Your approval, every time
Nothing is published without your firm's sign-off, so your compliance process and recordkeeping stay in your hands.
Pricing
Clear prices, no surprises.
Start with a strategy, then choose how much of the work you want us to carry.
Strategy First
$7,500 to $10,000one time
A ten-part marketing strategy and 90-day plan in 30 to 45 days.
DetailsQuestions
Fractional CMO for financial services: common questions.
What does a fractional CMO do for a financial services firm?
A fractional CMO is the senior marketing leader your firm does not have full-time. For an advisory, wealth or investment firm that means defining the clients and niche you want to be known for, shaping the message and point of view that sets the firm apart, building a referral system with clients and centers of influence, and running a content and event plan that your compliance team can review on a predictable schedule.
How much does a fractional CMO cost for a financial advisor or wealth firm?
Our retainer is $2,500 a month if your team executes, $5,000 a month if we lead your staff and vendors, or $10,000 a month if our team produces the work too. Most firms start with Strategy First, a marketing strategy built in 30 to 45 days, at $7,500 to $10,000.
How do you handle SEC and FINRA marketing rules?
Your firm's compliance team approves everything before it is published, and we plan the calendar so review time is built in. We are not compliance consultants, so the rules themselves, such as the SEC Marketing Rule for registered investment advisers or FINRA Rule 2210 for broker-dealers, stay with your chief compliance officer. Our part is to make the marketing easy to review.
Do you work with independent advisors and small RIAs?
Yes. Independent advisors and small firms often get the most from a fractional CMO, because nobody at the firm has time to own marketing, and a full-time marketing executive is hard to justify.
Is a fractional CMO better than a financial services marketing agency?
They do different jobs. An agency sells execution, such as a website, ads or social posts. A fractional CMO decides what the firm should do and makes sure vendors deliver it. The fCMO Agency is a fractional CMO agency, so you can have the leadership alone or the leadership and the team.
How do you measure marketing results for a financial firm?
With a short scorecard reviewed every month: first meetings booked, new clients, new assets where you track them, and the source of each one, including referrals by name. Every quarter the plan is reset around what is working.