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Market Your Financial Practice.com Launches at T3 Conference
First-of-its-kind online marketing tool provides a Virtual Marketing Coach to help financial advisors assess, plan, implement, and monitor marketing programs.
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February 19, 2010 (FPRC) -- PLYMOUTH, MN – ActiFi, Inc., a software and solutions firm serving the practice management needs of financial enterprises and financial advisors, together with its partner, Professional Services Marketing, Inc. (PSM), today announced the public release of Market Your Financial Practice.com (www.marketyourfinancialpractice.com). The program was unveiled at the annual financial advisor Technology Tools for Today or T3 conference held this week in San Diego, CA.
A "do-it-yourself" virtual marketing coach, Market Your Financial Practice.com (MYFP) is a stand-alone subscription program that closely replicates the experience of working with a marketing advisor/consultant. As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, advisors can use MYFP at any time and with no software to download or install, and they can access their subscription from any computer with a Web browser and Internet access. You can see an MYFP demo video at www.actifi.com/myfp
“Virtually every financial advisory firm would like to have a full-time experienced marketing director or coach on staff or on call,” said Spenser Segal, ActiFi CEO. “Unfortunately, budgets and tough economic times don’t allow most practices to afford that luxury. But with Market Your Financial Practice.com, advisors have the next best thing—an on-demand program that provides firms the guides to craft strategy, the resources to implement tactics, the tools to track progress and monitor results, and the expert help when needed to review ideas.”
Market Your Financial Practice.com helps advisors map out their marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics and it provides ideas, process, and tools that can assist an advisor with marketing program execution. Even if an advisor currently works with a marketing resource—for example, a copywriter, designer, and/or Web site development firm—MYFP still provides immense value by helping an advisor think about and work through the critical marketing components related to planning. MYFP’s structure follows PSM’s Four Pillars of Marketing™, or the core marketing objectives a firm most likely will need to employ to achieve overall business goals.
1. Retain and Grow Relationships with Existing Clients
2. Attract New Clients and Develop New Business
3. Increase Name Recognition and Awareness
4. Create Targeted and Effective Communications
Each Pillar features Marketing Modules, or mini marketing courses, that an advisor can use to accomplish an objective. For example, under “Increasing Name Recognition,” advisors will find Modules including Advertising, Brand Identity and Development, Public and Media Relations, and Trade Shows. Each Module is then broken into four components, each with its own set of marketing tools and resources designed to help advisors plan for and execute specific tactics.
1. Assess – Advisors can test their marketing knowledge and current tactical and receive a letter grade. This helps advisors know which strategies and tactics they need to work on and improve.
2. Plan – MYFP guides an advisor through what they want to accomplish, and helps them plan which tactics they want to implement, and how they’re going to execute programs. Advisors can print their comprehensive marketing plan at any time during the process.
3. Implement – Each Module features its own comprehensive library of marketing resources. From how-to guides and articles to downloadable templates and forms, MYFP provides advisors the tools and knowledge to execute on ideas.
4. Measure – Following the execution of a specific strategy and tactic, an advisor can take another test and compare scores against the original Assessment, to see if the advisor gained knowledge, and if the specific goals were achieved.
Market Your Financial Practice.com features a Marketing Workspace where advisors can add activities directly to their calendar. The Activity Manager allows Advisors and anyone else within the firm the ability to assign tasks and see what tactics are being implemented, and what has been accomplished. The Workspace also features a Marketing Folder providing easy access to all activities within MYFP. Advisors can even upload and store their marketing materials directly in the Marketing Folder.
“MYFP really fills a void in the financial advisor marketplace,” said Terrie Wheeler, founder and CEO of Professional Services Marketing, Inc., and creator of Market Your Law Practice.com, the legal marketing tool that was leveraged to create Market Your Financial Practice. “We know from experience that most financial advisors enter the business with no formal marketing training and yet most firms don’t have the ability to hire a marketing director. Our goal with MYFP was to closely replicate the process of working one-on-one with a marketing coach, but to do so with secure access to the content 24 hours per day, seven days a week."
Another key benefit offered on Market Your Financial Practice.com is the Marketing Community featuring links to Webinars, training videos, online groups and forums and more. The Marketing Community also features "Ask a Marketing Coach,” a service that advisors can use to send a marketing question to a financial services marketing expert, with an answer guaranteed by the next business day. This service is included in MYFP’s cost, and it provides an advisor access to top marketing professionals if the advisor wants someone to review a communications piece or even brainstorm a marketing idea.
“Market Your Financial Practice.com is an amazing self-help marketing wizard to assist with planning and guiding an advisor on what they need to build their business,” said Sam Richter, ActiFi’s chief marketing officer. “Yet we still know that advisors will have questions. The ‘Ask a Marketing Coach’ feature is an important component of MYFP, and it just adds to the incredible product value advisors receive.”
Financial advisors can purchase an annual license to MYFP for $1,500 at www.marketyourfinancialpractice.com. MYFP can also be customized for enterprises wishing to provide the service to its advisors.
About ActiFi
ActiFi™is a software and solutions company focused on delivering scalable practice management programs to the financial services industry. By implementing ActiFi’s proven people, process, and technology solutions based on research, best-practices, and industry benchmarks, clients run more effective and profitable businesses. Learn more at http://www.actifi.com
About PSM and www.MarketYourLawPractice.com
PSM represents clients in the legal and financial services industries. In June 2007, PSM launched www.MarketYourLawPractice.com, a unique, interactive, web-based tool designed to help lawyers improve their marketing skills and attract new clients. The web-based product contains literally hundreds of templates, tools and interactive assessments, and has been designed to electronically replicate PSM’s one-on-one attorney marketing coaching program, with access to the content 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The site was developed and launched by Professional Services Marketing, Inc. (PSM), a consulting firm dedicated exclusively to working with professional services firms by serving as the outsourced marketing department for clients. For more information, visit www.psm-marketing.com.
Send an email to Sam Richter of ActiFi, Inc.
763-746-1278
Keywords:
financial, marketing, benchmarking
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