Getting on Your Feet: Five Musts to Help Your Small Financial Firm Grow
Wednesday, January 8, 2014, 1:00 AM | Leave Comment
A financial firm may not have much of a problem in the initial phases of drumming up business. However, maintaining the momentum is what many struggling business owners grapple with over time. A sustainable business in the finance sector is no different than any other type of business; so how do you grow your small financial firm?
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Show off Your Skills
One great way to grow a business is to develop a financial guide. This is a great way to demonstrate authority and expertise in areas like personal finance, counseling or investing. Doing this provides an invaluable service to your ideal target audience and informs your clients. While the information in the guide should be primarily informative, it can also allow you the opportunity to sell the necessity of taking action.
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Be Open to Advice
Mentoring also provides a great opportunity to continue to grow as a professional. Numerous professional networks that cater to certain sectors can provide you with a steady stream of information and viable feedback. Advice based on years of real-world experience benefits your business.
Look to the local chapters and trade organizations for mentoring opportunities. Be willing to take pointers from those who are more experienced than you. As a small firm, you will need all the advice you can get, and having a business mentor could really help you figure out how to increase your number of clients.
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Project a Clear, Strong Brand Image
Defining your brand is also important in growing your small financial firm. The highly competitive environment requires that you go much further than the basic promotional items and the logo.
You will have to be prepared to take it a step further and communicate how your business delivers its services across many channels and platforms to build credibility. What you offer is just as important as how you offer it.
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Invest in Promotional Products
Promotional products that represent your business keep your firm at the forefront of the customer’s mind. During local events and industry trade shows, an ample supply of promotional items should always be on hand to give to prospective clients.
These promotional products can be imprinted with your company’s logo and contact details so every time they are used by current and potential customers, you gain marketing exposure. When networking in smaller venues and events, compact, useful promotional pens and magnets are a great and inexpensive way to get the word out.
Promotional products can not only help you maintain your existing client base, they can also attract the attention of new clients. Make sure you get products that your clients and potential clients will actually use because this will increase the probability of your name being noticed.
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Contests
Holding contests is a great way to generate buzz for your small financial firm. The giveaway can be advertised directly from your blog or other social media platform, generating comments and interaction. The prize should always be aligned and relevant with the financial services your small firm offers.
Making a discounted service or product available to participants is a great way to get more participation from your audience. Anything that can be done to build a subscriber list for email marketing or further communications should be a long-term goal of the giveaway.
Your small financial firm cannot grow if people aren’t aware of what you do. Every opportunity to promote your brand through promotional items, blogging and contests will help you get your venture off the ground.
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This article was written by Dixie Somers, a freelance writer who loves writing for business, finance, women’s interests, or home and family. In her research, Dixie found that a few financial firms in Washington have been able to increase client interest by using websites like halo.com to design their own promotional items to distribute in their area. Dixie lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters.
