How Financial Advisors Can Build Trust With Their Customers

It’s safe to say that Covid-19 brought about just a few changes to our world. Some of these were expected, like an increase in your use of hand soap or sanitizer. But others might have surprised you. Like how closely everyone – not just members of Wall Street – has been watching stocks and financial markets. While many of us have our eyes on financial matters, very few of us are financial experts. It’s more important than ever that financial advisors be able to communicate their expertise, and build trust with customers and prospects.

Identify What Makes You Worthy of Trust

There is a reason you’re in this business, and there’s a reason that you deserve the trust of your audience. It’s because you have the knowledge and experience to help your clients navigate their financial waters and develop a plan that provides them with security and assurance for the future. 

It’s important to nail down exactly what separates you from the rest of the financial industry. 

• What degrees, certifications, specializations, etc. has your team earned or received?
• What are your years of experience?
• What have been your successes in those years?
• How many clients have you served in that time?
• Do you have testimonials from those clients about your work?
• What services do you provide clients? How are these unique from other firms in your industry?

There is a reason you are in this industry, and there are prospective clients out there who want to work with you. Make it easy for them to see why you are worthy of their trust. 

Build Out a Strategy for Communication

Once you have identified what sets you apart, it’s time to start communicating that with your audience. This starts with an exceptional, well-designed website. This site needs to clearly share who you are, what you do, and how you exist to serve customers. The branding and positioning need to catch your audience’s attention and captivate their trust, and it needs to be intuitive and easy to use. Check out our other must haves for your website here.

Once your website is established, you need to identify the other tools you will use to communicate with clients and prospects. How will you use social channels like Facebook or Twitter to connect with your audience and share valuable information? Will you create and send a regular, robust email with insights, tips, and helpful ideas for clients? Could you benefit from a regular podcast or video series that allows you to take a deeper dive into specific issues that impact your audience?

It’s important that you don’t spread yourself too thin here. As you’re building out a strategy for what you will create (blogs, podcasts, videos, etc.), and how you will share it (email, social media, etc.), only focus on the means that best fit you and your ideal customer. If your ideal customer spends the majority of their time listening to podcasts and reading blogs, you don’t need to focus on Instagram. On other hand, if your ideal customer seems to prefer Facebook and email, you might want to consider tweaking your plan for video. 

Focus on Value and Transparency

Finally, it’s essential that your communication focuses both on providing incredible value, and on being upfront and transparent. As you’re communicating with your audience, share your insights and knowledge. Because your expertise runs deep, you don't have to worry about giving away something for free. Instead, use these forms of communication to demonstrate your value and generosity. It will serve you well as you seek to earn the trust of new customers. 

We all know that financial markets can change faster than my lunch order at Torchy’s. Your expertise and experience make it possible for you to weather that change incredibly well. But, part of your audience being able to trust you means you are transparent with them when change is happening. The more you are honest with them, the more likely you are to earn their business. 

If you’re feeling really confident in your ability to navigate the financial industry, but not quite as sure about building a strategy to communicate with your audience, we are here for you. We’ve worked with financial advisors to build websites that position them well, develop strategies for communicating with their audience, and use digital ads to increase their reach. If you’re interested in how our team can serve you, we would love to meet with you for a free consultation. Just click the image below to get started.