The problem is that marketing approaches that worked in the past are not going to work in the future. If you have millennial children, you can appreciate the vast differences between these tech savvy kids and their parents. Appealing to the children of your clients means you need to learn to speak their language. As one millennial parent recently stated, “Our children speak Internet, and we speak it with an accent.”
Key traits of the baby boom generation include: valuing experience over education, strong loyalty, and expecting consistent hard work to produce results. Unlike their parents, millennials are achievement (not work) oriented and they value collaboration facilitated by asking a lot of questions. Millennials also expect you to use technology to quickly communicate relevant information. The traditional advisory relationship consisting of in-person meetings, paper forms and phone calls does not appeal to millennial. The next generation of wealth holders expects communication through email and text messages, paperless forms and statements as well as light-speed quick responses to their questions.
It may seem daunting, but standing out from other experienced advisors to appeal to millennials is just a matter of changing a few habits and catering to their expectations. With so much wealth changing hands now and in the near future, it pays to learn to speak the millennial language and market your legacy business to the next generation
Three ways to adapt your marketing efforts toward millennial clients:
Get your tech together.
Do whatever it takes to be on the forefront of technology. Use your website, social media presence and communication to build trust and credibility with millennials.
Ask your clients about their expectations.
It is surprising how few advisors really do this. In your initial interview, try to understand how the client likes to do business and make adjustments accordingly. How often do they expect to meet in person? How often would they like to speak by phone? Do they prefer instead to text or email? If they leave a message, how soon do they expect a return call? Your willingness to listen will go a long way toward bridging a perceived generational gap.
Establish a client advisory board.
Millennials expect an ongoing dialogue and are comfortable giving their feedback. A few times a year, hold a lunch with a select group of clients to talk about the market and ask for suggestions to better serve your clientele and include a few parent/child teams on your board.
Times are changing quickly! Where some advisors will fall prey to new challenges, you can adapt and seize great opportunities. Your legacy business depends on making a strong connection with this group so that you can grow your practice now and into the future.
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