­­­­Our financial adviser clients often tell us that much of their business comes from word-of-mouth referrals. That might be entirely true but what they often forget is that the vast majority of referrals will still do their due diligence before getting in touch and making an enquiry. 

So, what are clients looking for when deciding between financial advice providers? We discuss the main points and how you can social proof your online presence to receive more enquiries from word-of-mouth referrals, as well as those that simply find you online. 

Your website

The first port of call for referred clients is usually to check out your website. Their perception of your business will be heavily influenced by this which is why a responsive and high-quality website is so important. You’ll need to make sure your website does the following as a minimum:

• Loads quickly
• Looks great, with consistent branding
• Tells visitors who you are, preferably with genuine images
• Gives digestible information on services
• Includes an easy way for the website visitor to get in touch

WEBPRO offers website design services tailored specifically to the financial services industry. We know what does and doesn’t work in your arena, enabling us to maximise ROI on your website investment. We can even provide pre-approved compliant website content to make your website development process simpler and quicker. 

Google My Business

Sometimes referrals don’t head to your website first. They search for your business online and are immediately confronted with your online Business Profile, which is managed through the Google My Business platform. They use the information from this Business Profile to make a judgement and may or may not visit your website based on this. 

So, what is a Business Profile? You’ve probably seen plenty of them before. When you search for services online, you’re often confronted with multiple Business Profiles in your local area. Each one includes key information or functions, such as:

• Business images
• Link to website
• Contact information, including the business name, address and phone number
• Live chat or quote buttons
• Online reviews and an overall review rating out of five stars

The interesting thing about Business Profiles is that anyone can set one up for your business and start adding content. However, only the genuine business can claim their profile and take over management of it through Google My Business. Reviews tend to be the most important aspect of the profile and they are what financial adviser clients usually look at before deciding to hit the contact button. 

Our team can claim and set up your Business Profile through GMB, making sure you aren’t falling foul of common Business Profile mistakes. 

Social media

Social media is another area prospective clients will visit to verify your business and make a decision. You don’t need to be a social media influencer to social proof yourself in this area but you do need to put some work in to create professional social media accounts across different platforms (the ones your target market is most likely to use!). And you should try to be active in responding to comments, post your latest blog posts and try to engage a following – no matter how small you start out. 

You may have people in-house who have the skills to get you up and running. If not, our WEBPRO Adviser marketing team can create professional social media accounts and handle the ongoing running and management of them to build a following. 

Recap: You might get a lot of business from referrals or even footfall but remember that even people referred to your businesses are highly likely to check you out online first. They do this to verify you as a legitimate business and form their own impression of you and your services. This highlights the importance of having an online presence that converts. You can convert warm leads online in different ways, such as having a professional website, running an online Business Profile with excellent reviews and utilising social media as a business. WEBPRO Adviser can assist in all of these areas to maximise the profitability of your website and more. 

WEBPRO Knows

It’s estimated that more than 95% of people look up online business reviews before making an enquiry or a purchase.