Many RIAs (and marketers) throw around this buzzword. The problem is, everyone has a different definition. In this episode of Craft on Tap, Faustin and Stephen iron out what a marketing strategy is and how RIAs can decide what will work for their firm.
👇 Watch the full discussion below:
Co-Founder Stephen Beach & Strategist Faustin Weber discuss the term "marketing strategy".
Craft on Tap Ep 16 Podcast Takeaways & Summary
Key Takeaways:
- Templated marketing packages don't work: A one-size-fits-all approach ignores a firm's unique situation and won't solve distinct challenges like niching down or launching a new practice.
- Effective marketing begins with deep research: A successful strategy is built on understanding your current assets, analyzing competitors, researching your market, and determining where your audience is active.
- Strategy is the "why," tactics are the "what": Don't just post content without a purpose. A custom roadmap built on a deep understanding of your audience and goals is a must-have for predictable marketing results.
- Marketing attribution is complex: Prospects often engage with a firm across multiple channels—like a book, a podcast, and social media—before converting. Marketing works as an interconnected system, not isolated events.
Podcast Summary: Personal vs. Firm Branding
Here's what doesn't work: Package A includes 8 blog posts, 16 social posts, one webinar, and "SEO" for $8,000/month.
We've seen this templated approach fail repeatedly. It ignores the fundamental truth about financial advisory marketing: every firm's needs, clients, and goals are different.
Consider these three real client scenarios:
Scenario 1: $50M AUM advisor wants to niche down to a specific type of nurse who experiences high burnout rates and needs early retirement planning.
Scenario 2: $1B+ firm launches an in-house tax practice to eliminate the middleman between wealth advisory and tax prep.
Scenario 3: $300M firm with deep business owner expertise wants to lead with exit planning services to attract more high-value clients.
You can't solve these three challenges with the same "3 posts per week" template.
How We Build Strategy
A non-cookie-cutter marketing strategy starts with audit and discovery:
Current assets: How many people are in your email database? Are they engaging? Who are they - students or pre-retirees? What's worked before? What hasn't?
Market research: How many local connections do you have? Are there active Facebook groups with 15,000 members discussing your niche's financial challenges? What associations exist? What conferences do they attend?
Competitors: What are the weaknesses in competitor messaging? How do you differentiate? Which differentiators should you emphasize most?
Platform analysis: Where does your audience engage? Do they consume podcasts? Are they on LinkedIn or Facebook? What content format resonates?
This isn't, "What should we post on Instagram?" This is understanding the entire playing field before making your first move.
From Research to Results
After the discovery phase, we develop:
Messaging framework: What are your audience's key pain points? How do you solve them differently from competitors?
Content pillars: The main topic areas that address your audience's biggest challenges and showcase your expertise.
Tactical roadmap: The specific platforms, cadence, and content types - but only after we know why we're choosing them.
KPIs that matter: Not just "website traffic increased 400%" (meaningless if you started with 100 visitors), but conversion metrics tied to your business goals.
The Attribution Challenge
Here's something most advisors don't realize: attribution is nearly impossible in 2025. A prospect might discover you through a colleague's recommendation of your book in 2022, start listening to your podcast for three years, follow you on LinkedIn, then finally fill out your contact form after typing your firm name into Google.
Who gets credit? The book? Word of mouth? The podcast? LinkedIn? Google? It's all of the above. Marketing works as an interconnected system, not isolated channels.
Strategy vs. Tactics
Tactics are what you do. Strategy is why you do them.
If you're posting content without understanding your audience's platform preferences, pain points, and decision-making process, you're just throwing spaghetti at the wall.
But when you align your marketing approach to your ideal client personas and business goals - when every post, email, and conversation serves a specific purpose in moving prospects through your funnel - that's when marketing becomes predictable.
Shameless plug for Craft on Tap
Marketing strategy isn't a buzzword or a templated package. It's a custom roadmap that connects where you are now to where you want to be, built on a deep understanding of your market and differentiated positioning.
Most firms skip the strategy work and jump straight to tactics. That's why most marketing fails. This conversation is only a starting point. For ongoing insights and practical strategies for RIA growth, listen to the new Craft on Tap marketing podcast. Available now, wherever you find your podcasts. Ready to chat? Get in Touch
Listen to Craft on Tap, Growth Marketing for RIAs:
