Hiring for a marketing agency: 9 questions to ask to make the right hire

vervoe.com

Introduction

So, you’re looking to hire a new team member at your marketing agency. Where do you begin? The interview process, often by phone or face-to-face, is crucial to determining whether the potential hire will be a good fit. Anyone can beef up a resume to make it look impressive but how a hiring candidate acts and thinks on the fly will most likely be the determining factor for your final decision. Here are some of the best questions to ask when hiring for a marketing agency.

1. What do you know about our company and why do you want to work here?

Has the candidate done their research on your company? Do they truly want to work for you or do they just like the title, pay, or other benefits? Are they just looking for any old job in the marketing field? Are they willing to take any job, period? Never settle for someone who’s only knowledge of your company can be skimmed in your Indeed job listing. 

This first question will weed out those who are dedicated to the perks of the job over the growth of the company. Someone with less experience but a fierce desire to work for you over others in the industry may be a more desirable pick for your team.

2. What are five strengths and five weaknesses of yours?

To be honest, you really only want the candidate to list 1-2 comprehensive strengths and weaknesses. Why ask for 5? Because the first 1-3 answers, particularly in the “weaknesses” category, are probably canned. You’ll hear plenty of “I have a hard time delegating” and “I get too involved in a task,” which are really just poorly disguised humble brags for “I work too hard.” 

When you force the candidate to think beyond what they are prepared for, you will come up with more honest, creative, and interesting results. You will learn how they describe themselves when it is not staged and how good they are at marketing themselves on the fly.

3. What is one of our competitors doing in the market that you think we should emulate? 

If you’re hiring for a marketing agency, you’re going to want someone who is deeply engaged with their industry of choice. Someone who pays attention to what’s trending on Twitter isn’t good enough anymore. The right marketing candidate will see what others are doing and will have opinions on how to emulate their success and leverage incoming trends before they become oversaturated.

This also demonstrates that they know enough about your company to understand who some of your biggest competitors are. That means they really did their research to the nth degree. Some of it is just common sense, but a good candidate should have that in droves, as well. 

4. Think about X marketing fail [use something current, like the SFX-less trailer for Tom Cruise’s The Mummy]; in an ideal world, how would you have handled a publicity crisis like this? 

Case studies make people think. It’s not something they can really prepare for so it shows you what they are made of down to the core. You will also want to test how they would react in a crisis, whether their creative problem-solving skills can be honed on the fly, and what they understand about different audience types. 

If you want to give them a bit more leeway, ask them to discuss what they see as a current marketing blunder and how they would have improved the scenario with unlimited resources. Any question that shows they a) pay attention and b) think critically, will be useful to you when making your final marketing decision. 

5. You’ve seen our [website, newsletter, blog, product]—what is one thing you like about it and one thing you think we could improve? 

This is a good test to see whether or not they have spent time with your content. It is also a check in to see how they deliver constructive feedback to potential colleagues. If their criticism is helpful but brutal, will they antagonize their team? Would you prefer someone who tells it like it is, or lightens the blow with positivity? 

What you want out of this question will be subjective and will depend on the kind of team you want to build. No matter what you are looking for, asking for preemptive feedback will definitely tell you a thing or two about how your potential hire acts in a collaborative role, which is very important when you’re hiring for a marketing agency. 

6. Tell me about using [any project management software for marketing agencies]—how did you use the tool to enhance or supplement your workflow?

Marketing agencies nowadays have to be tech-savvy and competent with up and coming software solutions. From Hootsuite to Synergist, there are always new systems emerging and changing the game. Ask a potential hire what project management software they are familiar with, how they used it, what they would recommend, et cetera. 

See how they have, in the past, navigated project management tools for resource planning, time and/or expense tracking, digital asset management, and customer relations. Even simply checking whether they can list 3 or 4 reliable project management tools is a good indicator of their relevant experience. 

7. What was the most interesting project you got to work on at your last job? Explain what appealed to you about it. 

This is a sly way of asking a potential candidate to pitch a project to you. Listen for their enthusiasm, their comprehensiveness, and their professionalism. Not only can this question reveal their inner passion for marketing (or lack thereof) but you will get to watch their elevator pitch in action. Prepare to ask some follow-up questions to get a good sense of how deep their expertise goes.

If they can’t sell—really sell—a project with which they are already intimately familiar, how are they going to thrive in a new environment? If their most interesting project involved graphic design, but your work is primarily data-focuses, will they be the right fit? If they love social media campaigns but have no stats to back up their work, will they be able to actualize your goals?

8. What is your favorite subreddit and/or Twitter account to follow?

Slip in a question that shows that the candidate is involved in online culture. Someone who doesn’t at least have a cursory understanding of how Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook work internally will not be a huge asset to digital marketing efforts in today’s day and age. Some applications will even ask candidates to list a couple websites or blogs they frequent, just make sure they are absorbing information in line with your brand’s personality and style. 

This goes hand-in-hand with checking out the aptitude of their personal and professional social media pages. Do they understand the basics of sponsored posts, hashtags, tagging, spam laws and other e-marketing musts? All the ideas in the world won’t mean much if they don’t know how to properly execute a campaign online. 

9. Do you have any questions for me?

And be wary of anyone that says “No.” Some candidates forget that having good questions to ask at the end of an interview is just as much a part of the interview as, say, listing your soft and hard skills. And we’re not talking about “What salary are you offering?”, which can be considered a bit of a faux pas at this point. Look for questions that show preparedness and thought.

It’s a good rule of thumb that any potential hire should have one or two good questions to present at the end of an interview. If you’re hiring for a marketing agency, this is even more important. Anyone who isn’t constantly asking thought-provoking questions is probably not a good fit for a dynamic, creative industry such as this. 

Conclusion 

You’ll notice that we skipped over some of the more obvious points of interest: How do take constructive criticism? Talk about a time you used problem-solving. Do you work best alone or in groups? These are all important topics, as well, but the questions above are meant to elevate potential marketing agency hires that go above and beyond in their field. If your interviewee nails the resume, cover letter, and this barrage of uber specific questioning, you’ll be well equipped to make a final decision. May the best candidate win!

Original Post: https://vervoe.com/blog/hiring-for-a-marketing-agency/

EMAIL MARKETING FOR FINANCIAL ADVISORS: BEST PRACTICES FOR 2019

modelfa.com

Summary:  Email may not have the cutting edge, high-tech appeal of some of the other marketing tactics. However, when done right, email marketing for financial advisors can be remarkably effective. In order to build a productive email campaign, advisors should begin by examining the needs of their audience. A broad-based “spray and pray” approach is the quickest way to burn through your hard-earned email list. On the other hand, highly targeted value-add communications will help you build trust, drive referrals, and stay connected to your prospects and clients. Read on for best practices (by email type) and some common email marketing mistakes to avoid.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to participate in a lively discussion with a thought leadership group comprised of forwarding thinking, young marketers. The topic eventually turned to the effectiveness of email marketing for financial advisors. Although opinions differed greatly on the types of campaigns financial advisors should leverage, there was one thing we could all agree on:  Email marketing, when done correctly, is widely effective.

But what does that mean for financial advisor email marketing, now that we are in 2019?

Email has certainly become a standard mode of communicating with clients and prospects, but it is overused? Do people care about the emails they get from a financial advisor? Isn’t newsletter marketing dead? And, most importantly, should you make it easy on yourself and sign up for one of those services that will generate and send marketing emails for you?

As with many things marketing, getting hard numbers and data can make the difference between a great strategic decision and a dead-end money pit. So, let’s look at some numbers.

• According to CampaignMonitor data for 2019, average email open rates across surveyed industries is 17.92%. Financial services enjoy a slightly more favorable open rate than the average (18.23%).
• No surprise here: It’s better to have prospects opt into your campaign. The same resource suggests that open rates for permission-based campaigns (i.e. ones where a prospect or a client has given you permission to email them) range between 30% and 40%. That’s a significant upgrade!
• According to HubSpot, 99% of people check their email at least once a day. That means you have a good chance of your prospect or client seeing your message when it comes in (as long as it doesn’t get caught by the spam filters).
• CampaignMonitor supplements that stat: More than 50% of their survey respondents check their personal email account more than 10 times a day, and it is by far their preferred way to receive updates from brands.
• Finally, marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue (CampaignMonitor, 2019 data).

So, the data would suggest that the optimal combination for successful financial advisor email marketing should look like this:  Ask for permission, send regular emails, make your messaging relevant for the recipient.

Which sounds like common sense.

As always, the devil’s in the detail. And so, I wanted to share with you some common questions and specific best practices for financial advisor email marketing campaigns. These are the types of campaigns that a firm of any size can use with success. Campaigns can be super-simple, or you could go all out and have them professionally designed to suit your style. So, don’t feel that email marketing isn’t for you unless you have a big budget.

Should financial advisors build an email list — or buy one?

Most advisors I know would prefer to do things in the most efficient way possible. From that perspective, one might imagine that buying a list of (ideally) pre-screened prospects from a data company would be faster and better than building your own list through a sign-up form on your website.

The reality is a bit more complicated.

First off, the CAN SPAM Act of 2003 requires anyone who purchases an email list with a commercial purpose to abide by certain rules. While those rules do not include obtaining explicit permission from the individuals on the list, they do require accurate transmission information (i.e. who the email is from), non-deceptive subject headings, a clear identification that the message is an advertisement, and an opt-out provision that gives the recipient a choice about whether they wish to receive future emails from you. If you are interested in a deeper dive into this subject, this FAQ article has good information. In summary, though, as long as you follow those requirements, you can send emails until the recipient opts out — at least in theory.

In practice, buying a list of emails exposes you to additional risks. There’s a risk that the list was assembled through shady or outright illegal means (such as address harvesting or dictionary attacks). Plus, there’s an (admittedly small) chance that someone on the list has already opted out of receiving emails from you before you purchased the list. Either one of those risks can expose you to fines under the CAM SPAM Act.

What exactly is permission in this context? It could be implicit permission in the case of email recipients who already have a relationship with you (through doing business together, being acquainted socially, or being a part of the same charity or club). Or, it could be explicit permission, like when a prospect types in an email address to download a whitepaper or a checklist.

What about “renting” an email list?

There is another practice in the industry that’s known as “renting a list”. When you “rent” someone’s email list, they email their list of contacts on your behalf. You don’t get to see any of the email addresses. Think of it as buying an ad that someone will share with their list for a fee.

Is “renting” a list better than “buying” a list? Not necessarily. It’s true that the risks are different. For one, even if you are merely renting a list, the recipients did not give you permission.  The reader is not expecting an email from you, so they may feel annoyed and sold to — not the mindset you need to convert skeptics into clients.

And then there is the elephant in the room.

At the end of the day, the provider of the list (whether they sell it or rent it) is in the business of selling or renting lists. It’s in their best interest to sell/rent a list as much as they can to maximize their profit. That leads to the people on the list getting spammed with a high volume of unexpected and unsolicited offers. Your offer can get lost among them. You may also experience a high degree of unsubscribes, bounces, and spam complaints. All of that adds up to a low ROI.

Bottom line:  Buying or renting an email list may seem like an inexpensive shortcut to reaching more prospects. In reality, doing this can negatively affect the deliverability of the emails you send to legitimate prospects, spoil your reputation, and result in a poor ROI.

The names on any list you might buy or rent are likely to be “burned out” by too much spam. Think about it… If you spent years building a solid list of people who had opted into getting messages from you, would you sell it for just cents per email address? So, if a list is available for sale, it’s probably not the high-quality goldmine that the list company would have you believe.

What should you do instead?

Build your own list by having people opt into getting emails from you. Yes, a home-grown email list takes time to develop and nurture. However, doing this will keep you on the right side of the anti-spam rules — and it will be much more effective in terms of ROI and long-term practice growth potential. Give your audience plenty of opportunities to subscribe to your emails by adding a form to several locations on your website. Limit the volume of data you collect up front (first name and email address are usually enough to get started). In other words, make it very easy for them to say “yes” and join the list.

Best practices for financial advisor email marketing

So, you’ve developed a list of emails from prospects or clients. How can you build an email marketing campaign that will nurture those relationships?

Here are some ideas that can work well for financial advisors.

1) The financial advisor newsletter is alive!

Believe it or not, the tried-and-true newsletter format is still an effective way of establishing an ongoing communication cadence with your clients and prospects. Most financial advice firms have transitioned the newsletter from the traditional hard-copy/printed format to digital. A digital newsletter is inexpensive and relatively simple to pull together. Even if you choose to invest in a professional layout template, you get to reuse it multiple times, which can lead to a solid ROI.

If you are considering adding a newsletter (or if you have one and are wondering if you set it up the right way), here are 5 best practices that can make it or break a financial advisor newsletter.

• Choose a frequency and stick to it. You may not think of it this way, but a newsletter can become an important component of building trust with the prospects who don’t yet know you. If you promise them a monthly newsletter, be sure to deliver a monthly newsletter. Generally, it’s better to pick a lower frequency that’s sustainable for you — than to promise a weekly communication and fail to keep it up.
• Create a central theme and a structure for your newsletter. Nothing wrecks your readership-bounce-rate like a mailer that’s disorganized or hard to follow. You might brainstorm some re-usable topic categories that would strike a chord with your audience (perhaps highlighting an upcoming decision or action deadline, sharing a budgeting tip, a market performance update, a summary and take-aways from a recent book you’ve read, or a “get to know” section to present profiles/updates from team members).
• Make a clear path for someone to opt-out. The number one sin when executing a digital newsletter campaign is trapping your audience in a slow and painful “death by email” spiral. Nothing deteriorates your brand faster than spamming disengaged customers. Give your readers a clear off-ramp. Your newsletter will be better for it. At the very worst, you will know that your messaging needs to be refined based on an alarming rate of unsubscribes.
• Give your images alt tags. Email clients (such as Outlook, Apple Mail, or Gmail) can be a tricky beast, and you never know what settings your recipient has enabled. If you are trying to spotlight a project, or if you have invested time in creating a beautiful layout, you surely want your recipients to see it! Giving an image an alt tag will allow alternative text to appear if the image doesn’t load. Also, be sure to test the formatting of your newsletter to ensure it will display right across different platforms.
• Reduce load times. Be sure to optimize high-quality images for digital viewing. Compress your images to maintain quality while reducing long email load times. Your clients and prospects are experiencing heavy information overload. You have just 1-2 seconds to grab a prospect’s attention. Don’t allow long load times on your emails to sabotage your chance!
• Promote your newsletter through your social media. Each time your send a newsletter, share one point on your social media profiles — and encourage your followers to subscribe to the list. This step takes virtually no time or effort — and can seamlessly deliver more eager subscribers.

2) Drip sequences can work, too.

After a prospect has signed up for a lead magnet (such as a report, a white paper, or a checklist), some advisors follow up the initial delivery with a short series of emails (something known as a drip sequence). The purpose of a drip email sequence is to build trust, deliver value, and give the prospect an opportunity to take the next step in the relationship if he or she is ready.

Here are some best practices for financial advisor email drip sequences.

• Segment your prospects. Relevance is the key factor that can make the difference between an email that’s perceived as valuable — and one that’s promptly sent to trash. If you reach out to different categories of clients or prospects, make sure that you have different drip sequences to suit their needs. In other words, pre-retirees and business owners should get different emails. This ties into developing your value proposition as a financial advisor; see this article for more tactical advice on that.
• Make sure that every email in the sequence adds value. The litmus test I like to use is whether my target audience is likely to save the email, print it out for reference, or forward it to someone they know. If the answer is “probably not”, then you need a different email — or you risk burning out your new subscriber quickly.
• Use storytelling techniques to get the reader’s attention. Remember, they don’t know much about you yet. Stories are a powerful tool for connection and trust-building. A well-chosen and well-told story can immerse your prospect into what it’s like to work with you. Think of personal stories that will give your reader a glimpse into your personality, expertise, and experience. There are many great books about effective story structure, and this topic alone could make for a whole other blog post. For now, keep in mind that a story is most effective when you can clearly define a challenge or the stakes, walk the reader through several different emotions, and provide closure.
• Subject lines matter, a lot. You may spend a couple of hours refining your email to be just right, but if you don’t have an intriguing subject line, chances are that your open rates will be disappointingly low. According to a digital marketing consulting company Convince & Convert, 35% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. So, invest some time to come up with a subject line that piques the reader’s interest and gives them the reason to click “open”.
• Watch your open rates and unsubscribes. One or two people dropping off the list is not a big indicator, but if the pattern indicates that a significant percentage of subscribers opts out of your list on email # 3, perhaps you should reassess that specific email.

3) Use email to pre-announce events

Are you planning to attend or host a local event? Email is an excellent tool to inform prospects and clients about it. If you are going to a local event and it’s open to the public, let your readers know and invite them to join you. A targeted email blast can allow you to begin networking at an event before it ever starts.

Before promoting your own event, keep these best practices in mind.

• Give your readers a reason to care about the event. Just because you have decided to host an educational seminar, a wine night, or an art auction isn’t enough to entice a prospect to show up. You need to let them know why they can’t afford to miss it. Highlight future take-aways. If your key selling point is raising money for a charity or having fun, focus on that. Don’t make your audience wonder why they should go.
• Tailor the event to your audience. This is another opportunity to segment your list and really think about what each client/prospect set would value most. A generic workshop may not be exciting enough to entice participation. It may be better to host two smaller, highly targeted events that will be well-attended.
• Make your email actionable. It’s not enough that the client or prospect learns about the event. Give them a specific next step. Perhaps they can register for the event or email the office for details. An email without an action will likely be forgotten quickly.
• Deploy responsive design. Fast forward to the day of the event, and there’s a good chance that your client will be using their smartphone to refer back to the email you sent them with all the logistics. Plan ahead and make sure that your email is optimized for mobile viewing!

Financial advisor email marketing:  Round-up of mistakes to avoid

To close this take on the subject of financial advisor email marketing, here are some common mistakes I have seen — and ways to avoid them.

1.     Unclear or misleading subject lines. It’s uncommon for financial advisors to use an outright misleading subject line, although it does happen sometimes. The more common mistake I see is choosing a subject line that’s boring, not sufficiently descriptive, or repetitive. Think of your subject line as a movie trailer: Make the recipient want to open it!

2.     Missing the mark on content. Not every member of your audience is interested in the same content. So, segment your list and make different content streams that are relevant to your readership. Your CRM system should allow you to use tags to facilitate this. And remember, whatever content strategy you start with is just a hypothesis! Be ready to monitor the response from your audience (open rates, link clicks, other interaction with content) — and adapt accordingly.

3.     One-way communication. Have you ever received an email from a “do not reply” email address? This type of tactic comes off as impersonal. It does nothing to encourage interaction. When a company sends out mailers from a “do not reply” address, it tells the audience that it doesn’t care to have a real conversation. Let your readers know that you are receptive to feedback — and you will be amazed at how active your subscribers will become.

4.     Too many links, no clear call-to-action. Links to important content can be helpful and convenient for readers. But, as a thoughtful content curator, it is important to tread carefully here! Too many links can distract the reader from more important content. Don’t try to overstuff your emails with information. Instead, choose a point of focus — and optimize your emails to drive viewers to a clear call-to-action.

Original Post: https://modelfa.com/2019/09/05/email-marketing-for-financial-advisors/