2024 has only just begun, but marketing leaders at financial advisor firms already feel pressure to deliver growth on all fronts.
“Build me a strategy to capture new business that is tailored to each of our leads. Now scale it up, while preserving the one-on-one personalization. Play to our unique strengths as an advisory. And don’t break the bank, either.”
In other words, a technology like generative AI could not have come at a better time for chief marketing officers in financial services. The capabilities of AI tools can put marketing teams within striking distance of cohesive, personalized outreach that can scale as wide or tall as necessary. But as with any new tool, there is a learning curve.
Be Specific About What You Want
Here’s an example of a time-saving tactic using AI: rapid, customized emails in response to market events.
This was created in ChatGPT, but clever marketers will see elements within the prompt-writing that can serve them no matter what large language model tool they use.
- Define your audience: Right away, the prompt establishes vital context: who you are (“a financial advisor”), and who your audience is (“My clients are primarily HNW individuals, families, and business owners.”)
- State your goal: The prompt writer asks for an email to calm clients during a period of market volatility, and remind them of their long-term plans.
- Set the parameters: The prompt asks for three email options between 3 to 5 sentences in length.
You may use more specialized tools, or a custom-built GPT that is already pre-loaded with your firm’s brand voice and expectations. But whatever the case, marketers will get more efficient, effective results as they learn to say exactly what they want.
Make Something From Something
As we write this, the most tantalizing use case of generative AI for marketers is to quickly analyze or repurpose existing content. No two clients or prospects will consume information in the same way. AI tools can quickly repurpose a long-form blog post into a punchy email campaign, a series of zero-click social media posts, a video script, or the basis of an e-book. If advisors want to stand out in an increasingly saturated digital marketplace, they need an omnichannel approach. Generative AI can get you there a lot faster than starting from scratch.
With this technology, your back catalog of content can quickly become an idea engine. And we’re still in the early innings of what is possible. We already see the emergence of new tools that can converse directly and securely with client and prospect data to identify trends, create personalized financial reports, and targeted thought leadership. It’s not hard to imagine a near future in which these tools are table stakes for CMOs at financial advice firms.
Early adopters will be in a better position to capture success. The good news: everyone is still figuring this out. There is still time to experiment and test the waters. When you get down to it, generative AI is just the next logical step for marketing leaders who have already learned to treat their own data and content like the assets they are.