Marketing Matchup: What Platform Builders Want You To Know About RIA Marketing

You’re running a billion-dollar firm with no head of marketing. Now what?

Despite managing billions in assets, many firms are still cobbling together their growth strategy with ad hoc emails, advisor-written commentary, and no centralized plan.

Amy Rizzo (Chief Growth Officer at Arax Investment Partners) and Erica Rodrigues (Organic Growth Consultant at Constellation Wealth Capital) come together in the latest episode of Marketing Matchup to talk about how they help portfolio firms build repeatable marketing engines without breaking what made them successful in the first place.

Both women bring the rare perspective of outsourced growth leaders and platform builders. They are both called on to guide and support advisor teams to clarify their value proposition and connect their growth stories to their client experience.

Build from the basics

Most advisors already have a niche, whether or not it is formally a part of their branding. It could be physicians, founders, or people going through a major life change. But very few firms know how to turn that niche into a repeatable growth strategy. That’s what Amy and Erica are focused on.

Amy’s team works with advisors to extract what’s working in their niche conversations and build an actual process around it. That includes presentation materials, social content, campaigns, and delivery systems, so the firm’s resources match what the advisor is already doing well.

At Constellation, Erica sees the same opportunity. She works with leadership to identify those niche strengths and figure out how to support them with the right tools and messaging. The work starts with what’s already there. The value comes from building around it.

Often, they find RIAs need help with the basics. The website doesn’t tell the right story. The team doesn’t speak a common language about the brand. The CRM isn’t wired to support any of the planned campaigns.

Erica emphasized how important it is to define a message that’s true to the firm and easy for the team to use. Amy’s team has made foundational work like messaging and site structure a requirement before launching any content effort.

Marketing budget questions make more sense when you’ve seen dozens of firms try to answer them

Ask ten firms how much they should spend on marketing and you’ll get ten vague answers. Amy and Erica have a clearer view because they’ve seen how firms at different stages make budgeting decisions—and what happens next.

Erica recommends starting with 2 to 5 percent of revenue, but only if there’s a real plan behind it. She’s seen firms waste money with no tracking and firms underinvest because they’re afraid of unclear ROI. Today’s tools can track everything. There’s no excuse not to report on what’s working.

Amy’s approach is hands-on. She has the backing to experiment and run pilot programs across Arax’s operating companies. That flexibility lets her test what works before scaling it across firms. But she’s clear that none of it matters unless there’s someone watching the numbers and making decisions about where to reinvest.

Watch the full interview below, or find us on your favorite podcast platform!