The Retirement Advisor Marketing Boost

As the Baby Boomer generation – 70 million strong – begin their exodus from the office and into retirement, there’s an even larger generation starting to replace them. At 77 million strong, the millennials are about to become the driving force in corporate America.

They’re also about to be introduced to the idea of retirement investing. Yet how many of them are interested? Plenty, it seems. According to a Franklin Templeton Investments survey of over 2,000 adults, the younger generation say they’ll have a better retirement than past generations.

That should make the job of a retirement advisor easy, no?

 Alas, while millennials are confident in their ability to save, they’re not doing it via a retirement plan. The survey found that 40 percent say they don’t have a retirement income strategy, and 57 percent haven’t started saving for retirement.

That means retirement plan advisors have a challenge. Yet they also have an opportunity – that 57 percent is a deep well of prospects to attract into a retirement plan. But it’s going to take more than the annual benefits meeting to convince cash-strapped millennials to start saving for a future long in coming.

Just as the face of today’s workforce changes, so should the advisor’s methods of attracting their business. Here are a few strategy shifts that can bring noticeable impact:

Get social. Employees of all age groups are plugged in, but no one more so than the millennial generation. Grow a following on social media by sharing content with your audience that speaks to the very real needs of each demographic. Articles on how to save while paying off student debt. Resources for budgeting the new house while maintaining retirement savings contributions. Why a new baby signals a review of a retirement portfolio. Tap into the life changes that impact the bottom line of your plan participants.

Get to the point. In a climate where messaging is inundating us from every device, long sales letters are quite often overlooked. However, don’t forego the snail mail. Mailed letters have become novelties, which has created a bit more interest than another email. Change up the message, though: create shorter, more succinct sales messages that target one aspect of retirement saving: time to increase the annual contribution or explaining the different allocation strategies.

Sell the sizzle, not the steak. Don’t try selling employees on the history of your firm or the experience you bring to the job. Make it about them: show them the benefits of investing. How much money would a contribution of 6 percent of their income create in about 30 years? How can they start now to afford that second home when they’re in their 50s?

Get personal. Be that trusted resource who’s easy to connect with. Send out those emailed newsletters with helpful articles, send the focused snail mail letters, and keep the messages regular on social media. The tone should be friendly and conversational, and genuine. Be the advisor who offers to help them understand various retirement plan components.

Whether marketing to the millennial or to the 40-something employee, retirement advisors have an opportunity to reframe their marketing messages to attract more business. Plus, by giving prospects the information they want in a way that educates them on their options, advisors can be yet another benefit to retirement investing.