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The online marketing package applies to www.unbiased.co.uk and all of the 60 plus searches IFAP has established on high profile partner websites. Members subscribing to IFAP's online marketing package will be able to offer enquiring consumers and businesses the following features:
1. "Call me back" facility
- Enquirers will be given the option to waive their confidentiality (by their own choice) and request that you call them back directly by way of an email alert to your inbox.
- Which means that - for the first time - you'll get the chance to talk directly to IFAP enquirers electing to use this service.
2. "Send me info" facility
- Enquirers will be able to request that the full details contained in your IFAP entry are forwarded to their inbox.
- Enquirers can store your firm's information in their inbox for future use when convenient to them.
3. Online functionality
- Your web and email addresses will be displayed and enabled by IFAP, allowing an enquirer to click straight through to your website or contact you online.
- Enquirers researching online are interested in visiting your website to find out more about your company - quite simply, to help them decide quickly if the services your firm provides are right for them. They also expect you to offer them an email facility. With your website and email links displayed and enabled on IFAP's online searches, enquirers can find out this extra information which increases the chances of your firm being selected if appropriate. Be in no doubt, your website can play an important role in filtering enquiries and improving the quality of the leads you receive.
4. Enhanced entry display
- Your IFAP entry will be placed in a coloured box making it stand out on the list of member IFAs presented by IFAP to an online enquirer.
- Which means IFAP can make your entry stand out online - whether or not you currently have a website. As enquirers will naturally be drawn to entries with more impact, giving you a better opportunity to get your firm's messages across.
Members can choose any number of the four features listed above for the flat monthly/annual charge. Member IFAs subscribing to the online marketing package will continue to get their further information page and office location map link displayed.
What those who subscribe to IFAP's Online Marketing Package say about the service:
Dennis Hall APFS AIFP Chartered Financial Planner
Yellowtail Financial Planning Limited
In the (almost) 2 years since I started my firm I have been using unbiased.co.uk as a source of new clients. On various IFA forums and in the trade press I have commented favourably about the value for money we have got from the service. Apart from our existing clients and contacts we have not done any other marketing (until this month) because we have been receiving a steady stream of quality clients through the unbiased site.As an indication of the activity we have witnessed, since I returned to the office on 3rd January I have met with 5 new prospective clients who match my new client criteria. Three of these have already signed up to our service and I am positive that at least one other will also become a client. As our minimum client take on fee is £2,500 + Vat this has more than covered our costs. One of the new clients is a top city lawyer who found us through unbiased.co.uk. We expect to be able to bill £5,000 per annum from this one client alone, over and above our take on fee.
Of course, unbiased.co.uk doesn’t turn an enquiry into a client, we have spent a lot of time, effort and money on having an attractive website which turns the browsing visitor into a face to face meeting, and also our proposition is compelling. However, without unbiased we would have to find alternative ways to drive the merely inquisitive internet user into a real enquiry. On that basis unbiased has got to be the most cost effective and time effective marketing tool we have used.
Ben Sherwood
Hillier Hopkins LLP
'Very happy with service, resulting in increased productivity.'Harry Katz
Norwest Consultants
'At all events the cost in my view is modest when all IFAP does is taken into account, but it was recouped within about two weeks as a result of the increased interest and activity generated. This has continued unabated, much to my surprise. I now have a problem as a result - I have around a 4 week lead time for any new client who wishes to have an initial consultation! I have noticed that the 'hits' on my own website have also increased exponentially.'Veronique Banse
La Bourse Ltd
'extremely happy with the volume of prospects received as a result of signing up to the enhanced marketing package.'Robert Douglas Associates
'We are very pleased with the results so far, with a marked increase ( up around 70%) in the number of leads we are receiving. We currently have five on the system and we are in the process of adding a further three IFAs. It has proven for ourselves to be a very cost effective way of raising our brand and profile in the IFA market, not to mention the benefits from additional clients and sales opportunities.'Colin Urquhart IFA
'I have found that it has increased my website activity, and I am seeing more people come through the door.'Ian Pealin
Mercer & Hole
'I confirm that the number of enquiries we have received since upgrading to the enhanced display has exceeded our expectations.'James McLaughlin
Thistle Financial Management
'I was unsure about subscribing to the Online Marketing Package but then took the view that for £24pm it would only take one enquiry which progressed to business to pay for the annual fee, therefore decided to proceed. In less than a week of my upgrade I had enquiry for mortgage funding which has resulted in commission of £700 so I can only be positive about the benefits from now on.'Joseph Procopio
Fee Based Solutions Ltd
'much more traffic, generally happy with service.'Stan Foley
AMJ insurance and mortgage services ltd
'Excellent service, receiving prospects.'Francis Klonowski
Klonowski & co
'Generally very happy, receiving a steady flow of prospects.'Steven Pyne
Holden and Partners
'This is to let you know that IFA Promotion has surpassed all expectations with both the number and quality of enquiries generated since Holden and Partners took up membership just over two months ago. I would thoroughly endorse it to any IFA. Thanks for your help in getting us going as it were!'
How will the Online Marketing Package (OMP) help me if all my business comes from existing clients and client referrals?
If IFA Promotion’s ‘Find an IFA’ searches can deliver to you exactly the type of business you’re looking for - why would you want to turn that away? Is it really possible to have too much of the right sort of business? IFAP searches match enquirers’ needs precisely with the information shown on member IFAs’ entries. Therefore if you only want receive a particular type of lead we can structure your entry to ensure this happens (e.g. by product area, payment method offered, gender of advisers available and incremental qualifications held). Subscribing to the OMP means that more of these highly targeted consumer and business leads will find and notice your IFAP entry - as opposed to those of your competitors (who have not yet subscribed).
Why should I sign up to the OMP when I feel that the quality of leads I have received from IFA Promotion has been of low quality?
According to our last Consensus research (June 2007, base 1,807 member IFAs returning a survey) 77% of all IFAP leads result in business being written. If the leads you are receiving are low quality we would suggest fine tuning your IFAP entry. Due to the way we match enquirers’ needs to the information shown on member IFAs’ entries, it is important to make sure your entry really reflects the business you want to attract. Subscribing to the OMP should also help improve the volume and quality of leads generated for your business as people researching online are twice as likely to view your entry if you are subscribed to the OMP.
Why should I pay extra for the OMP if my IFAP entry is already working for me?
If your IFAP entry is already working for you then it can work even better when you have subscribed to the OMP. Consumers researching IFA information online are likely to want to continue their online research journey by checking out your website or contacting you via email (i.e. before they decide to arrange to come in and see you). With 92% of all IFAP fulfilments now being dealt with online, this demand will only increase. The web is now the tool of choice for people looking for financial advice, and with the OMP you will be part of the online revolution. It’s also perhaps worth noting that income generated by OMP subscriptions is used by IFAP to further promote the IFA brand and generate even more leads for our IFA members (this is certainly not the case with other lead generators).
Why should I sign up to the OMP when I’ve never had a single lead from IFA Promotion?
IFAP received 575,000 enquiries from people local for a local IFA in the last 12 months and independent research shows that half of these enquirers go on to visit an IFA. Therefore it is extremely unlikely that you have never received a single lead. You can call the Member Hotline on 0870 325 9020 to find out how many times your details have been seen by a consumer. If you still feel your lead levels are very low it is usually due to one of two things:
1) The IFA details you show on your IFAP entry are either incomplete or are not suitable for the type of business you are looking for. The ultimate aim of IFAP searches is to match enquirers’ needs with the information shown on member IFAs’ entries. Thus if you only want to receive a particular type of lead we can structure your entry on all our searches to make sure this happens (e.g. by product area, payment method offered, gender of the adviser available and incremental qualifications).
2) Your method for finding out where consumers found your details may not be completely accurate. If someone specifies ‘the web’, you need to ask ‘where on the web?’ If they say ‘Google’ you need to consider whether you have a presence on Google? Probably not, but IFAP does on your behalf - as it does for all the other search engines! With all the online activity that IFAP carries out across paid for search, natural search listings, white label searches, online banner ads, traditional press ads and online editorial it is very likely that IFAP was the conduit for a number of the leads you’ve received – you just may not have realised it.
Once you sign up to the package you will receive a monthly activity report on your entry which will further help you measure the benefit your IFAP entry delivers.
How will the OMP help me if I don’t have a website?
Not having a website could certainly be detrimental to your positioning in today’s internet savvy world. However if you don’t have a website you can still use the OMP as a method of promoting yourself on the web. Twice as many consumers will see your details if you have signed up to the OMP and enhancing your entry will help to offset the fact that you don’t have a website.
Why do I need the OMP if I advertise in Yellow Pages/Thomson (or another online directory)?
The cost of IFAP’s OMP is only £250 per year. Only one lead is needed in a year for this cost to more than pay for itself. If you are already advertising on the web you will already be aware that it has become the tool of choice for people looking for local IFA details. If you are advertising in published directories already, now may be the perfect time to trial some marketing activity on the web. IFAP already promotes you and other member IFAs all the time - just look at all the promotional activity IFAP is carrying out across paid for search, natural search listings, white label searches, online banner ads, traditional press ads, press PR and online editorial. It’s also perhaps worth noting that income generated by OMP subscriptions is used by IFAP to further promote the IFA brand and generate even more leads for our IFA members (this is certainly not the case with other lead generators).
Is there any point signing up to the OMP when I’m not in a good residential area?
Consumers often search on their work postcode as well. To make the most of your entry ensure that you have all of your business areas, payment options and qualifications listed. An alternative is to register your home address with us too. Subscribing to the OMP is an extremely cost effective way to ensure your details are seen by more consumers who are looking for precisely what you offer.
I don’t believe website advertising is relevant to financial advice – so what’s the point of the OMP?
Consumer demand would say that this is not the case. Over 575,000 people a year are looking for a local IFA using IFAP’s searches and the vast majority of these (92%) do so online. If you want your services to be seen by these people, and it’s hard to imagine anyone who wouldn’t, the OMP is an extremely targeted marketing tool.
Why should I sign up to the OMP when I don’t advertise anywhere else?
Your competitors do and are. Over 3,000 member IFAs have already subscribed to the OMP and are currently reaping the benefits. As mentioned above, due to the way the IFAP search matches consumers’ needs with information shown on IFAs’ entries, if you are interested in only receiving a particular type of lead, you only need to supply the data for those particular leads and we can match you up with only those consumers. Subscribing to the OMP means that more of these highly targeted enquiries will find your business details as opposed to those of you competitors. It’s also perhaps worth noting that income generated by OMP subscriptions is used by IFAP to further promote the IFA brand and generate even more leads for member IFAs – and this means people are more likely to value your independence, whether or not they found you via IFAP. We would value your support!
Find out the costs of IFAP's online marketing package
