When Alliant Wealth Advisors President and Founder John Frisch was running his firm, there was one thing he felt strongly about — the firm should be responsible for generating new business for advisors.
Having over 20 years of experience in the financial services field, John knew that advisors’ time was best spent serving clients, not chasing down leads. And as the world of digital marketing was rapidly evolving through the early 2010s, the opportunities for getting those new leads continued to expand.
After handling marketing in-house for many years, in 2016, John began to look at how the firm could expand its presence and leverage more marketing opportunities.
As John explains, “Back in 2016, I attempted to get into more digital marketing. So we had an application that we subscribed to called Vesterly, which supported our newsletters. We were also trying to do some social media marketing and some SEO. I was still doing some writing for a biweekly article in the paper. I had a team that included a separate firm to do graphics, a second separate writer, and somebody that would post the newsletters every two weeks. Except for people responsible for SEO and social media marketing, I was managing it all, and I really didn't know what I was doing. It was helping, but I felt we could do better.”
As time went on though, John identified that the SEO and social media were his biggest pain points. He’d made some mistakes with hiring and was very frustrated with the level of effort going into the marketing— especially as they didn’t seem to be getting anything accomplished.
It was time to make a change.
Worth the Wait
John made the decision to hire a marketing consultant to help him interview marketing firms because he didn't know the right questions to ask. He couldn't properly interpret the proposals because they used a lot of acronyms and jargon that he didn't understand. He wanted an expert to guide him through the process.
One thing he noted was that several marketing agencies he’d spoken to were already booked, but he figured that if someone had a waitlist, it was likely because they do a really good job for their clients. It was through this process that he found Crystal and her team.
“I found Crystal Marketing Solutions (CMS) through a web search. I was actively going to websites and trying to find people that would mix well with us. We're fiduciary and I knew they needed to focus on those areas. When we interviewed Crystal, the marketing consultant wrote up a great report on her. She was booked, but she put me on a waitlist, and about four months later, we started working together.”
In February 2021, John transitioned to working with CMS. It was a huge relief to be able to hand everything over to one agency with a team that was well-versed in financial services businesses that focus on wealth management, 401Ks, and more.
“I hired CMS because they were comprehensive. Before I started working with them, I'd hired my third digital marketing firm to do SEO and branded ads for social media. Crystal took on managing them; it was like having a dedicated internal marketing person. They knew the industry and how all the marketing pieces fit together. I was impressed that Crystal and her team could do all of it.”
Consistent, Tactical Support
One of the first things John noticed when working with CMS was how hands-on the support Crystal provided was. The team was focused on implementation. All John had to do was provide direction on what he wanted to do, and Crystal and the team would get it done.
John says, “They’re experts, and they're excellent at really ‘getting’ their clients. The CMS team always prioritizes what we’re doing and is so organized. I started out with a list of 20 things I wanted to do, but I didn't know what the priority should be. Crystal took that list and started working through the biggest things first.”
Another thing John appreciated about the CMS team was their communication and consistency.
“They had a portal I could go to anytime I wanted and see where everything stood and what we were working on next. I could see the next 10 articles, which ones needed to be written, who they were assigned to, and more. We had bi-weekly calls, which got to a point where once things were going well we needed them less often as everything was going so smoothly.”
Plus, when the firm’s website needed to be updated, the CMS team was there to lead the charge. The team also began taking over some of the writing and social media. Whatever projects John wanted to do, the team was there to provide counsel and then implement — without adding more work to John’s already full plate.
“One thing I was surprised by was how much the website improved. I was happy with the website, and it had last been updated in 2016, so it wasn’t particularly dated. I remember being afraid to change it because it was working and our phones were ringing. They did a good job of retaining what was attracting people and phone traffic hasn’t decreased at all. It's just a much nicer website, so I was very pleased.”
A Responsive and Easy-to-Work-With Team
When asked what he’d say to someone considering working with Crystal Marketing Solutions, John had this to say:
“I really enjoyed working with Crystal and Brooke. They’re always super responsive, professional, and organized. They’re just nice, helpful people, and working with nice people is really important to me. If you want a competent, reliable, easy-to-work-with, and responsible implementation of your marketing plan, CMS is the ideal choice. They took the things I was doing up to another level.”
This case study was conducted and constructed by a third party on behalf of CMS. This reflects a summary of an actual client experience and is intended to serve as an example of what it is like to work with CMS. While CMS prides itself on consistency with our work and relationship, no results can be guaranteed.
Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is the owner of Crystal Marketing Solutions, a full-service marketing agency dedicated to working specifically with independent financial advisors. Since 2011, she’s helped financial advisors cut through the noise to attract ideal clients and grow their businesses using proven strategies that we use with our clients every day. As your “Chief Marketing Officer,” our goal is to help you grow your business and put time back on your calendar so that you can focus on what you do best: serving your clients.