TactiBrand Reviews Websites of Barrons "Top 100 Advisors"
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2012 Website Review Of Barron’s 2012 Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors * * http://online.barrons.com/report/top-financial-advisors/independ
description
TactiBrand ranked the websites of Barron's 2012 list of Top Independent Financial Advisors. Many do things extremely well but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Websites need to create intreaguing first impressions. The study gives good examples of what to do and what not to do.
Transcript of TactiBrand Reviews Websites of Barrons "Top 100 Advisors"
2012 Website Review
Of Barron’s 2012 Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors *
* http://online.barrons.com/report/top-financial-advisors/independent
Five Categories Ranked
• Credibility and Professionalism• Message• Navigation• Purpose Description• Call to Action
Credibility and Professionalism
Website first impressions are critical!
60 % of website visitors stay less than 30 seconds
0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72 78 84 90 96 102 108 114 1200%
10%
20%
30%
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100%
Probability of Leaving Website Over Time
Seconds on Website
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f Lea
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Credibility and ProfessionalismSTUDY RESULTS:
Nearly 25% of websites in study achieved top marks (10 out of 10) for credibility and professionalism.
Within 10 seconds or less, these websites answer the question: Is this the kind of company I want to do business with.
Credibility and ProfessionalismTOP PERFORMERS:
www.ironfinancial.comwww.luminouscap.comwww.homrichberg.comwww.joelisaacson.comwww.dywealth.comwww.brightonjones.comwww.tollesonwealth.comwww.stmmltd.comwww.covenantmfo.comwww.thomaspartnersinc.comwww.obermeyerasset.comwww.truepointinc.com
www.pencewealthmanagement.comwww.pim.orgwww.assetpreservationadvisors.com www.millcreekcap.com www.waldronwm.comwww.wetherby.comwww.heritagefinancial.netwww.convergentwealth.comwww.gersteinfisher.comwww.bakerstreetadvisors.comwww.ncafinancial.comwww.hightoweradvisors.com
Compelling Message
Creating a Compelling Message is not easy !
The message needs to be inspiring and easy to identify within the first 10 to 20 seconds.
Compelling MessageSTUDY RESULTS:
Only 5 of websites in the study achieved top marks (10 out of 10) for Compelling Message.
The low number of top marks is an indicator of how difficult this is to achieve.
Compelling MessageTOP PERFORMERS:
www.masseyquick.comwww.essexfinancialservices.comwww.waldronwm.comwww.bakerstreetadvisors.comwww4.harrisbank.com/SBSB
Intuitive NavigationUse language that indicates what will be at the other end
Make main navigation prominent and consistent
Use footer area for important but less used links
Ensure navigation is obvious on mobile devices *
* As of May 2012, 10.1% of all web page views were from mobile devices where “hovering” over text does not indicate that the text is a link.
Intuitive NavigationSTUDY RESULTS:
Almost 30% of the advisor websites in the Barron’s Top 100 list received top marks for Navigation
Clearly, top advisors understand the importance of making it easy for their clients and prospects to find information.
Intuitive NavigationTOP PERFORMERS:
www.scg-llc.comwww.freestonecapital.comwww.destinationwm.comwww.wescott.comwww.rmbcap-west.com www.essexfinancialservices.comwww.belair-llc.comwww.luminouscap.comwww.homrichberg.comwww.joelisaacson.comwww.zhangfinancial.comwww.churchillmanagement.comwww.younginvestments.comwww.brightonjones.comwww.tollesonwealth.com www.hansonmcclain.com
www.stmmltd.comwww.thomaspartnersinc.comwww.obermeyerasset.com www.truepointinc.com www.pim.orgwww.millcreekcap.com www.assetpreservationadvisors.comwww.waldronwm.comwww.wetherby.comwww.heritagefinancial.netwww.bakerstreetadvisors.comwww4.harrisbank.com/SBSBwww.ncafinancial.comwww.hightoweradvisors.com
Purpose Description
Purpose goes beyond Vision and Mission
Allow prospects to “dive in” if they are interested
Process should be represented visually
Culture
Who
What
How
Why
Purpose DescriptionSTUDY RESULTS:
There was a lot of room for improvement in this area. Only 7 of the Top 100 advisor websites received top marks for Purpose Description
Being succinct, compelling while describing what you do, how you do it and why you do it is not an easy task.
Intuitive NavigationTOP PERFORMERS:
www.mcmllc.comwww.steelecapital.com www.covenantmfo.comwww.wetherby.comwww.bakerstreetadvisors.comwww4.harrisbank.com/SBSBwww.hightoweradvisors.com
Call to Action
Make it easy for prospects to take that first step
Minimize the risk
Help them visualize the potential.
Call to ActionSTUDY RESULTS:
Of the five categories used to rank the best websites in the Barron’s Top 100 list, the need for a Call to Action was the most lacking.
Creating Calls to Action need not be difficult.
Start with simple:• Get Started Now• Order Newsletter• Register Here• Get Advice
Overall Top PerformersMany of the advisor websites did an exceptional job within the five categories ranked in the study. The overall top 10 follow:
Rank Company City Website1st HighTower Reston, Va., New York, N.Y. hightoweradvisors.com
2nd NCA Financial Planners Cleveland, Ohio www.ncafinancial.com
3rd Harris SBSB McLean, Va. www4.harrisbank.com
4th Baker Street Advisors San Francisco, Calif. www.bakerstreetadvisors.com
5th Edelman Financial Svcs Fairfax, Va. www.ricedelman.com
6th Convergent Wealth Advisors Los Angeles, Calif. www.convergentwealth.com
7th Gerstein Fisher New York, N.Y. www.gersteinfisher.com
8th Heritage Financial Services Westwood, Mass. www.heritagefinancial.net
9th Waldron Wealth Management Pittsburgh, Pa. www.waldronwm.com
10th Wetherby Asset Management San Francisco, Calif. www.wetherby.com
The full study is available for download at www.tactibrand.com/web-report/advisors-website-report.
The full study report includes:
• Details about the 5 categories• Descriptive advice and “how-to’s”• Links to all reference material used for the study
You can contact Kirk Lowe at [email protected] or visit his blog at www.kirklowe.com
Resources to help you build a powerful and compelling website:www.tactibrand.com/free-marketing-papers
