Summary:
Financial advisors often look within their own industry for ideas on how to improve marketing and grow their business, but some of the most valuable lessons can come from well outside the financial services space. In this episode, Mark Mersman explores how widely recognized consumer brands have built loyalty, trust, and growth by focusing on experience, clarity, and consistency, and how advisors can apply those same principles to their own practices.
The discussion begins with an important mindset shift. Advisors naturally study other advisors, consultants, and industry experts, but this can create a narrow perspective. At a fundamental level, every business is trying to achieve similar outcomes, building trust, fostering loyalty, increasing retention, and generating referrals. By studying brands that excel in these areas, advisors can uncover strategies that feel fresh and differentiated.
Disney provides the first example, illustrating the power of anticipation. While many people think of Disney as an amusement park, its true product is the experience that begins long before a visitor arrives. Families spend months preparing for a trip, building excitement through planning, videos, merchandise, and countdowns. Advisors can apply this concept by focusing on the client experience before the first meeting ever takes place. Simple steps like sending a welcome video, providing a clear meeting guide, introducing the team, or sharing client stories can transform uncertainty into excitement. The relationship should feel like it has already started before the first conversation happens.
Chick‑fil‑A highlights the importance of consistency. Regardless of location, customers know exactly what to expect, from the quality of the food to the service experience. For advisors, consistency builds confidence and trust. If each client has a different experience, it becomes difficult to generate referrals. When processes are clear and repeatable, clients can easily describe what it is like to work with you, making it more natural for them to recommend your services to others.
Costco reinforces the value of focus. Rather than trying to serve everyone, Costco is highly intentional about its target audience and the experience it delivers. Its entire model revolves around serving a specific type of customer who values quality, efficiency, and savings. Advisors can benefit from the same clarity. When messaging is too broad, it resonates with no one. The fastest growing firms understand exactly who they serve, what problems they solve, and why those clients naturally refer others like themselves.
The example of Buckees demonstrates the power of creating a memorable experience. On the surface, it is a gas station, but it has turned something ordinary into something people talk about and go out of their way to visit. In an industry where financial advisors are often seen as interchangeable, creating a distinctive and memorable experience becomes critical. Whether it is a unique onboarding process, client events, or personalized touches, the goal is to give clients something worth talking about. People do not share ordinary experiences. They share the ones that stand out.
Ritz‑Carlton provides a lesson in empowerment. The brand is known for trusting employees to solve problems on the spot without layers of approval. This level of trust allows issues to be resolved quickly and leaves a lasting impression on customers. Advisors should reflect on whether they have become a bottleneck within their own practice. Empowering team members to take care of clients not only improves efficiency but also strengthens the overall client experience. When clients see that a team is capable and responsive, it reinforces trust in the entire firm.
Apple offers one of the most important lessons, simplifying complex ideas into clear, outcome‑focused messaging. While the technology behind Apple products is highly advanced, the company presents it in a way that is easy to understand. Instead of focusing on specifications, it emphasizes what the product enables users to do. Advisors often fall into the trap of explaining technical processes like asset allocation or portfolio construction. Clients are far more interested in what their life will look like after working with an advisor, including greater confidence, clarity, and flexibility. Shifting messaging from features to outcomes makes communication more meaningful and engaging.
The overarching theme across all of these examples is that great businesses do not just deliver a service. They create an experience. The most successful advisory firms will be those that intentionally design every part of the client journey, from the first point of contact to long‑term engagement. They will build anticipation, deliver consistency, focus on a defined audience, create memorable moments, empower their teams, and communicate with clarity.
Mark closes by challenging advisors to reflect on their own practice. If someone walked into your office today, what would they remember, and more importantly, what would they tell others about the experience? The answer to that question can reveal one of the biggest opportunities for growth. In a competitive and increasingly commoditized industry, the firms that stand out will not necessarily be those with the most complex solutions, but those that deliver the most compelling and consistent client experience.
Transcript:
Mark Mersman, Chief Marketing Officer at USA Financial - Welcome back to the playbook. Earlier this year for spring break, my family, we took a road trip down south. And for anybody that's from Michigan or somewhere up north and you make the trek down south, you inevitably start to see some billboard signs for Buc-ees. if you're familiar with Buc-ees, you know what you know a little bit about it maybe and kind of the cult following that has been created and you know it kind of got me thinking, what is it that some of these companies are doing well that maybe we could apply into our own industry here in the financial services side of things. So I wanna I wanted to to kind of dive into that and look at some of the more popular companies that have this this massive following and of people who are are constantly talking about them.
Obviously their businesses do well because here's the truth. When you think about most advisors actually consume content. You know, when when we start, when I have conversations with advisors about marketing and growing their practice, our natural inclination is to look at well, what are successful advisors doing? How are they attracting new clients? What is it that they're doing inside of their business? And of course, that's important but oftentimes, you know, we consume our content, we get our information from within our own little bubble, right? Whether it's other advisors, whether that's industry consultants, whether it's podcasters and and folks like myself, whether it's wholesalers that that you work with or practice management coaches. And of course, all of that's valuable. And I I think, you know, I'm I'm certainly not advocating that, you know, we we don't ever need to look at or listen to to those opportunities, but sometimes
I think some of the most powerful marketing lessons will come from outside of our own industry. And after all, when you think about it, if you step back a little with what we do, we're all trying to create within our businesses the very same thing. We're trying to create loyalty amongst our existing client base. We're trying to create trust in those two things.
Hopefully, obviously, are going to lead to referrals and introductions. The other thing that we're trying to do is find ways to ensure retention. obviously retention is a very important thing, both for our existing client base, but if we can keep those dollars, you know, in our coffers, so to speak. if if mom and dad pass away as we get into the next generation. So retention's a big piece of it, and obviously growth.
You know, we're always going to be growth-minded. you know, what is it that we can do to grow our company? But today the the companies that we're going to touch on really have mastered those things, and I think there's a lot that we can learn from some of these very well known brands. the first one I want to touch on is Disney. The Disney's the the quintessential example that has been used for years, and you know.
A lot of people think that Disney they're selling rides or that there's just this amusement park, and obviously that's not at all what they sell. in fact, if you really look at it, Disney sells anticipation. Families spend months upon months planning their trip, and rightfully so, because they're gonna spend an arm and a leg in in taking that trip, but they'll watch videos, they'll mark down, they'll make countdown calendars.
I know my family had done that years ago and when we had taken a trip to Disney. They'll buy the merchandise even ahead of time. They'll start watching some of the movies. They talk about it constantly. And the truth is the experience starts long before the arrival. you know, one thing that that I noticed when we took our trip to Disney a few years ago ahead of time.
They sent you these magic bands and you got to pick your colors and you know, there were different design things. Of course, you're spending money on those, and these magic bands give you the freedom inside of the park to just walk up and scan it and get on your ride or make a purchase. It's genius for a lot of reasons. Obviously, it's a it's a wonderful way for them to extract money from your wallet without you even having to reach into your wallet. but so that again, though, that created some anticipation ahead of the trip.
What's the advisor application here? That's that's kind of the question. And if we're thinking about anticipation, if we're thinking about, you know, the planning, I think it starts for for an advisor application looking at your meeting, especially that very first meeting. You get introduced to a new prospect, or perhaps you met them, whether it's online or at an event or wherever, the best advisors focus on the experience before the meeting because that anticipation it's going to happen either way.
There's either going to be this anticipation where they have no idea what to expect and then they're just walking into the lion's den without any knowledge beforehand. Or there's the anticipation that you get to set and perhaps you're going to send them an introduction kit. Perhaps you're going to send them a video. You're going to do a team introduction. Maybe send them a what to expect guide or share some client success stories, or you have a personalized message that you handwrite to them. All of these things, while they might seem small and insignificant, go a long way in selling that anticipation, selling that excitement for them to now come in and enjoy the experience. If you tell me that you run an incredible first meeting.
And it's a wonderful experience. You need to take that and a step further and start to build the anticipation for that experience, for that meeting. If you're truly different, and obviously, that is one of the things we all strive to be is a little bit different. The next step is elevating that, bringing it even further before you even have that meeting, before you've ever met with them. So
Look at things like the welcome video or an introduction guide or a a a what to expect guide or your share some client stories. Those are some little wins that you can create inside of your practice because the relationship really should begin before they walk through your door for the first time. Next company I want to look at is Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A has an incredible following.
They've certainly built a massive brand. And you know, when you think about why people love Chick-fil-A, and they'll even dream of entering that, you know, quarter mile long line, the food's good. Consistency is is legendary. That is really what they're known for. Whether you're in Michigan, Texas, or Florida, you know that you're going to get a very similar, consistent, good food. The experience feels familiar and the standards are very clear, right? I mean, they s have a strict set of standards, and all of their employees know the script. I think that's a very key thing. When you start to look at, especially you think about Disney, you think about Chick-fil-A, they're all playing a part. Every person on the team, from the lowest on the totem pole to the top of the totem pole, they're all playing a role in the experience. What's the advisor application?
Well, clients crave consistency. That's we we know this and they want they don't want surprises. so you know, ask yourself can can every client clearly explain your process? Or is every client experience something different? Because you need to think through if you're expecting and hoping for referrals and introductions from some of your best clients, if the experience is different from person to person.
How you aren't coming across as genuine there. and so that consistency is the thing that creates the confidence. Confidence is what ultimately builds trust. And we all know that trust is the number one ingredient to gaining referrals and introductions. So think about that. What is it? Are you do you have enough consistency inside of your practice? The the
The next company I want to look at is Costco. and as a Costco member, I can tell you one thing that is kind of interesting. Costco doesn't try to serve everyone. they know their audience. People who value quality. They also have to value quantity because oftentimes at Costco you have to buy in giant quantities, but they they value savings.
They value the simplicity. You're not going to go to Costco and see rows and rows of variations of one thing. You know, it's pretty much you get what you pay for, you see it. They've got maybe two things of different types of peanut butter, and that's it. You don't see every single brand. So they've simplified that piece of it. and there's membership benefits. the entire business revolves around serving a very specific customer, the member.
And there's this implied inherent knowledge that members have that membership has its privileges. And you know, if if you've got a membership to one of these types of places, might be Sam's Club or what have you, and you ever talk with somebody who wants something that you have, maybe you purchase something and they ask, where'd you get that? And you I got it at Costco, and they say, Well, I don't have a membership.
One of two things oftentimes will happen is they either want you to purchase it for them because they want the membership I guess benefit that you have, or they'll explore getting a membership and checking it out. And in turn, you will make that pitch to them about the things that you love about Costco if if that happens to be your your store of choice. So the advisor application here, and I I think this is kind of the important piece.
The fastest growing advisory firms are very focused. And not necessarily by geography, not necessarily by profession, but by audience. They know who they serve best, what problems they solve better than anyone else, and who will naturally refer people like themselves over to them. That is the clarity.
That those top advisory firms have. They're very focused. So, you know, we've said this before on this podcast and elsewhere. When you try to speak to everyone, you end up resonating with no one. And this is a trap that a lot of advisors fall into, especially when they think about creating their website or marketing collateral.
They're we're so scared of offending somebody by not including them in our marketing message that we actually water the entire messaging down so much that it really doesn't resonate with anybody. Next company I want to look at is Buc-ees's. Buc-ees's an interesting one because this is a fairly new phenomenon for me. the past few few spring breaks that we have we've done the drive.
Buc-ee's has become a fixture, a staple, and against my will oftentimes, because my kids demand it, despite the fact that I know if I make a stop at a Buc-ee's, especially on a road trip during spring break, this is not a five-minute gas station in and out stop. Buc-ees's turns into at least an hour-long ordeal in terms of how much time it takes off the clock to go through the whole shooting match.
On the surface, it's a gas station. But the truth is, we all know nobody drives 45 minutes to visit a gas station, but people constantly are driving out of their way to visit Buc-ees. And why is that? Because they've transformed something extremely ordinary into an actual experience. Now you might
Say and and you maybe you'll agree with me that there are times where that experience is way more than you want, but you know what you're getting when you go there. They took bathrooms and snacks and fuel and turned them into something incredibly memorable. I mean, I think their bathrooms is one of their selling points. They've got huge bathrooms, tons of them, and they're clean. And that is an area of pride for them that they really lean into.
What's the advisor application here? Well, let's be honest.
Most consumers think that financial advisors are all pretty similar. I hate to kind of dumb this down or or maybe sound a little belittling, but you know, in many ways, they see every financial advisor just like as we pass gas stations on the street, whether it's Shell, whether it's Marathon, whatever it is, it's just a name and I'm there to get this the same gas that I can get down the street.
We've become commoditized in our industry, right? The investment management side, very much commoditized. Planning is becoming much more common. We're finally at you know, at least the industry has evolved evolved from just selling product to doing some planning. And nowadays technology's everywhere. And obviously that's certainly important, but that's you know, starting more and more to become
To some degree, some table stakes. So ask yourself, what makes your firm worth talking about? What's your Buc-ees's factor? You know, when you like if you've ever gone to a Buc-ees's, at least with kids, it's almost inevitable that you have to take a picture of, you know, of your kids and Buc-ees outside of outside of Buc-ees's. I mean, think about the free marketing dollars they have gotten from people.
Taking a picture of their kid in front of the Buc-ees and posting it on social media. Think about it from your side as an advisor. What makes people say you have to meet my advisor? Is it your onboarding process? Is it memorable client events? Is it family experiences that you're creating? Is it retirement celebrations? Is it unique planning deliverables? The truth is, people do not talk about ordinary.
They will talk about the experience. They will talk about something that is remarkable. And you have to think through what is it that you can do inside of your practice that will make it remarkable. The the next company I want to look into is Ritz Carlton. I'm sure you've heard this story, but I think this message, you know, is is worth repeating and reiterating, especially for those of you that have a team around you inside of your practice. Ritz Carleton is is famous for empowering employees to solve problems immediately. Not I have to go talk to the manager or not I have to take this to corporate. Employees do not need layers of approval. They are trusted to create exceptional experiences. I think the last I had heard and I I could be wrong on this, so don't quote me, but the last I had heard Ritz Carlton had something like, you know, if you can solve the problem, a big issue for a for a consumer for less than two thousand dollars, you have the the freedom to go ahead and do that. Because Ritz Carlton knows that the lifetime value of each client, a good customer, is way beyond two thousand dollars.
Right, if you can keep your Ritz-Carlton family of customers coming back and back and spending more money because it's an experience, even if things don't go well, because let's face it, it's life. Sometimes things won't be perfect. If their employees are empowered to fix it immediately, it sends a message to that customer that says, man, Ritz-Carlton actually cares about me. What's the advisor application? The f the first obvious one is.
If you ask your team, are you the bottleneck? As the advisor, are you the bottleneck? You know, if everything requires your approval before a, you know, somebody on your team can solve a problem or fix something, if everything is waiting on you, sure, that might not be an issue. Like if it takes a couple of days for a problem to get solved, a client's not gonna necessarily get
Mad, but if all of a sudden you start to empower your employees and they can solve a problem and address an issue quickly without an issue, you know, without needing approval, and they can solve it immediately, that's going to stick in the back of that client's mind that says, wow, number one, the advisor trusts his team. And number two, his team's taking care of it immediately for me. So it's a quick issue that I don't have to sit back and wonder, is this going to get solved?
So ask yourself, can your team solve client problems without you? Because scalable growth is going to require empowering people. And if you have people on your team that you wouldn't feel comfortable making some of those decisions, then maybe you need to revisit who's on your team. Now, I understand, especially for certain things, there might be regulatory reasons why you have to use a certain chain of command. I understand that part of it.
And sometimes you have a new employee, and so you don't want to empower them quite yet because they're not versed on all the things that they need to be be up to speed on. But it's something to consider if you've got a team member that's been there six months, start to let go, empower them. They're gonna feel way better about the overall experience of working at your firm if they feel empowered to solve problems for the client.
The next company want to talk about is Apple. Apple is obviously, you know, one of the most prestigious brands and largest companies in the world. And when you think about Apple's secret, you know, they sell really highly complex technology. I mean, you could make the case that some of the things that Apple is doing in terms of the complexity behind it.
It rivals what it is that we do in the financial services space, especially when you think about all the complexity that goes into planning, investment management, you name it, we are in a complex business, no different than what Apple is. Yet their messaging is remarkably simple. They don't lead with processors, they don't lead with technical specifications, they focus on outcomes. You know, the the now famous Steve Jobs Apple talk that he gave where he was introducing the the iPod years ago obviously and
The key thing that he said was not, it's you know, it's this fancy thing that you can get access to and look at your music and download. He simplified it by saying, This is I think it was 10,000 songs in your pocket. That's all you needed to hear as a consumer. I've got 10,000 songs sitting in my pocket, especially coming off the heels of you know, compact discs and cassettes.
You know, that simplified a really complex solution. So we think about it for us on the advisor side. Think about your website alone. I mean, most advisor websites sound like this: asset allocation, diversification, risk management, portfolio construction. Clients aren't buying those things. Sure, that's what it is that you're doing, but the outcome is actually way different than that. It's
Confidence, it's freedom, it's clarity, it's the flexibility to do things that maybe they never dreamed of. Or, you know, that's what it is that we're selling. And the marketing rule that comes from this is stop explaining what you do and start explaining what life looks like after working with you. It's the before and after.
And that's you know, that's what Apple does extremely well. You know, before I had My iPhone, I had to do all these different things. Now I've got it, and it solves all these problems. And my life looks so much different. The outcome is what it is that we have to sell, not the feature, feature, feature, right? That's what we're so guilty of, especially in our industry. Look at your website. Are you selling and explaining what you do, or are you explaining what life looks like after they hire you? Rapid fire to kind of wrap this up, Disney.
They create anticipation. Chick-fil-A creates consistency, right? Costco, know your audience. Buc-ees, be memorable. Ritz Carlton, empower your people. Apple, simplify your message. I'll kind of wrap up with this. You know, if someone walked into your office for the first time, what is it that they would remember? What would they remember enough to tell a friend about?
I'd encourage you to think long and hard about that and maybe even ask some of your best clients. And if you don't know the answer, that's probably one of your biggest marketing opportunities.
Because here's the deal the the best advisors don't just deliver great advice, they create great experiences. Disney creates that anticipation, then the consistency from Chick-fil-A. You get it. The firms that win over the next decade won't necessarily have the best products. Because we won't even know what the best products are, you know, year to year, right? They'll create the best experiences and some of the
Best lessons for doing that and how to do that can be found far outside our industry. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook and share it with another advisor who's looking for new ideas on how to grow their business. And if there's a brand you'd like us to dissect a little further in a future episode, you know, shoot me a note. I'd love to take a look or if you have other ideas for episode content, I'd welcome that opportunity here. For now, enjoy your the rest of your day and take care. Thanks for joining me.
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The Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook is a podcast/video series for high-performing financial planning professionals that are committed to improving their craft, helping their clients, and growing their business. Hosted by Mark Mersman, Chief Marketing Officer at USA Financial, this series contains a wide variety of content – from quick win ideas to long-form interviews, each episode provides actionable marketing ideas and insights that can be implemented easily into your practice. From digital marketing to traditional direct-response marketing, each episode delivers straight-forward and engaging content that any financial professional can use to improve their bottom line and grow their practice.
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