Jonathan Bentley formed LightPort.com in 1997 after a 15 year career as a securities broker, financial planner, and independent money manager.
Part II
Think Fundamentals
When it comes to choosing content for your site, it's a good idea to stick to the basics. That's because with advisory web sites, it can be the little things that count. Overlooking something as simple as an e-mail address or a fax number can ruin your site's effectiveness.
"It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised at the number of (financial planning) web sites I've seen without basic information included," says
Laura Scroggins, president of
New Pacific Advisors in Chico, California. "The first thing you do is make sure your name, address, phone number and e-mail are clearly available on every page."
In addition, the fact that you are a large advisor and are responsible for handling more assets makes it even more important that you personalize the site -- people want to know who you are. "I created a personal dossier on me, and our "About US' section generates the most hits," offer Scroggins. Another great idea is to add links to other financial and business sites. "That's a winner, people think they're getting a freebie that way -- and customers like freebies."
Scroggins says to link your site to pages that offer interest rate updates, news services and tax code pages. "Also, you can add mutual fund return information, prospectus information and links to Wall Street quotes," she adds.
You can also use your web site to heighten communication with your clients by posting bulletins, newsletters, and articles on your web site. A good bulletins page can keep clients informed of your spin on today's breaking news, without those expensive and time-consuming phone calls.
Along the same lines, you can raise your customer service levels by creating links to News Pages and research tools, thus making your Web-site a portal to any of the other financial information your clients may want from the web.
"We post a lot of articles and news clips we see and like," says
Andrew Horowitz, president of
Horowitz and Company, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based advisory firm with $70 million in assets and a web site that averages 20 hits per day. "We'll also throw in stock quotes, portfolio updates and links to other sites. Investors who go online do so because they crave information. If they get it from us, it only makes Horowitz and Company look better."
In fact, why stop at just financial news? Some forward-thinking planners are including links to non-financial sites such as the weather and sports. Lets' face it -- the more you can become a one stop shop of useful information for your prospects and clients the longer you will keep them at your Web-site and the more they will come to rely on your services. Think of its as building your own brand online.
It's also a good idea to keep your site updated at all costs. Studies show that unchanged web contents turns cyber-investors away much like television repeats cause viewers to reach for their clickers.
"The mistake we made was having a nice site with good feedback going and not updating it," explains
Neal Gossman, manager of estate planning at Minneapolis-based
Wade Financial Group, an advisory firm with $50 million in assets. "People were telling us it was stale. When we refocused and started freshening up the site on a daily or weekly basis, people were telling us how great the site was."
Security-wise, don't forget that your web site is regarded by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an advertisement for your business. So it's key that you keep copies of any content changes you've made on the site, and equally critical to ensure that your site is consistent with your Form ADV. Remember, the SEC has 125 "cyber" agents who do nothing but surf the 'Net looking for fraudulent activity.
Big Ideas
Another way to build a competitive edge through your web
site is by linking it to affinity groups. That means developing a referral system to other services your prospective clients might use, like a legal or accounting services site. The Internet is a great tool to build that referral system by linking your site to other professionals' sites.
Your web site also allows you to market your practice regionally as well as locally. The Internet gives you the capability to communicate your message to a wider geographical area without having to devote a lot more time or money to accomplish your goals. "After all, there's no law that says you can't have a client in Japan," says Scroggins.
Referrals are another big growth area on the web. Horowitz, like a burgeoning number of online planners these days, invites clients to recommend friends through the web site. "People aren't as threatened giving out e-mail addresses as they are phone numbers. The web is viewed as a friendlier medium by people."
Another good Web strategy is to create a corporate presentation area. When pitching a new prospect or at a seminar presentation, why not put your presentation materials on your Web site? Not only will it demonstrate how high tech you are, but also it can allow your prospects to re-visit your presentation at their own convenience.
The overall goal for your new web site? Consider it another powerful and critical high technology tool, just as you would a fax or a telephone that can help you gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace. Whatever you do, don't consider life without it. "I don't know where we would be
without our web site," admits Horowitz. "In fact, I can't remember life without it."
The views presented in this article represent those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of InvestmentWires, Inc. InvestmentWires, Inc. does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of, or otherwise endorse, these views, opinions or recommendations, give investment advice, or advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. 
Jonathan Bentley formed LightPort.com in 1997 after a 15 year career as a securities broker, financial planner, and independent money manager. Bentley has been applying computers to financial service applications for nearly 20 years, having developed financial planning systems in the early 80’s, with involvement exploring the use of e-mail and Video-Text systems for client support prior to the advent of the World Wide Web. Some of his work came to prominence in 1987 when he published the largest computer based study of statutory insider trading that had ever been done. Reported on by Forbes Magazine and The Wall Street Journal, the study reviewed close to 500,000 stock trades, worth over 135 billion dollars by the officers and directors of more than 2,000 leading public companies. Cited in the Federal Register by the SEC, the study was foundational to new insider reporting regulations passed in the wake of the market crash of October of 1987.
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