Crowdfunding: enabling advisers to become marketers

Published on

If one of your business clients came to you and asked for help marketing their business you’d probably introduce them to a marketing agency, right?

That’s the logical thing to do of course, because you’re a finance specialist, not a marketer. But the world is changing all the time and we’re all having to evolve and adapt. There are now an increasing number of opportunities for advisers to genuinely help their clients to promote their business, and you don’t need to be a marketing expert to do this.

The dynamics of the emerging peer-to-business lending sector are enabling advisers to proactively offer added value to their business clients (whether retail or business to business) whilst helping them secure competitively priced finance. In the simplest of terms, crowdfunding firms are websites where a community of lenders and borrowers come together to make loans and investments. By putting a business onto a crowdfunding site, an adviser is making the profile of that business accessible to the community who use, or are in any way linked to the platform. That’s because crowdfunders work by promoting a business’ loan application through social media channels to the ‘crowd’ of individual investors all committing small amounts of cash to a secured or unsecured loan.

OK, so putting a business onto a crowdfunding site can create profile and awareness of that brand, but what about results? Good marketing makes a difference to the bottom line, doesn’t it?

Absolutely, and this can go beyond the basic goal of helping get the funding a business requires. Investors who put capital forward will naturally have a vested interest in that business. So, to use a simple example, an investor faced with a choice of local high street cafes for coffee on a Saturday morning will probably choose the one he has invested in, and will also be more likely recommend it to his friends. This example can be applied to web-based businesses too, it’s not just about locality. We all know that no matter how much a firm spends on advertising, the most powerful endorsements are those that come from people we know and trust.

Even those that don’t actually invest will see the business profile, read about its successes and plans for the future and get a feel for the people behind it. It’s a chance for a company to push its brand values to potential customers and apply for finance through a channel that is typically faster and cheaper than banks with a dedicated adviser route that recognises the valuable contribution advisers make in the commercial finance industry.

So I certainly don’t envisage a situation whereby advisers start up their own marketing agencies, but it’s clear this added exposure can enable you to create value for your clients that would otherwise be missed. That’s got to be a positive for all involved.

Julian Wells is head of introducer channel for rebuildingsociety.com

Latest POLL

COMMENT ON MORTGAGE SOUP

We want to hear from you!
Leave a comment and get the conversation started.
You need to register to post, so please login or sign up below.

Latest articles

Berkeley Alexander appoints new BDM

General insurance provider Berkeley Alexander has announced the appointment of Grant Robinson as a...

Newcastle for Intermediaries adds three-year fix range to mortgage offering

Newcastle for Intermediaries has introduced a new range of three-year fixed rate products. It said...

Mortgage product availability surpasses 25,000 for the first time

The number of mortgage products available in the UK has reached an all-time high,...

ASG Finance launches loan for HNW investors

ASG Finance has introduced its latest funding initiative: the ‘Base Rate Beater’ secured investment...

Other news

Why it matters that bridging hit more than £10bn last year

We see many numbers bandied around in the financial industry, which can sometimes have...

Berkeley Alexander appoints new BDM

General insurance provider Berkeley Alexander has announced the appointment of Grant Robinson as a...

Newcastle for Intermediaries adds three-year fix range to mortgage offering

Newcastle for Intermediaries has introduced a new range of three-year fixed rate products. It said...