More than 2.5 crore people have invested in mutual funds so far. The number keeps on increasing every month with buoyant markets.
This situation presents business opportunity for MFDs. By conducting Investor Education Programs (IAPs) for investors, MFDs can gain access to a large pool of prospective clients.
This brings us to the key question — How to acquire clients through IAPs?
Here are four tips that helped me acquire new clients through IAPs:
- Find the right target audience
To start with, MFDs can conduct IAPs at schools, colleges, housing societies and offices. This is because arrangement of logistics is easier at these venues.
Additionally, you should encourage existing investors to attend IAPs along with their friends and family. Asking them to invite at least three persons can widen the reach significantly. Statistically speaking, you can expect 20-24% invitees to attend the event.
Sending periodic reminders through WhatsApp, emails, SMS, phone call and other mediums can enhance the number of attendees.
- Conduct relatable and meaningful IAPs
You should ask at least two existing clients to speak about their investment journey and experience. This can make your IAP more relatable to your audience. Additionally, inviting fund houses to speak can create a more meaningful experience for attendees.
IAPs must also include a QnA session to address the doubts of participants.
- Address investors’ current needs
At present, the priority of most investors is to create a retirement corpus and build an emergency fund. Your IAPs should contain information on these lines to kindle the interest of participants.
You should stress on the fact that investing is a journey that requires a long-term horizon for creating a sizeable corpus. Market-related data backed with numeric illustrations can help prospects understand better, how mutual funds work.
- Establish post-IAP ties
After the IAP is over, try to connect with participants either online or offline. You can look at sharing a handbook or sending an email highlighting key takeaways with participant. You can also offer a free online consultation on mutual funds to participants. If possible, speak to the participants and figure out their basic financial profile and expectations. Also, try to fix subsequent calls or meetings to take the matter ahead.
MFDs should collect participants’ feedback and referrals at the end of each IAP. The feedback form must explicitly ask for their preferred mode and date of next communication.
To conclude, IAP is a powerful tool to create an informed client base and tap new markets. MFDs can widen their client base through frequent and properly planned IAPs.
The views expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cafemutual.
