Three Crowns Mixtape: January 21, 2022

Important financial industry news + marketing insights + good music.

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There were some big announcements this week in the #finserv world—from Junxure’s rebrand to Dynasty filing for an IPO, and even Facebook Business Manager (finally) getting an upgrade. We’ve got all the must-know details below, plus some new 🎵to get you through your Friday.

Must-Read Financial Industry & Marketing Articles

Junxure CRM Gets a Big Update—and New Name

Junxure CRM has always been one of the names at the top of the advisor-focused CRM list, but if you look at industry surveys over the last several years, it’s had a rough go as of late. The 2021 T3 Tech Survey said: “If there is a disappointment in the CRM section, it is, unfortunately, AdvisorEngine/Junxure, which is leaking market share with uninspiring user rating.”

Behind the scenes, AdvisorEngine has been working hard to bring Junxure up-to-date and modernize its user experience. This week’s news is the unveiling of those changes—including updating the name from Junxure CRM to AdvisorEngine CRM to really hit home that this isn’t just another update—it’s a brand new experience.

If you hit the link and watch the unveiling video, it’s (in our opinion) a pretty courageous way to approach the rebrand. Where most tech companies would be inclined to soften criticism or flat out ignore it, AdvisorEngine addresses those negative user comments head on. 

Will the name change and updated user experience be enough to pull AdvisorEngine CRM back into that top tier that’s now occupied by Redtail, Wealthbox, and Salesforce? We’ll have to wait to find out, but it’s clear that Rich Cancro and his team haven’t been sitting back, content to let those other systems pass them by. Congratulations to the team on making some big improvements. This is definitely a story that advisors will want to follow if they’re assessing their firm’s CRM needs.

Making A (New) Name For Yourself

Dynasty Goes Public

Does anyone want to run a private business anymore? Going public seems to be the goal for every organization that reaches a certain size and Dynasty Financial Partners is now joining the trend.

The news broke that Dynasty filed with the SEC for an IPO to list under the DSTY ticker on the NASDAQ. The firm has grown into a massive player in wealth management, with 46 partner firms under its umbrella and nearly $70 billion in assets under administration.

The RIA space has been the fastest growing segment of wealth management, and firms like Dynasty who equip RIAs to grow bigger and faster are enjoying that growth too. They certainly aren’t the first (Focus Financial went public in 2018) but are we seeing a trend that’s going to only increase in speed for more firms like these?

Open to the Public

A Little Data to Back You Up When You Suggest Experimenting with Digital Ads

“Digital advertising is a waste of money.” If you’ve ever suggested advertising to the CEO of your firm, you may have heard some variation of this response. If you’re looking for some data to prove otherwise, this piece from Marketing Week shows that the ROI is real. 

We recommend requesting a $1k budget to go try Facebook for a month ($500 will do, but start with $1k!). Present some SMART goals (“if we don’t increase website traffic by X% by the end of the month, then I’ll never bring it up again”)—I’ve never met your boss, but I’m willing to bet that he/she loooooves SMART goals. Then make sure you get your targeting right (try your zip code +25 miles, AND top 25% of household income, AND your personas’ age range) and get started!

Speaking of Facebook…

Start with SMART

Meta-book: Out with Business Manager, in with Business Suite

If you manage your firm’s Facebook/Instagram pages, then I bet you could use a hug—and also you should know about this. FB Business Manager—the headache-inducing hub of your firm’s business activities on Facebook—is finally getting an upgrade. For now, you can still access the old BM if you prefer it, or you can get started with the new Business Suite using AdEspresso’s guide above. Trying not to get my hopes up, but it’s hard to imagine how it could be worse than the ol’ BM.

A Suite Deal

Email is Still a Better Place to Invest Your Money/Energy/Time than Social Media

I was just having a conversation the other day with someone who said email is a dying channel and now I can send them this link to prove them wrong. This article pulls together multiple solid stats from reputable sources to show that your email list is a better investment than your firm’s Facebook page. Not only do people spend more time on email than social every day, the clickthrough rates are exponentially better (e.g., 10% vs. 0.8%).

Face it, Facebook

Here’s what we’ve been listening to this week.

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