An increasing number of large and boutique dealer groups are subscribing to online information services as a cheaper method of sourcing finance material for client newsletters and communications.
One group to notice this is Financial Writers Australia (FWA), which revamped its online Financial Articles Library (FAL) in July this year.
"Prior to the revamp, we had 10 large dealer groups and 10 boutique dealer groups as subscribers, but since July we've had another 20 large and boutique dealer groups come on board," FWA managing director Julianne Bell told InvestorDaily.
"I've also just done the sums on how many individual advisers are serviced by our Financial Articles Library and it's close to 2000 Australia-wide."
For years, boutique-sized businesses said it was too expensive to continually outsource their newsletters, but by subscribing to the FAL they now have access to professionally written content, relevant to their clients' interests, at an affordable price any time they need it, Bell said.
"When we originally established the FAL we presumed subscribers would predominantly be boutique dealer groups and one to two-man advisory practices, but obviously some very large dealer groups have also seen value in it," she said.
Independent consultancy Business Health partner Terry Bell said frequent and proactive communications was one of the major drivers of developing relationships with clients, and also generating greater profitability and referrals.
"It's important advisers communicate in a variety of ways to their clients through things such as newsletters, but also mix it up with meetings, emails, seminars and phone calls," Bell said.
According to Business Health data, practices that contact their A-class clients less than five times a year earn an average profit per principal of $92,485, while those that contact A-class clients more than 10 times a year earn $165,510.
FWA first launched its FAL in 2007.
