Why Tomorrow's Marketing Will Look More Like 2000 Than 2020
The future of advisor marketing isn't more technology. It's more human.
Last week, I published a piece on my Substack about how AI is fundamentally changing the marketing landscape for financial advisors. The core argument: The pandemic forced advisors onto digital channels, and now AI is forcing us to rethink what actually works.
Most people assume the answer to AI is more technology. More AI tools. More automation. More digital. I think the opposite is true. Tomorrow's most effective financial advisor marketing is going to look a lot more like 2000 than 2020.
Here's why: The digital world is becoming static noise. So much content floods every channel that it all blurs together. But while digital gets noisier and more impersonal, the value of genuine human-to-human interaction is going up. We're in the middle of a loneliness epidemic. People are craving real connection.
Think about what actually builds trust: sitting across from someone at a small dinner, showing up at industry events, hosting quarterly gatherings where people know each other by name. That's an old-school relationship strategy. And it's the future.
Physical touchpoints matter more than ever, too. An automated email gets deleted. A handwritten birthday card stays on someone's desk for a week. In a world where every interaction is increasingly digital and automated, something you can hold in your hands stands out precisely because it's rare.
The takeaway: The pandemic taught us that digital was essential. AI is teaching us that digital alone isn't enough. The advisors who recognize this shift early, invest in human connection and physical presence, won't be scrambling to adapt when the rest of the industry catches up.
