If you're serving business owners, you're not alone. According to recent industry data, 86% of RIAs count business owners among their client base. It's one of the most common—and most lucrative—niches in wealth management.
But here's the problem: if everyone is targeting business owners, how do you stand out?
The answer isn't to abandon the niche. It's to market to business owners more effectively than your competition. And that requires a fundamentally different approach than marketing to traditional high-net-worth individuals.
Business owners aren't just wealthy individuals with complex financial needs. They're entrepreneurs who think differently, make decisions differently, and evaluate advisors differently.
Here's what makes them unique:
Business owners are juggling operations, employees, customers, and growth strategies. They don't have time for lengthy discovery meetings or generic financial planning conversations.
What this means for marketing: Your messaging needs to be concise, relevant, and immediately valuable. Long-form content works, but only if it solves a specific problem they're facing right now.
Unlike corporate executives who climbed a ladder, business owners bet on themselves. They understand risk, leverage, and opportunity cost in ways W-2 employees don't.
What this means for marketing: Don't talk down to them or oversimplify. They want sophisticated strategies, not basic financial planning. Show them you understand the entrepreneurial mindset.
Business owners deal with vendors, consultants, and service providers all day. They have finely tuned BS detectors and can spot a sales pitch from a mile away.
What this means for marketing: Lead with education, not promotion. Demonstrate expertise through content, case studies, and thought leadership—not through cold outreach and generic ads.
For most business owners, 70-90% of their net worth is locked up in their company. Their financial planning needs revolve around business strategy, exit planning, and wealth transfer.
What this means for marketing: Generic retirement planning messages won't resonate. You need to speak their language: liquidity events, tax optimization, succession planning, and legacy building.
If you want to attract and convert business owners, you need a marketing strategy built specifically for this audience. Here are the five pillars:
"Business owners" is still too broad. The marketing that works for a $2M revenue service business won't work for a $50M manufacturing company.
Get specific:
The more specific your niche, the more targeted—and effective—your marketing can be.
Example: Instead of "We help business owners with financial planning," try "We help healthcare practice owners with $5M-$20M in revenue optimize their exit strategy and minimize tax liability."
Business owners don't want generic financial advice. They want solutions to the specific challenges they're facing.
High-value content topics for business owners:
Notice the specificity. These aren't generic blog posts—they're targeted resources that demonstrate deep expertise.
Firms working with TE+A Marketing develop content strategies that position them as the go-to experts for their specific business owner niche, creating a steady stream of inbound leads.
Business owners trust their existing advisors: CPAs, attorneys, bankers, and business consultants. These professionals are already in the room when financial decisions are being made.
Build a referral network:
But don't just ask for referrals—provide value first. Offer to co-host webinars, share insights on complex cases, or provide resources their clients will find valuable.
Business owners want to see proof that you've helped people like them. Generic testimonials won't cut it—you need detailed case studies that demonstrate results.
Effective case study structure:
(Obviously, anonymize details to protect client privacy, but be specific enough to be credible.)
When a business owner hears about you—whether through a referral, an event, or a Google search—the first thing they'll do is look you up online.
Your digital presence needs to communicate:
If your website looks like every other RIA's website, you're losing business owners before you ever get a chance to talk to them.
Vantage Point helps firms integrate their CRM with their website and marketing automation tools, ensuring that every business owner who visits your site is tracked, nurtured, and moved through a systematic conversion process.
Here's how to structure your marketing to attract, nurture, and convert business owners:
Goal: Get on their radar
Tactics:
Goal: Demonstrate expertise and build trust
Tactics:
Goal: Get them to schedule a meeting
Tactics:
Goal: Turn clients into advocates
Tactics:
Want expert guidance on implementing this? Learn more about our 60-Day Program.
Even firms with strong business owner practices make these marketing mistakes:
"We help successful professionals and business owners achieve their financial goals" tells business owners nothing. Be specific about who you serve and how you help them.
Many business owners make financial decisions jointly with their spouse. Your marketing should speak to both the entrepreneur and the partner who may have different priorities and concerns.
Yes, exit planning is important, but business owners need help long before they're ready to sell. Market to them at every stage of the business lifecycle.
Business owners don't make quick decisions about their financial advisor. Expect a 6-12 month sales cycle and build your nurture process accordingly.
If you're not measuring your marketing ROI, you're flying blind. Track which channels, messages, and tactics are actually bringing in business owner clients.
86% of RIAs serve business owners, but most are marketing to them the same way they market to everyone else. That's a massive opportunity for firms willing to do it differently.
The firms that win the business owner niche will:
If you're serious about dominating the business owner niche, you need a marketing strategy built specifically for this audience—not a generic approach that tries to be everything to everyone.
This blog series is brought to you through the partnership of Vantage Point and TE+A Marketing, combining deep expertise in CRM optimization and strategic marketing for financial services firms.
Vantage Point specializes in CRM implementation, optimization, and integration for wealth management firms and RIAs. With decades of experience in financial services technology, Vantage Point ensures your CRM investment delivers measurable ROI.
TE+A Marketing is a full-service marketing agency focused exclusively on financial services firms with 50-500 employees. TE+A Marketing develops integrated marketing strategies that drive predictable growth and measurable results.
Together, we offer a unique 60-Day Program that bridges the gap between your technology and your marketing—creating a unified growth engine for your firm.
Ready to connect your CRM and marketing for exponential growth? Contact us today for your complimentary Marketing Technology Assessment.
David Cockrum founded Vantage Point after serving as Chief Operating Officer in the financial services industry. His unique blend of operational leadership and technology expertise has enabled Vantage Point's distinctive business-process-first implementation methodology, delivering successful transformations for 150+ financial services firms across 400+ engagements with a 4.71/5.0 client satisfaction rating and 95%+ client retention rate.