Supercharging Growth with Effective Marketing Relationships

Marissa Comerford [00:00:00]:

In financial services, you're in a relationship business and so are we. So that partnership is really so crucial to our mutual success, and we start from day 1 when a a prospect comes to us and says that they want to engage with us in our services. We need to make sure that there's that alignment as far as how we think and how we approach Jacqueline goals. You know, it's something that we, over time, have been able to to really tell very quickly whether or not someone's a good fit for us. We are not a vendor. If you're looking for a vendor, we're not the right partner for you, and I would argue most PR agencies aren't the right partner for you because we really need to be ingrained in your day to day.

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:47]:

Hi there. Thanks for joining us. I'm Joanna Ehresman. And I'm Leah Alter. And this is WomenShare, a celebration of women in financial services. Today, we'd like to thank Catchlight, our presenting sponsor of WomenShare. Catchlight helps firms save time and grow AUM by predicting which leads will most likely convert and suggest content and ways to engage them. Learn more at catchlight.ai I / women share.

Leah Alter [00:01:14]:

We are so excited today to welcome Carrie Davis and Marissa Foy Commerford, both senior vice presidents with Gregory FCA. Both ladies have been with Gregory FCA for a long time, 17 14 years, respectively. If you are unfamiliar with Gregory FCA, it is a PR and marketing firm with deep roots in the financial services industry. Carrie is a creative financial communicator who is focused solely on supporting financial services firms. Carrie knows how to thoughtfully position client stories and messages to the media, key stakeholders, and investors in ways that generate difference making results. Marissa designs multifaceted PR and corporate communication campaigns that implement tactical social media plans, robust media relations, and strategic content creation, and ultimately boost financial services, visibility, and brand awareness. We are just so excited to have you both on the podcast. Welcome to WomenShare.

Marissa Comerford [00:02:21]:

Thank you for having us. We're excited to be

Kerry Davis [00:02:23]:

here as well. Thanks for having us.

Leah Alter [00:02:26]:

And we'd like to thank our pay it forward sponsor, BFG Financial Advisors, who believe in financial planning for all and that every family is unique, so they guide and educate people from financial literacy to financial freedom. Check out their great content and learn more about their approach atbfgfa.com.

Joanna Ehresman [00:02:48]:

Alright. So, Carrie and Marissa, again, welcome. We're so excited to jump in and because there's so much to chat about. We were even having a little pre chat before we started recording here. So first, we'd love to hear from each of you why financial services. Leah and I have had this conversation where in our, you know, coming out of college early career, we hadn't really considered this industry. Was that the same for you, or have you always had this passion and love for the financial services industry? Marissa, let's start with you.

Marissa Comerford [00:03:18]:

So, I kind of fell into this space, to be honest. I I always knew I wanted to do public relations. I knew I wanted to be in the marketing and communication space. That's what I majored in in college. I also knew I wanted to work in the Philadelphia area. So as I was looking for jobs, you know, Gregory FCA came up. I knew that they were, they specialized in financial services. My dad is a financial advisor, and I had worked at his office over the summer.

Marissa Comerford [00:03:42]:

So I had a little bit of exposure, but I will say filing papers is not nearly the same as what we do in our day to day, but it it definitely gave me a leg up in the early days. I always tell people that I would go home, and, I was living at home at the time and would have a list of questions to ask my dad over dinner as far as what what I needed to know to catch up on my clients. But, but, yeah, it's it's really I've really fallen in love with this space. It's it's exciting. It changes all the time. And I feel like it's helped me a lot in my personal life too with managing my own personal finances and knowing what questions I need to ask, what, strategies I need to explore. So it's been really rewarding in that sense.

Joanna Ehresman [00:04:19]:

I love that. How about you, Carrie?

Kerry Davis [00:04:21]:

Yeah. So I actually graduated college with a marketing degree. I never took a PR or journalism class. It was much more business focused. So I was very much into the, you know, consumer behavior, habits, buying habits, things like that. And when I moved to Philadelphia, I was looking for a marketing job, whatever that was at 22. And I found Gregory FCA, and I actually started in a sales position. But then I realized I didn't really understand what we were selling as a PR agency.

Kerry Davis [00:04:55]:

So a opportunity came up on one of the PR teams in the financial services department. So I joined that in 2008, I think it was. And shortly thereafter, there was the the great financial crisis, which I think a lot of people may have run away from financial communications and being in that field. But the chaos of that time period kind of drew me in more. It was, you know, exciting, maybe not in the best ways at times, but it was, you know, I really fell in love with the opportunities and getting clients placed in The Wall Street Journal and on TV to talk about, you know, these issues that were happening that were really hurting people's wallets, and being able to be those voices of reason and and support and just, you know, continue to love to do that to this day.

Leah Alter [00:05:49]:

I shall love that. I joined in 20 I 2010, which was, like, really? It was not good. Yeah.

Marissa Comerford [00:05:57]:

Exactly. Yeah.

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:58]:

And they

Leah Alter [00:05:58]:

were kinda like, we don't

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:59]:

know what's gonna happen. So, like, you may or may

Leah Alter [00:06:02]:

not have a job going forward, but welcome. You know?

Joanna Ehresman [00:06:05]:

Where you are now.

Leah Alter [00:06:06]:

Yeah. Exactly. I was lucky enough to work with the team at Gregory FCA at my previous organization and appreciate an agency that we don't have to, like, teach about the industry before actually getting into the work. I think that happens a lot of times where, agencies don't understand the complexities of our industry, and then, you know, have to be educated before anything can get done. Whereas, Gregory FCA, like, from the get, knows exactly kind of what's going on, which is fantastic. I would argue that many organizations probably wait a little too long before engaging with an agency. So love to hear from you all. When would you say is the best time to hire an agency versus doing it in house? How about we start with you, Keri? Yeah.

Kerry Davis [00:07:01]:

So I'd say the the primary reason most advisors come to us is they're they're looking to grow. They've either just broken away and they're trying to rebuild their their book of business and they're trying to grow in that way, or it's a, you know, a larger RIA that, you know, has just hit one milestone, and they've really set these growth targets where they're trying to get to the next one. So it's it's really important that, you know, the person that's at the helm of the the marketing program understands, you know, what they're capable of doing themselves, and then where's where is it best to to look outside and look for that, you know, those specialties, if you will. I mean, these days, you know, we are a fully integrated agency at this point, where we have your PR, your social, your digital marketing, SEO, SEM. That's a tall order for somebody in house to to manage all of that. So if you're really looking for that kind of robust, comprehensive approach, probably makes the most sense to start looking outside of your own organization. But I will say many of our clients are doing a combination of both. They have what they wanna control in house, but then they also are utilizing, you know, agencies for their individual areas of expertise.

Marissa Comerford [00:08:33]:

Yeah. And there's quite a bit you can accomplish in house without any outside support, you know, getting a social media page started, email marketing, getting your name out there in the local community. But as Carrie said, clients come to us when they're really looking to uplevel that growth, and there's a lot of opportunity with having an integrated approach, having experts at your at the helm who can help guide you and make sure that you're being directed in the right ways. You know, and, Leah, you alluded to this, but our team really prides ourselves in working exclusively in the financial services space. It's really a differentiator for us. It's something that we take very seriously as far as education goes for our internal team members. And it really just gives us a unique perspective on what our clients are dealing with every day. We know what they're up against, and we're able to create those solutions from the outset.

Marissa Comerford [00:09:22]:

And I I think that that really makes such a big difference for the relationship that we're trying to build with clients. And, you know, when you consider, you know, aligning with a partner or looking in house for for some of the solutions There are a lot of ways to to mix the 2 and and bring together some of what you're already doing internally and up leveling that with an external partner

Joanna Ehresman [00:09:44]:

Well, and I was gonna say, I think that's where I've seen a lot of value, you know, in partnering with agencies too. Even if it is, sure, we're gonna keep managing social in house, but just having that objective perspective from an agency to be like, hey. Like, you sometimes you're so close to it when you're in house that even if it's not necessarily something the agency is running on your behalf, they can look at how how do all the pieces fit together and bring those new ideas, which, candidly, like, sometimes we'd we'd just be, like, grinding internally and miss it. Right? So Exactly.

Leah Alter [00:10:14]:

I think also having that external voice speaking to, you know, a CEO or a president who isn't into in the day to day of the marketing, having that perspective be outside of the organization is incredibly powerful in terms of moving forward.

Marissa Comerford [00:10:35]:

Absolutely. And, you know, much like financial services, PR and marketing evolve so quickly. You know, we're up against generative AI and new tools and technology all the time. So we're able to sort through all that and make sure that your efforts are being optimized.

Joanna Ehresman [00:10:50]:

Well and that's where but so the next question actually goes into, like, how to have this productive, healthy working relationship, right, with an agency, if you're an RIA. And so what are some of the best practices that you've experienced or have implemented to help, you know, find the right fit as someone's on the agency search or ensure alignment as you're first coming together, prioritizing goals? Would love to just hear more about, like, fostering that healthy productive relationship.

Marissa Comerford [00:11:16]:

Sure. I can chime in first. So, you know, in financial services, you're in a relationship business and so are we. So that partnership is really so crucial to our mutual success, and we start from day 1 when a a prospect comes to us and says that they want to engage with us in our services. We need to make sure that there's that alignment as far as how we think and how we approach tackling goals. You know, it's something that we, over time, have been able to to really tell very quickly whether or not someone's a good fit for us. We are not a vendor. If you're looking for a vendor, we're not the right partner for you, and I would argue most PR agencies aren't the right partner for you because we really need to be ingrained in your day to day.

Marissa Comerford [00:11:58]:

And now I think it's really important to to kind of think about the agency search from the the same perspective you take when you're looking to acquire prospects for your practice. You wanna make sure that it's someone who aligns with your values, someone who recognizes the value that you bring to the table, someone who's willing to to contribute to achieving the goals that you set out to do together, And I think that same perspective applies to the work with a PR partner. Carrie, any thoughts?

Kerry Davis [00:12:24]:

I mean, I would just say the the collaborative mentality is really the most important part of that. I mean, we we're not there with you day to day, but as much as you can can bring us into the fold so we can really understand the full picture, that is how we're gonna be the most effective for you. But you just have to you have to let us in a little bit more, than some might normally think too at the outset. And then there's just a couple more tactical things. You know, what we do earns a lot of times is earned media. You know, if that's a big part of the of the campaign, you wanna make yourself available for those opportunities when they do present themselves.

Leah Alter [00:13:10]:

Sure.

Kerry Davis [00:13:11]:

We need to know when you're going to Hawaii for 2 weeks or, you know, something else that might take you out of the the running for the opportunities that, you know, we work hard together to to bring to the table.

Marissa Comerford [00:13:24]:

And PR marketing is truly an investment in your business and an investment in your growth and making sure that that investment mindset stays in place is how you have that buy in that Carrie mentioned.

Kerry Davis [00:13:35]:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Leah Alter [00:13:36]:

I think too and and I would love to get your perspective on this is having the right point person within the organization to partner with the agency. I think a lot of times that's one of the last things instead of one of the first things of, like, who's really gonna spearhead internally to help Carrie to answer those, you know, messages from Marissa when we need an answer. And really putting the right person in that position, I feel like, has been a big difference maker that I've seen.

Kerry Davis [00:14:12]:

So critical. I would say it's normally not the CEO, I'll say.

Leah Alter [00:14:16]:

Is this No. It shouldn't. Right?

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:18]:

Yeah. Right.

Leah Alter [00:14:20]:

Involved. Yes. Involved for sure. But, yeah, somebody who can actually, like, be in it on a a daily basis.

Marissa Comerford [00:14:29]:

Mhmm.

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:29]:

And I would also say, you know, that your point of of really staying connected with what's going on in the business. I'm just thinking back on some of the tendencies we'd have when I was on the corporate side to be like, well, we've got the weekly status with the agency. There's nothing new. Like, let's skip it. And it's like, don't fall into that habit because there's always something going on in the business. Like, the more looping in that you can do, whether or not it feels relevant to this particular area that the agency is focusing on. You never know where it might lead between inspiring new additional strategies or creative or, you know, tactics there or even just connections of, oh, we have another client navigating that same thing, and here's maybe some ways to think about it. So I just and that that stuck out to me when you were talking about that of Navarro.

Marissa Comerford [00:15:17]:

A great point, and I I think it goes to to Leah, your point of having an internal champion who can help connect those dots. So, you know, it's our job to ask leading questions on those regular check-in calls to make sure we're getting the information we need. But then when we have a good partner internally who can say, you know what? I wanna connect you with so and so. They just dealt with a client situation that might be of interest to you all, and it really just helps, kinda snowball those ideas and make making sure that we have a lot of fresh ideas to work with. But it gets that buy in across the organization. It gets everyone excited about participating, and it really just amplifies the output because we have that much more to work with as far as putting ideas to work.

Joanna Ehresman [00:15:58]:

Yes. Yes. Exactly. Absolutely.

Leah Alter [00:16:00]:

I mean and you always get what you put in is what you get back, right, with anything in life. But particularly around something like this where it's yes. You're hiring an agency to help you, but as as much as you are willing to dedicate time and resources internally to the success of a campaign or something like that, it will return, you know, twofold or more. Right.

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:28]:

Yes. Get all the strategic minds on your business.

Marissa Comerford [00:16:31]:

Exactly.

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:32]:

Alright. Well, and before we continue this discussion with Carrie and Marissa, we wanna take a moment to thank Catchlight, our presenting sponsor of WomenShare. And we encourage you to check out their podcast called Grow Organically, where Dan Gilmartin, the head of marketing at Catchlight, hosts candid discussions with wealth management and financial industry pros.

Leah Alter [00:16:52]:

Each episode breakdown growth factors at wealth management firms and how organizations can continue to be forward thinkers in today's competitive landscape. Add grow organically to your podcast rotation and learn more at catchlight.ai/womenshare. Alright. So back to Carrie and Marissa. As you know, a lot of our podcast audience is made up of financial advisers. So we would love to hear what you are seeing. What are most financial advisors doing right and wrong, when it comes to their marketing and PR efforts?

Kerry Davis [00:17:32]:

So I'll I'll take this one to start. I would say over the last 10 years or so, just thanks to all the different platforms that are now available to financial advisors, There's definitely been a move towards harnessing those and utilizing them. I'm talking about social media platforms, LinkedIn, x, what have you, really embracing the opportunity to use those channels to get their authentic selves out there, because at the end of the day, your clients and prospects are they're looking to connect with you. They wanna work with you because of what you represent and the services that you provide and how you deliver them. So I think it's really important that advisors continue to embrace that. You know, the industry definitely fell into and and some still, you know, do it, but, you know, the canned content, that was and recycled content that has been put out there for a really long time, I'm I'm happy to say that I think we're we're moving past that, and a lot more advisers are are coming to the table and and realizing that it's important to put out authentic and new insights. Even if it's a lot of the same topics, there's always a a way to put a spin or a, you know, a a way to preface it and talk about it that's really unique to you and your perspective and the way that you wanna, you know, ultimately work and serve your clients.

Leah Alter [00:19:13]:

Do you think that AI has been helpful in in moving away from that canned content?

Kerry Davis [00:19:20]:

We do. We're I mean, we are we are very, you know, pro AI and have been able to utilize it, you know, in our own work. And we're we're very big on, you know, how people can can make the most of it. It is definitely not where you should start and end everything.

Joanna Ehresman [00:19:41]:

Right.

Kerry Davis [00:19:41]:

But it's just it's really just about improving, the the overall process, helping with the efficiency of the process. But at the end of the day, it should sound like something that came from from you.

Leah Alter [00:19:57]:

And But it's it's you don't have to start with a blank sheet of paper. Right? Exactly. You have it's like somewhere to start, and then you can go in and make it yours. Right.

Kerry Davis [00:20:06]:

I mean, you have to start the prompt has to start with your thoughts and and you, and then the machine is just helping you along, but it starts with you.

Marissa Comerford [00:20:16]:

I personally love seeing how proactive advisors are being with, their approach to marketing and and really their approach to how they grow. And I I think AI is a great example of that, of willing to kinda step outside of their comfort zone, try new things, try new technology as a way to move towards that growth goal. You know, that's exciting for us because we like to work with, people who are growth minded, and and I think it really makes a big difference.

Joanna Ehresman [00:20:40]:

Yeah. Well and I think there's also this almost democratization of content creation that I think where there's not these super high production values. Like, I remember back in the olden days, right, 2010, we were trying to set up these really robust studios where the advisers come in could come into this well produced environment, and now it's like, shoot it from your phone on the go because this is the type of content back to your point of it being authentic. And it's just like, this is how content is created now. So I feel like that's also been an accelerator of maybe it doesn't feel so scary and intimidating for advisers to just join the conversation.

Marissa Comerford [00:21:16]:

Absolutely. It's so much more accessible than it used to be.

Joanna Ehresman [00:21:19]:

Good word. Yes. That's a great word for that. Yep.

Kerry Davis [00:21:22]:

That's And you can be so much faster with the deliverable too with those you

Marissa Comerford [00:21:27]:

don't have

Kerry Davis [00:21:28]:

a giant postproduction process. You can if something happened that day, you wanna communicate with your clients about it, you can set up the iPhone and you can create something that you can quickly, you know, deliver via your LinkedIn or in an email. It's just yeah. It simplified the process.

Leah Alter [00:21:49]:

Well, and I think that short for our short form content, I'm sure compliance departments everywhere, like, amen to the 32nd video. Right? Versus the 10 minute soliloquy that they would have to go in, and it would be fully edited. And, you know, something would happen, and an adviser would have to go back and reedit it because compliance said something versus I just set up my phone to your point, shot a quick video, you shoot that over to compliance. That turnaround too is a lot faster.

Marissa Comerford [00:22:24]:

And I think it also allows more advisors across the organization to participate in that type of content creation As a in the past, it was just reserved for a couple of people in the c suite who had the maybe didn't have the time but had the resources to be able to to produce these videos, write the scripts, get it approved by compliance, and distribute it. But now it allows younger advisers who are building their book of business to get their name out there and start sharing their message in a way that is compliance friendly, but it also just gives them a a new voice and a new way to share their message.

Joanna Ehresman [00:22:58]:

Yes. Great points. Great points. Okay. So one of our favorite questions. Love to hear what is the best career advice you've ever received. And, Marissa, let's start with you.

Marissa Comerford [00:23:08]:

So I interned at a PR agency before joining Gregory FCA, and, the advice I got from the founder there was pay attention when things are going wrong because that's when you'll learn the most. And that's something I've kept with me. Obviously, we never want things to go wrong, but, occasionally, they do. And it really it has proven to be so true because it just allows you to to pay attention and see how things should go. It has allowed me to learn from other people across my organization to learn from clients And I think the the biggest part of that piece of advice is not just letting those tough moments go and and just pass and and not reflecting on them, but taking that time to reflect either individually or as a team to see what the takeaways are, how we can learn from them, how we can be better and sharper. What about you, Carrie?

Kerry Davis [00:23:58]:

So mine is career advice slash life advice, and it's pretty simple. It's just be proactive. No time in life or in your career should you sit around and wait for someone to give you that promotion or someone to tell you that, you know, this is the next thing you should be doing. I remember very early from a a junior account team member. I saw how busy my supervisors were and how the other people on the team were, and I would, you know, be kinda stuck waiting for something else to do, to be, you know, assigned something. So I made myself busy, and, you know, I learned to just be proactive and find opportunities and then present them. And it really just helped, you know, me roll from one role to the next, in that way because you were always looking for what's next, how can I be opportunistic in this moment? And as I say, I just I really think it's it's life advice. It's career advice.

Kerry Davis [00:25:05]:

Don't, you know, ever sit idly and, you know, always try to be proactive.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:10]:

Oh, I love that. It's actually resonating some parenting advice I heard recently is, like, in raising boys, it's like, raise your boys to notice and do. Right? Like, raise them to be men who notice and do. And so I'm like, it's a similar thing where it's like, hey. You notice. Like, there are ways I have agency here. I can do this. I can solve this problem myself or be resourceful.

Joanna Ehresman [00:25:31]:

And probably, what a relief for your leaders who are overwhelmed to be like, oh, thank god. She's just, like, driving it forward and, you know, helping to make things happen. So both of those are great. Love it.

Leah Alter [00:25:42]:

And another question we love to ask our guests because to your point about great life advice, we also wanna celebrate things that are happening in your life outside of the office. So what can we celebrate with both of you today? Carrie, we'll start with you.

Kerry Davis [00:26:02]:

So I have 3 small children at home. So any any, you know, when is any good week with no injuries or anything is a positive thing in my house. But I do think self care is also very important, especially when you work full time and you have small children. So, I do I have a Peloton, and I I've I've reached some some milestones in terms of my the amount of rides, and I'm Nice. Continuing to try to, reach that that next one. But, yeah, just the, you know, taking the moment. I know how it makes me feel after I do it. So so is remembering that and trying to prioritize that, and it's all the the million other things that have to get done in the day.

Kerry Davis [00:26:47]:

Yes.

Marissa Comerford [00:26:47]:

I have a similar self care. I'm also a mom of young children, and life can get busy with working and raising those kids, but have been making more of an effort to make time for hobbies lately to to make sure I'm not losing myself in the the day to day, week to week. So just cooking and and baking and doing some reading for fun. We spend a lot of time with our noses in the news, and that can get exhausting. So, so making sure that I'm including some some fun reading in there too.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:17]:

Celebrating balance. Balance and all of it.

Marissa Comerford [00:27:20]:

Exactly. Yes. Always. Yeah.

Joanna Ehresman [00:27:22]:

Love it. Love it. Well, this has been such a fun conversation, and I think there's a lot that our listeners can learn about, like, how to have a really productive relationship with an agency, how to really get the most out of this, the strategy that agency partners can provide. So just thank you both for being here and sharing your insights and your stories. If one of our listeners wants to learn more about Gregory FCA, what's the best way for them to get in touch?

Marissa Comerford [00:27:49]:

They can reach out to us on LinkedIn, but our doors are literally and figuratively always open. And also, gregoryfca.com is a great resource. It's where we house, information about all of the verticals that we work on. It's a great way to get in touch with our organization and also see some of our recent highlights from our work with clients too.

Leah Alter [00:28:08]:

Awesome. And all of that will be in the show notes, down below of the podcast. So thank you both so much for being here. And once again, we wanna give a shout out to Catchlight for backing our mission here at WomenShare. Catchlight's platform can build data rich profiles and score your leads to help you increase efficiency and improve conversion. Check them out at catchlight.ai/womenshare. And that is our show for today. If ours is a mission that you want to share in, please subscribe to the show wherever you love to listen to podcasts.

Leah Alter [00:28:46]:

And with that, I'm Leah Alter.

Joanna Ehresman [00:28:48]:

And I'm Joanna Ehresman. And we'll catch you on the next episode of WomenShare.