Start with the clients and services you actually want
A useful agency brief is more specific than “generate financial advice leads”. Define the services you want to grow, the type of client who is commercially appropriate, the geographical footprint you serve and any minimum suitability criteria your team uses before a first meeting. Retirement planning, pensions, investments, protection and broader financial planning can attract different searches and require different content journeys.
This matters because a campaign can look successful in a dashboard while producing enquiries your advisers cannot serve. Ask prospective agencies how they will distinguish traffic, leads and meaningful opportunities. A supplier that talks only about impressions, clicks or cost per lead without asking what a good enquiry looks like is missing the commercial part of the brief.
Examine the compliance and approval workflow before the creative
Financial-services marketing needs a clear route for approving claims, wording and supporting evidence. The agency does not replace your own regulatory responsibilities. It should, however, be able to work within an agreed review process, keep versions organised and understand that an apparently small copy change can require approval before publication.
Ask who drafts content, who checks factual accuracy, who provides regulated wording, who gives final approval and how urgent changes are handled. This is especially important for paid ads and landing pages because campaigns can be delayed if approval responsibility is unclear.
Compare acquisition channels by buyer intent
Search marketing can be valuable when a prospective client is actively looking for an adviser or a particular service. Local SEO may matter for firms whose clients prefer nearby advisers, while a national firm may need a broader content and search strategy. Paid search can provide faster demand testing, but the economics depend on lead quality, conversion rates and the value of the services being promoted.
Social media and email can support credibility, nurturing and continued visibility, but they should not automatically be treated as direct-response substitutes for high-intent search. Ask each agency to explain what role every proposed channel plays and how success will be measured.
Make implementation responsibility explicit
| Proposal question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who writes and uploads website content? | Recommendations have little value if nobody implements them. |
| Who builds landing pages and forms? | Paid-media performance depends on the post-click journey. |
| Who configures GA4, GTM and conversion events? | Reporting requires reliable measurement rather than platform estimates alone. |
| Who approves regulated wording? | Responsibility must be unambiguous before campaigns go live. |
| Who owns ad, analytics and website accounts? | Your firm needs continuity if you change supplier. |
| Who feeds lead outcomes back to the agency? | Optimisation improves when marketing data is connected to real enquiry quality. |
Read the contract as carefully as the proposal
Before signing, compare minimum terms, notice periods, cancellation process, asset ownership, access rights, reporting frequency, revision limits and any work that attracts additional fees. Also check whether media spend, software, landing-page work or creative production is included or separate. Kydos publishes service pricing where a standard price applies and uses custom quotes where scope varies, so compare like for like rather than judging proposals by headline monthly fee alone.
Judge reporting by decisions, not dashboard size
A useful report should help you decide what to keep, change or stop. For an adviser, that can include search visibility, qualified enquiries, booked conversations, channel source, landing-page performance and the reasons leads are rejected. Ask how the agency will learn from your team rather than treating every submitted form as equally valuable.
Comparing financial adviser marketing proposals?
Review Kydos' published service pricing and scope, then use it as one reference point when comparing what different providers actually include.
View Kydos pricingFrequently asked questions
Should a financial adviser marketing agency understand compliance workflows?
Yes. The agency should be able to work within your approval process and keep responsibility for regulated claims with the appropriately authorised people in your business.
Should we choose an agency based on lead volume?
No. Lead quality, suitability, service fit and progression to genuine conversations matter more than raw form-fill volume.
Can an agency guarantee enquiries or investment returns?
No responsible agency should guarantee commercial outcomes that depend on market conditions, offer strength, competition and your own sales process.
Who should own our advertising and analytics accounts?
Your business should retain appropriate access and ownership of core accounts, data and assets so continuity is protected if the supplier relationship ends.
Is local SEO relevant for financial advisers?
It can be when clients choose advisers by geography, but the strategy should reflect whether you serve a local, regional or UK-wide market.
What should we compare between agency proposals?
Compare scope, approval workflow, implementation responsibility, reporting, account ownership, lead-quality measurement, contract terms and what is explicitly excluded.