Advisor Marketing Made Simple

Episode: Advice Line: Where To Focus Your Marketing When You Have Multiple Brands (Ed Vargo)
Release Date: July 16, 2025
Hosts: Taylor Schulte and Kendra Wright
Guest: Ed Vargo from Burning River Advisory Group

Introduction to the Guest and His Business

In this episode of Advisor Marketing Made Simple, hosts Kendra Wright and Taylor Schulte welcome Ed Vargo, the proprietor of Burning River Advisory Group. Ed's firm boasts 25 years in the business with an annual revenue of $1.5 million, aiming to grow to $2.5 million in the forthcoming years. Ed seeks guidance on optimizing his marketing strategies across multiple brands.

Ed's Opening Challenge:
"There's a ton of different marketing ideas out there and the problem I'm having is trying to figure out where do I want to put my ladder, you know, what wall should I put this ladder on?"
[00:32]

Defining the Ideal Client

Kendra initiates the conversation by probing into Ed's ideal client profile to tailor effective marketing strategies.

Ed’s Ideal Client Profile:
Ed describes his ideal clients as single women or women-led households, particularly those experiencing significant life events such as divorce, widowhood, or nearing retirement. These clients typically have assets ranging from $500,000 to over a million dollars and seek comprehensive financial management.

"They really aren't that sophisticated. They want to do work and they're really trying to find a trusted advisor that they can believe in and partners out to."
[02:20]

Client Breakdown:
Approximately 20% of Ed's current clientele are widows and divorcees, predominantly aged 50 and above, all with retirement as a common concern.
"I would say widows and divorcees might be a quarter of our business."
[03:12]

Current Marketing Efforts and Challenges

Ed elaborates on his firm’s current marketing landscape, highlighting reliance on referrals and Centers of Influence (COIs) like accountants and attorneys.

"We haven't done any active outbound marketing for a while now. We used to do all kinds of stuff, a lot about servicing the clients and making sure that we're taking care of them."
[03:38]

He also discusses Enlighten Her, a sister company focused on financial coaching and education for women, serving as a front-end for attracting potential clients.

Balancing Multiple Brands: Burning River vs. Enlighten Her

The core of the discussion revolves around managing and marketing two distinct brands:

1. Burning River Advisory Group:
   More niche-focused, dealing directly with wealth management for women undergoing or post-divorce and widowhood.

2. Enlighten Her:
   An educational and coaching platform aimed at a broader audience, including young women starting their financial journeys.

Ed’s Conundrum:
"We have two competing ideas, and at the end of the day, that's what I have to rectify. You know, which pathway would we want to go down or, like, grow more slowly?"
[35:33]

Strategizing Marketing Focus

Taylor's Insights:
Taylor suggests creating a clear funnel where Enlighten Her serves as an educational platform to build an audience, which then funnels interested prospects to Burning River for professional financial services.

"It's just more like if you need professional help, we can offer that. Click here to learn more."
[19:27]

Kendra's Recommendations:
Kendra emphasizes the importance of narrowing down the target audience to prevent dilution of marketing efforts. She advises focusing on either divorcees or widows within Enlighten Her to align with Burning River's clientele.

"If you really just feel strongly about helping younger women, then I think you could rethink your strategy for using Enlighten her. Maybe that's where this fits in. But if you want to kind of click them together, I would get a little bit clearer on which ICP we're going to target."
[28:58]

Building and Leveraging the Audience

Strategies Proposed:

1. Guest Podcasting:
   Ed has been actively guesting on podcasts to increase visibility. Kendra and Taylor recommend enhancing this strategy by offering free resources (e.g., courses, ebooks) to capture leads and build an email list.

   "Leverage somebody else's platform like a podcast would be a very efficient, effective way to do that."
   — Kendra Wright
   [26:05]

2. Content Alignment:
   Align content offerings on Enlighten Her to resonate specifically with either divorcees or widows, ensuring that the educational content naturally funnels into Burning River’s services.

3. Email Marketing:
   Develop a nurturing email sequence to build trust and guide prospects from Enlighten Her into Burning River.

Challenges and Considerations

Ed grapples with maintaining the balance between two brands, fearing that one might overshadow the other or that the broader marketing efforts might not effectively convert leads into clients.

"We piggyback on that a little bit. We get some exposure from that. I've done some guest podcasts. I've probably been on 20 podcasts over the past three months."
[06:28]

Kendra and Taylor caution against overly broad marketing (“big tent”) and stress the importance of a focused approach to ensure that marketing efforts translate into meaningful client engagements.

"Big tent marketing is really an attempt to appeal to a very broad audience where niche marketing is exactly the opposite."
— Kendra Wright
[32:14]

Final Recommendations and Takeaways

Kendra and Taylor's Advice:

1. Focus and Alignment:
   Choose a specific segment within Enlighten Her that aligns closely with Burning River’s ideal clients to ensure marketing efforts are cohesive and effective.

2. Build a Clear Funnel:
   Use Enlighten Her as a top-of-funnel educational platform to attract and nurture leads, gradually guiding them towards Burning River for professional services.

3. Leverage Existing Strengths:
   Continue leveraging guest podcasting and writing, but with a more targeted approach to capture and convert qualified leads.

4. Evaluate and Iterate:
   Monitor the performance of different marketing channels and strategies, being prepared to iterate based on what generates the most qualified leads.

"It's absolutely necessary to have a decision to make. Do we want to just set our firm to the side and focus on monetizing this other platform that's totally disconnected?"
— Taylor Schulte
[17:49]

Key Takeaways for Listeners:

• Define and Narrow Your Target Audience:
  Focusing on a specific client segment ensures that marketing efforts are more effective and resonate deeply with potential clients.

• Integrate Marketing Channels:
  Utilize educational platforms to build an audience and create a seamless path for leads to transition into professional services.

• Maintain Brand Cohesion:
  Ensure that all marketing efforts across different brands align with the overall business objectives and client needs.

Conclusion

Ed leaves the conversation with a clearer understanding of the need to focus his marketing efforts on a specific segment within his multiple brands. The hosts encourage him—and listeners in similar situations—to thoughtfully evaluate their marketing strategies to ensure alignment and effectiveness.

"We give me a lot to think about now. I'm going to mull it over and, and see where we land on this."
[35:33]

For advisors grappling with similar challenges of managing multiple brands and targeting diverse client segments, this episode offers actionable insights into focusing marketing efforts, defining ideal client profiles, and creating effective funnels to drive business growth.