Prop firms have gained an edge over traditional CFD brokers by capitalizing on different marketing strategies. Successful prop marketing teams have three skills: direct response marketing (think e-commerce, fast purchase, CAC dependent), influencer outreach, and community engagement.

Compared to CFD Brokers

Now, you are probably thinking these sound really similar. Isn't a direct response just lead generation? While there is overlap, they all have different goals, so let us dive into the definitions so we can then see why your proprietary or brokerage might be losing revenue due to holes in your marketing funnel.

Direct Response Marketing: aims for an immediate and measurable response. A person visits the site, they buy, ad ROI is calculated. If the ad is breakeven/profitable, increase the budget; if not, pause and test something else.

Lead Generation: focuses on collecting client information as they register for an account. The goal is to nurture these leads into customers over time due to obstacles like KYC and the clients' different mindsets.

But KYC isn’t that hard, it's just an ID check: surely that’s not the cause for the longer sales cycle. If you’re thinking this, you’re partially right (country risk level dependent). The main difference is the client’s mindset, and like all great marketing , that is the most important place to start.

Understanding Your Customer Profile

The successful rise of prop firms is due to two main factors: community-centric trading, which started with the crypto/NFT boom in 2021, and the evolving demands of beginner traders. Let’s look at these. The online community boom occurred in 2021 due to COVID + Crypto. Trading is lonely; you lose money, and you feel stupid. The Crypto Bros of 2021 changed that with the HODL mindset.

Within the community (Discord, chat group, etc.), it's ok to lose if I can see everyone else losing; I’m even kind of proud of it. Because I believe in my community that it knows something others don’t, and there will always be another wave of winners or a success story that follows.

Now, with this environment change came an adaptation of beginner demands. They want fast, easy financial freedom. They have seen people invest $100 and make $10k within 30 days. At the start, a beginner doesn’t understand spreads or 1000:1 leverage; they just want to know that “if I give them $100, I can potentially make x100.”

This is when props started thriving: what successful props did really well was package the trading experience into a quick-sale product easily understood by novices seeking financial advancement. This is comparable to Apple’s iPod launch, which differentiated itself with the tagline “1,000 songs in your pocket” instead of the standard “5 GB Hard Drive.” This is why the direct response marketing skillset is key for prop firms.

Now, I’m generalizing here because marketing is a game of percentages; 100% of beginner traders won’t fit this mold, but I’m saying an increasing percentage of them have shifted towards this mindset. This is why it is important to have a robust customer profile framework so that your angles and messaging are on target (most of the time).

Trades Within an Hour

CFD brokers still attract traders who sign up and trade within an hour. The difference is that the broker's positioning predominately attracts clients who have an investment mindset; even if they trade like punters (gamblers), to them, they’re investing in a market insight or specialized strategy. Once they gain more confidence in their approach and trust in the broker, they will deposit more.

This is why the lead generation skillset is important and must be backed with a robust lifecycle (email) and sales sequence. It is not about the first deposit; it's about the +$5k deposits coming after.

Now that we’re aligned on customer profile and positioning, let us explore the other skills: influencer outreach (Prop) and trade Marketing (Broker). I won’t discuss affiliates as I find they’re evenly used across both.

Influencer outreach involves partnering with popular personalities for instant credibility and access to their engaged following. Influencers are market savvy and know what their audience wants, requiring minimal promotion direction.

The difficulty for the prop is it’s in a low-trust industry, so to establish these relationships, they must demonstrate reliability in their character (founders/staff) and operations. Everyone wants to work with the top brands but for the lesser-known firms, it’s a harder sell.

Trade Marketing involves strategies to attract and support Introducing Brokers (IBs). IBs are typically good networkers but require assistance with promotions and assets that sell the value of the broker. IBs generally grow with the broker, almost like franchisees, so induction and nurturing are key for long-term success.

Community Engagement (Prop) & Event Marketing (Broker) Skills

Community engagement for prop firms focuses on utilizing Discord/trading chat rooms as a sales funnel by showcasing promotions, client wins, payouts, and a hive of trader activity. Essentially all the fun things compliance won’t let us do in the broker space because they’re morale vampires (just kidding). It also creates loyal advocates who promote their networks and increases rebuying.

Event Marketing for brokers includes webinars, seminars, and in-person events. It is all about building trust and credibility by showing that brokers are real people engaging with a relatable customer profile. There is a different level of trust required for someone to hand over $10k compared to $100.

These interactions enhance client loyalty and long-term engagement with the broker and offer stronger marketing materials as proof of promises. By understanding and leveraging these marketing skills, prop firms and CFD brokers can effectively attract and retain their target audiences, ultimately driving higher sales & active client growth.