Thoughts

Quick Thought: International Brands in the US

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Jan 05, 2015, in Thoughts , tagged with , , ,

Ignites ran an article last week (subscription required) about the emerging efforts of foreign banks – specifically BMO, HSBC, and RBC – to grow their asset management presences in the United States.

I have no doubt these firms can build successful, profitable US businesses. But I do ultimately question the overall brand strategy.

Time and time again, large overseas firms attempt to lever their global brands within the US. I think this is a problematic approach, in part because “large global brand” is mismatched with the typical business strategy. As Damion Hendrickson, senior VP of intermediary sales for HSBC, put it in the article:

In order to be successful, you really have to specialize in something when you’re starting out. You have to have some sort of niche to your brand.

 If this is the aim, firms like HSBC face two significant challenges:

  • Meshing Global with Niche: reconciling an image as a global financial power with a nimble specialty asset manager is an oil-and-water strategy.
  • Provincialism: at the risk of oversimplifying, US financial advisors are more provincial than most think. “Global” certainly matters in terms of the strategies and investment expertise a firm offers, but being an international financial powerhouse (e.g., bank) is overrated by firms in terms of how much advisors really care.

Neither challenge is of course insurmountable. But as these and future overseas firms try to gain traction in the US market, I think that seriously reconsidering the standard “let’s leverage our global brand” approach is something very much worth doing.

The Need for Product Marketing

Posted by Anu Heda on Nov 24, 2014, in Thoughts

During a recent meeting with a retail marketing executive in a multi-boutique form, we brainstormed a bit on the perceived need for product marketing. Do asset managers need to produce product commentary, investment process documents, and other information at an individual product level? Is a printable fact sheet and high-quality Web product profile enough support?

We started to think through the use cases for these materials. The material is definitely not esoteric. Allianz has quarterly market commentary. Jensen provides a nice quarterly product commentary (related to the SMA). And Schroders offers an evergreen product process.

  1. Do FAs want these types of documents?
  2. Do these documents open doors via business-as-usual marketing channels (e.g., e-mail, banner ads, etc.)?
  3. Do these documents build credibility with FAs, home-office product specialists and others?
  4. Are they supportive to the wholesaler meeting?

Though basic market research would be a helpful way to quantify the perceived value, the marketing executive’s “gut instinct” was to answer “no” to the first three questions. But that last question gave pause. Perhaps having a “leave behind” is so typical that walking away from a meeting with an FA and not giving him something could seem awkward. In the “leave behind” scenario, the documents could be necessary (Also, perhaps the wholesalers used the documents to build product knowledge that efficiently educated them.). That fourth question left him with the to-do of discussing product marketing materials with the Internal Sales Manager to understand print-on-demand volume (for the wholesalers), mail volumes, or e-mail click-through rates.

As November concludes many asset managers will look at their 2015 plan and wonder where to increase and decrease spending. Perhaps product marketing literature is a place to consider decreasing.

COPE for Content Marketing

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 10, 2014, in Thoughts

COPE – Create once, publish everywhere – comes from the developer world as a philosophy that emphasizes organizing and managing data/information, with a de-emphasis on Web publishing templates. During a meeting last week, I heard COPE used relative to content marketing and thought it works well when thinking about asset management thought leadership.

Placing thought leadership content on the firm’s Web site is the first and necessary step. If it’s the last step, we’re stuck with “Create once, publish once” and the content’s value is limited only to frequent site visitors. Some FAs may find the content there, many more will not.  Consider digital distribution via:

 

Compacting Sites

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 07, 2014, in Thoughts , tagged with

There’s an industry trend towards more compact sites via mega menus (below example from American Funds) and contextual content (i.e., a right-hand rail that links up related materials). (The trend is away from breadcrumbs.) While there are pros and cons to any approach, there’s a primary advantage from compacting sites. Flatter sites facilitate firm information, products, and thought leadership becoming more interconnected than ever. Since the user isn’t driven down an ever-narrowing rabbit hole, she can view specific content as it relates products and people. That interconnection leads to a more natural experience for financial advisors and institutional investors/consultants.

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