Thoughts

Apps all the talk (in this post too). Sites do the work.

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 06, 2014, in Thoughts

During a client’s all-day digital planning off-site, the conversation turned towards building an app. Should 2015 be the year we release a tablet/phone app? Someone referenced a recent conversation with an external wholesaler. He recounted the wholesaler saying, “What are you guys [in digital marketing] doing? I was in a FAs office the other day. During our conversation the FA asked if we had an app and then proceeded to show me Putnam’s Fund Visualizer. We need something too.”

Count one for keeping up the Joneses. There’s some validity to managing perception and a slick, highly usable app may impact perception. Also, building an app is a tangible “win” that Digital Marketing can point to. Broadly, does building an app make sense for retail-focused asset managers? Volume can’t drive the decision. With approximately 250,000 US financial advisors and 22% (or less) using tablets, the entire target market is less than 50,000 people. If we estimate that 10% of those FAs download asset manager apps, then we have 5,000 as the top-line. Not very many.

What if an app can support a limited set of FAs extremely well, making those FAs more loyal and inclined to use multiple funds? Perhaps it is still worthwhile. Going down this road, the key questions we’d recommend discussing include:

  1. Apps need promotion to build usage. Are we well-equipped to promote an app?
  2. Since apps need to be continually fresh, are we capable of maintaining freshness?
  3. What’s the shelf life for our app idea? Are we comfortable with a short shelf life? Oppenheimer had a high-quality app to support the Globalize Your Thinking campaign. As they phased out the campaign, the app became unnecessary.
  4. Does our app idea have some clear benefits over the traditional Web site? (A few) FAs have told us that they like the PIMCO app because it downloads content, enabling reading thought leadership without connectivity.
  5. Does the app support Sales without being disruptive or preemptive?
  6. How will we measure success?

Before discussing any of these questions, I recommend answering a more obvious, staid question: does our site look excellent on a tablet or mobile phone? Mobile browser usage is unequivocally higher than app usage, making the site more vital to clients and prospects alike. Going into 2015, phones are growing in size and resolution (have you held an iPhone 6 plus yet?), bandwidth is increasing, and (most importantly) user expectations for mobile experiences on Web sites are higher than ever. Simply put, the site has to be complete, fast, and crisp on a phone first. Apps are secondary.

blackrock_devices

Designing a New Site Experience

Posted by Anu Heda on Jul 08, 2014, in Thoughts , tagged with

Last week, I was fortunate to attend the MFEA Digital Council event in Kansas City. I’ll share a few tidbits from our content marketing panel in a subsequent post. Here, I thought to touch on a topic brought up my numerous people. I heard a half-dozen people say we are starting the process to redesign our digital properties (Web site, social media experience, tablet apps). The context was different for each firm (context included timeline, scope of design, and working relationship with a digital agency).

I wanted to touch on the digital agency selection process. Many times our digital strategy engagements end where an agency’s engagement begins (our recommendations become a main component of a detailed creative brief). From those experiences and conversations with clients, I thought to offer two questions to ponder before selecting an agency.

#1 – Are we going to value the capabilities of a large firm? Agencies come in very different sizes; from 2 – 3 person organizations to global advertising agency subsidiaries. Larger agencies often construct large project teams including people with financial services, digital design, content creation, and project management expertise. We’ve seen asset managers appreciate and benefit from having these additional (to account management and execution) resources as working sessions can become more thorough and comprehensive from the additional brainpower. We’ve also seen organizations find the additional headcount frustrating as it can slow down timelines and require additional ramp-up. Think ahead. Will your project team enjoy in-depth initial conversations with an agency team recollecting and including insights from multiple previous experiences? Or will your team want to get down to work and quickly expect mock-ups to select from?

#2 – Is out-of-industry experience genuinely important? Many times Digital Marketers think agencies unencumbered by previous industry engagements will provide a “fresh” or “unique” design? That may be true. Equally true, agencies without asset management or insurance clients will struggle to understand the non-transactional nature of “retail” distribution. There will be some learning curve required for the out-of-industry agency. Are you (or someone on your team) willing to educate the agency?

Fee erosion coming?

Posted by Anu Heda on Jul 07, 2014, in Thoughts

I noticed two recent Ignites articles discussing fee reduction. The first cites BlackRock cutting fees on a lagging equity suite. The second cites John Hancock cutting fees on their advisor-sold 529 plan.

Obviously we don’t believe two data points forecasts a trend. Yet perhaps pricing is worth discussing again. Many prognosticators have predicted fee erosion and margin compression over the last decade. More important than their predictions, what do you think? Leave us a comment if you can.

MFEA Content Marketing – 5 Quick Tidbits

Posted by Anu Heda on Jul 05, 2014, in Thoughts , tagged with

During a humid June week in Kansas City (aren’t they all?), the MFEA convened a group of marketers from across the industry. I moderated a panel on content marketing and thought to share 5 points. We were fortunate to have three excellent panelists from Aberdeen Asset Management, American Century Investments, & RidgeWorth Investments.

  1. There’s not a unified definition for content marketing. Some associate the term with content-centric campaigns leading meant to increase Web site (or microsite) usage. Other firms define content marketing by building a content library to market (the firm) from.
  2. Everyone seemed to agree that infrequent high-quality content is better than the reverse.
  3. Most firms are investing or considering marketing automation software to simplify dissemination.
  4. All firms are modifying their content processes to account for the clear demand (by FAs) for brief content.
  5. Measurement continues to be nebulous. Metrics discussed went from Web traffic to lead generation even to asset growth.

Liquid Alts – a category too broad?

Posted by Anu Heda on Jun 03, 2014, in Thoughts , tagged with

In recent conversations, clients are referring to liquid alts more than  ever. The term is mentioned so casually yet includes many, differing strategies. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal (link; subscription required) reminded me of how different these strategies can be. The article mentions the numerous strategies covered by alternatives and how vastly different performance and uptake has been. The article made me think of fixed income as a fitting corollary. Whether meeting with a Marketer at an asset manager or interviewing an FA, rarely does someone refer to “fixed income.” Much more often we discuss “unconstrained,” “short duration,” or “emerging market corporate.”

As the category matures, I’m betting we’ll hear folks discuss “managed futures” or “broad equity market neutral” alts more often.