Struggling to meet investor needs in the Post-Covid World? Digitization is the key and here’s why

As the asset management industry reels from the disruption that Covid-19 has left in its wake, it is apparent that more needs to be done to fulfill sales and marketing needs. Before the pandemic, asset managers already had time-to-market, data accuracy, and thoughtful content issues in their sales and marketing processes. Now, in the age of customized and timely information, firms need to ramp-up their ability to provide relevant and factual content at the right time to the right people. After hearing from senior marketers from top investment management firms in our quarterly round table, we bring ways that asset managers can stay competitive into a post-Covid world.

It would be an understatement to say that people are online now more than ever. According to OpenVault’s Broadband Insights Report, there has been an increase of 47% in broadband consumption for the first quarter of 2020. With more people connected to the internet, investors have heightened their expectations for the quick delivery of information and updates. However, the current content creation and dissemination methods that asset managers have relied on are falling short of these expectations. Below are three ways that asset managers can harness digitization and meet investors’ insights needs.  

1. Accelerate Your Digitization Journey

Manual methods can’t keep up with sales teams’ and clients’ needs. Most firms have begun the digital journey but are quickly learning that they need to pivot fast. PDFs, the traditional way to disseminate information to advisors and clients, are time-consuming and no longer how people digest information. Further, it provides little to no insight into the content’s usefulness.

  • Differentiate content: leverage audio, video, and social channels as a quick, almost instant, gateway to move through content fast. Providing alternative avenues to get insights through Twitter and LinkedIn, for example, is increasing engagement by 51-58% in some firms. Tags and interest areas are also easier to measure, allowing marketing teams to focus on the most relevant materials. 
  • Shorten content: since the iPhone hit the market in 2007, an irreversible pattern in how people consume information shifted not only because we have access to it constantly but because we also have access to so much. Before we engage in content, we now want to know the commitment level we’re being asked for, and we very quickly assess the value of that information. Small pieces are not only nimbler to produce but also provide a higher engagement rate with readers. 
  • Digitize content: adding the above bullets together, the inevitable conclusion is that content should be put in websites that are easy to find, easy to access, and easy to digest. Email distribution can continue to be leveraged as an alerting mechanism but writers should take the approach of less is more and allow users to decide when more is more. Not only will this allow for more timely and relevant content (often the insights are stale by the time a marketing piece is completed) but will also enable a much-needed feedback loop – who is reading what.

2. Empower Your Sales and Marketing Teams

The ways that sales and marketing teams were able to connect with clients have changed, especially with the drastic increase of virtual offices. Rather than meeting face-to-face and making connections in person, sales teams have to find different ways to reach their desired audiences. Asset managers need to provide increased support when it comes to storing, sharing, and disseminating content.

  • Make content accessible: what is the point of putting effort and time into content creation if no one can find it? Asset managers need to make content accessibility as intuitive and easy as possible for their sales teams. Many have found that storing content pieces in a searchable repository that contains all of the content they might need, states the specific value of a  content piece, and explains how these pieces of content can be used for their campaigns and out-reach improves workflow. 
  • Communication is key: establishing a strong line of communication between your sales and marketing teams can be the difference between reaching investors and missing the mark. Feedback from sales and marketing teams can empower and streamline and strengthen current content management workflows. 
  • Provide tools for success: to improve the speed that sales and marketing teams reach investors, they need specialized emails that contain any related content at a moment’s notice. This can be done by providing them with sales enablement tools composed of multiple emails that enhance the attached content pieces. Emails have become an important first point of contact for sales teams, so having emails that speak to the clients’ specific pain points will be key in initiating a relationship. 

3. Focus on Client Experience and Branding 

Digitization is capable of freeing-up resources that can be used for content strategy, branded experiences, and client outreach. As the audience’s needs for different forms of communication and messaging have changed, creating a solid content strategy and plan ensures that the content being created is serving a purpose. The importance of brand marketing has also experienced an upswing due to the increased difficulties that have come with making personal relationships.

If the targeted audience doesn’t understand the brand or see the value in connecting with it, they will not engage with the organization. To understand what clients need and whether services and products are reaching their expectations, there has been more investment in client experience that brings together all relevant feedback. In return, all of this feedback helps sales and marketing teams connect with audiences’ needs and pain points.

To learn how to empower your marketing and sales teams with enhanced content management, contact Julia.Ellard@evalueserve.com or speak with an expert for more information.  

Julia Ellard
Associate Vice President, Investment Management Digital Lead Posts

Julia has been helping drive solutions to Financial Services business problems through technology for over 15 years. She is passionate about getting to the heart of the issue and helping business leaders achieve their goals by creating efficiencies and process improvements, always learning what the market needs and the latest technologies. And when not solving problems she loves to spend time traveling, cooking and exploring the great outdoors.

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