Oversubscribed: Succeeding with data-driven distribution, marketing, communications, and IR/PR

Game On … Innovators/early adopters are using data to grab market share.

Today, innovators and early adopters are using data-driven technology to increase the effectiveness of their marketing and communications, improving what successful advisors have done for years… only doing it cheaper, better, and faster. Using a combination of data insights, behavioral analytics, and marketing automation, personalized engagement strategies and playbooks can be put in place before the first meeting even takes place. And, thus, managers are realizing shortened sales cycles and improved conversion rates.

They are fueling their marketing and communication strategies and tactics with data insights while improving the overall investor experience. Demographics and firmographics serve as the foundation, while artificial intelligence can fill in the gaps with behavioral, psychographic, and decision-making insights, allowing for the creation of “ideal” investor profiles (aka marketing personas). These detailed personas are helping marketing and sales teams focus on clearly defined audiences, while eliminating time on less profitable prospects. With the proper data insights, innovators are reducing many of the “unknowns” that often impede and/or delay fundraising campaigns.

You can have data without actionable information, but you cannot have actionable information without data.

-Daniel Keys Moran

Data-driven personas allow marketing, distribution, and IR/PR professions to focus on the values, styles, and motivations that drive investor decision-making. This allows teams to develop strategies and tactics specific to the target audience, including communication styles, channel preferences, and even the most likely biases held by the investor. Persona creation is allowing marketing and communication professionals to deliver perfectly curated messages at the right time in the right place and to the right audience.

Transitioning for a competitive advantage.

Ongoing fee compression, the need for differentiation, and the evolving behavior of online investors/allocators have changed the blueprint for success in investment management. Once reliant on industry providers for research and investment access, investors are migrating to online tools and resources. Traditional strategies and tactics are becoming increasingly ineffective.

It’s already happening. Innovators are trading expensive and increasingly ineffective fund distribution, marketing, communications, and IR/PR strategies for data-driven solutions. The data-enabled are not just improving sales and marketing results, they are also realizing operational efficiencies, deeper investor engagements, and increased asset retention rates.

5150 helps investment managers succeed by simplifying the transition to data-driven technology. 5150’s proprietary platform mitigates the technology and integration risks, eliminates the need to hire talent, and reduces the cost by spreading the total cost across multiple users. Digital Bridge allows investment managers to create scale without mass, as well as overcome geographic boundaries that have limited the size of their target audience.

Digital Bridge: Your Path to Data-Driven Technology

Digital Bridge clients are assigned dedicated teams to simplify the process. 5150 serves as a resource to the sales, marketing, and service teams of the manager. Dedicated teams can develop a feel for client expectations, market needs, and mission-critical engagements.

Process 1: Data Cleansing and Consolidation:

The move to data-driven begins by aggregating current and former client data into a single source, providing a consistent 360⁰ client view across sales, marketing, and IR/PR functions. Once aggregated and cleansed, the data is moved to a single receptacle, accessible by the entire team throughout every touchpoint of the investor journey.

Process 2: Investor Segmentation:

Once the data has been cleansed and aggregated, it is segmented into investor groups organized by commonalities, such as investment size, investor types, and client profitability. Segments are enhanced through client conversations, interviews, and surveys taken from selected members of each group. These enhanced profiles provide granular insights into who a firm’s best customers are, who they are not, and where undiscovered opportunities may exist.

Process 3: Research and Discovery:

While the customer data is cleansed, segmented, and enhanced, our research team is creating a custom market report and digital audit that highlights current capital market trends, alternative fund flows, LP sentiments, and a historical snapshot of GPs running similar strategies. As part of the research and discovery process, the team conducts a digital audit to provide insight into a manager’s current online presence, technology usage, website traffic, social media traction, keyword opportunities, content distribution, and asset optimization. Additionally, the audit provides an overview of key competitors, including the online presence, marketing strategies, and engagement tactics of 2-3 competitors (or admired brands).

Process 4: Investor Persona Creation:

Using the data compiled in our discovery process, investor marketing personas are created, allowing marketers to a) personalize investor engagements with the communication styles and channel preferences of targeted investors, b) develop personalized, stage-specific content, and c) identify new prospects and networks using look-alike data.

Process 5: Distribution, Marketing, Communications, and IR/PR Playbooks:

Persona-specific playbooks are created to establish marketing, communications, conversion, and service advocacy strategies for each persona in marketing, communication, distribution, and IR/PR campaigns. Playbooks include brand and marketing recommendations, communication strategies, channel preferences, prospect pain points, likely biases/hurdles, and individual styles and inclinations.

Process 6: Multi-Channel Content Creation, Curation, and Management:

We develop, curate, and manage multi-channel, stage-specific content. Intent-specific content allows managers to connect and influence prospects based on their unique needs and pain points throughout each stage of the investor journey (Awareness, Research, Consideration, Conversion, and Advocacy). A content management system provides quick access, compliance approval, and multi-channel content repurposing.

Process 7: SEO/SEM: Keyword Research, Optimization, and Search Marketing:

Keyword/key phrase research is conducted to identify keyword and key phrase search engine ranking opportunities. Once keywords and phrases are selected, existing digital assets and marketing content is optimized for competitive search rankings.

Process 8: Campaign Design and Automation:

Once the content is optimized, persona-specific campaigns are designed and automated based on the package selection of the client (fundraising, social media, IR/PR). Campaigns are created using stage-specific content (created in step 6) for each persona. Campaigns are built to include multi-channel, multi-personas, and client-specific strategies and tactics. Automation allows marketers to identify, connect, and influence prospects at scale providing 24/7 responsiveness. This “always-on” philosophy creates a personalized experience throughout the investor journey.

Process 9: Oversight: Campaign and Investor Journey Management:

We provide 24/7 oversight of campaigns. Our team and clients have access to our campaign tracking canvas, allowing clients to see what’s working, what isn’t, what needs improvement, what needs more testing, etc. We use artificial intelligence and campaign tracking technology to analyze and modify strategies and tactics in real time. This hands-on approach improves campaign efficacy while creating engagement transparency and consistent oversight.

Thanks for reading! Interested in using data-driven marketing in your next fundraise? Let's talk.