Comments for Beyond the Collateral

Comment on We Want Your Input by Anonymous, the Lesser

Anonymous, the Lesser — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:34:05 +0000

Fascinating set up, yin v yang, sales v marketing, hatfield v mccoy…

It’s a conundrum - who leads the charge? Perhaps brand is better developed from the bottom up v the top down or vice versa. Perhaps marketing-led firms ar ebetter off than sales-driven. How do you ditch the performance argument when the hero/villain mentality pervades every corner of this industry.

There’s no one right answer, unless that answer starts with American and ends with Funds. Perhaps the fact that’s there no one right answer is the right answer.

Sincerely

Grasshopper.

Comment on Can Financial Marketers Really Learn From Nike? by don Rodriguez

don Rodriguez — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:06:02 +0000

What you are describing above is really channel marketing 101. Any marketer who distributes his product through one or more 3rd parties before it reaches its final customer/user needs to consider all of those so-called “steps” in the distribution channel as customers. That’s what makes it so challenging because you need to balance the needs of your channel against the needs of your ultimate consuming audience.

Comment on Use of Social Media Universally Low Among Marketers by Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:29:07 +0000

It’s funny; social media can really be a spark for industries in which consumer interaction has historically lacked. If I’m choosing a Roth IRA, for example, I’m going on blogs to read what people are saying.

Financial services, while super-important, has historically lacked that community feel. It’s about time social media stepped in.

Comment on We Want Your Input by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:28:55 +0000

Yeah great performance is what everyone wants, but the days of promoting the genius superstar fund managers are over — too much “them” vs. the firm’s disciplined process, which firms want to avoid now since the assets tended to follow the free-agent fund manager out the door to their next gig. So what’s the need for marketing? To best take advantage if you get killer performance in a favorable asset class (which will never last forever). Without smart marketing, no way your firm maximizes its results.

Comment on We Want Your Input by BBarsanti

BBarsanti — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:53:12 +0000

The days of promoting the genius superstar fund managers are over — too much “them” vs. the firm’s disciplined process, which firms want to avoid now since the assets tended to follow the free-agent fund manager out the door to their next gig. So what’s the need for marketing? When your firm has killer performance in a favorable asset class (which will never last forever) you want to be best poised to take advantage of that huge selling opportunity. Without smart marketing, no way your firm maximizes its results.

Comment on We Want Your Input by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:07:55 +0000

The problem in the industry is that fund managers are geniuses, and obviously clients will want to invest with a genius. What’s the need for marketing then? It’s enough to hire a few wholesalers to bring the disciples aboard.