Investment Marketing Newsletter – 4Q09
The Investment Marketing Business
As we close out 2009, we can certainly point to marked improvement over the state of the markets this time 2008. After a 4Q08 and 1Q09 that saw stock prices drop precipitously, pushing trailing 10-year results to negative for most major indices, markets rebounded nicely during the remainder of 2009. Just as the pendulum may have swung too far on the upside prior to the collapse, it certainly swung back too far in March as well, allowing for what will seem to be a strong calendar year of performance for core equities and many risky asset classes, such as emerging markets and junk bonds. This was amidst decidedly negative, albeit with lessening negative momentum, in most fundamental economic indicators. What this means for 2010 is certainly up for debate, as pundits seem to be split down the middle. As always, consistent and cohesive client communications strategies will help your firm navigate any market environment.
Watch List
This quarter, the team at MBC was contacted to concept and create a retirement presentation for an area wealth management firm. Having previously completed a comprehensive rebrand for the company, MBC focused on building consistent branded design and messaging throughout the presentation while emphasizing the company’s competitive advantages, investment philosophy, and asset allocation strategy. A valuable addition to the firm’s arsenal of materials, the presentation was a success, helping to generate leads and communicate their brand identity and differentiation from its competition.
Marketing Consultant’s Corner
As your company moves into the New Year, it is important to review your strategic marketing plan to see how your branding needs have changed in the past four quarters. When updating your brand and initiatives, it is important to assess the overall growth strategy of your firm, pinpoint long and short-term goals, and analyze past successes and failures to ensure that each initiative is tailored to your specific needs. Your re-branding book should include:
- A strategic plan with creative and functional needs and goals for the brand
- Analysis of external factors, such as any changes in your target audience’s needs or buying patterns
- Full competitive market overview to ensure that you identify your competitive advantages and differentiate the brand from other offerings
Using strong web, media, print, and press strategies, your company can effectively communicate and build lasting relationships with its target audiences. With the right combination of strategic thinking, creative insight, and innovation, you can achieve business growth and success in any economic or investment environment.
The Ticker
As your business grows, it is important that your website grows with it. A content management system (CMS) allows you to better manage and customize your site and make important updates about your firm as they occur, giving you more control of your site and your brand. While keeping a website up to date can be difficult, time-consuming, and potentially costly, a CMS is a simple, user-friendly solution to keep content fresh, restructure your site, and manage a large media collection, from anywhere, without any code or HTML issues. With a CMS to execute technical details, build the menus and navigation, and keep page layouts and design consistent, you can focus on reaching your target audience, as well as your company’s goals.