Three Mutual Fund Marketing Tactics to Execute in 2021

Crowded spaces require diligent strategies to stand out. As mutual fund marketing becomes more sophisticated, digital and competitive, asset management firms cannot rely on their products alone. Mutual fund marketing teams need to develop a truly impactful online presence to grab the attention of potential new clients and grow assets under management. Creating such positioning is key in translating marketing to successful lead generation, and consequently, client acquisition and growth.

In order to get real results from your mutual fund marketing strategies and tactics, we have found that fostering confidence and trust are primary emotional drivers. When investment choice is at stake, potential advisors, intermediaries and investors often seek a combination of authenticity, consistency and credibility. If trust is won, you will have a client willing to weather market turbulence due to a strong belief in your investment process and products, as well as your portfolio management team and strategy.

But how does a mutual fund company or marketing department foster such a strong emotional characteristic through integrated marketing campaigns? We have found that this can be accomplished through:

1. Performing a comprehensive brand audit (to establish authenticity)

2. Creating steadfast strategic messaging (to ensure consistency)

3. Investing in digital public relations (PR) and content marketing (to create credibility)

In this article, we will go into greater detail about how these three steps will allow you to create a better mutual fund brand presence by establishing trust, and therefore increase the effectiveness of your mutual fund marketing strategy, allowing you to truly stand out.

Establish Authenticity

Like the due diligence process when vetting investment opportunities, investors, advisors and institutions will similarly examine a wide range of risks and rewards when reviewing your marketing. In order to stand up to scrutiny and close examination, you must prepare by conducting your own in-depth review of your strategic branding and messaging. A detailed and thoughtful analysis of the target market, competitive landscape and messaging hierarchy used by your portfolio managers, wholesalers and internal sales teams is the first step. In addition, there is great power in conducting an audit of existing marketing materials for each mutual fund offering. This can help product providers uncover a range of opportunities to build more effective materials and sales tools through an authentic tone, image and brand.

Based on your findings, update your messaging strategy, enhance design and refresh your marketing efforts to position your brand and particular investment approach effectively. This process is a powerful tool in helping mutual fund companies arm their sales teams with more effective presentations, establish authenticity and ultimately grow their AUM.

Conduct your own due diligence to curate a brand that stands with authenticity at its core, drawing in trust from the very start.

Ensure Consistency

Messaging needs to accomplish two things: 1) immediately grab the attention of the audience and 2) prove that your firm is committed to these words for the long-term.

You must ensure the most compelling aspects of your investment product positioning are depicted and understood through a unique lens, while showing that these statements hold true across market cycles. To accomplish this, take a proactive stance and figure out the information your current and potential clients would like to see and how to prove they are set in stone and value-added.

This can be done through finding unique keywords and phrases that will not only attract eyes, but also support the overall brand story as well. Back up these digital statements with supplementary material in the form of thought leadership content. This provides your audience with concrete evidence that you are doing what you say and that you know how to do it effectively—bringing to life the inherent differentiation in how you manage money regardless of the asset class.

When publishing thought pieces, develop clear and concise headlines that explain the information to follow, but balance these with personality, a consistent posting schedule and helpful content. The topics that you create content around can mean the difference between developing that lasting relationship with a reader or having them move on. Placing your firm on the forefront of your investment industry niche through research and timely market commentary can naturally communicate your unique selling points in a consistent manner.

Start with a clear and concise headline that explains the information to follow, but balance that with personality in tone and unique, thought-provoking content.

Create Credibility

While thought leadership, client communication and brand messaging showcase your voice and vision, the world of public relations and content marketing provides the visibility, transparency and recognition needed to make sure they stand out amongst competitors and ultimately find your targets.

The goal of a public relations and content campaign is to steer brand influence by using key offerings, personality and value-added content to elevate the brand into a credible and sought-after firm. Influential media outlets and investment industry trade publications will engage the most relevant readers who will, in turn, possess a much higher likelihood of circling back to your website.

These PR placements and syndications also help in advancing name recognition within your industry, where reputation is key. The entire public relations game should be reliant on the lasting relationships built between firms, PR agencies and reporters and the most relevant readers, while channeling transparency at their core. These relationships are crucial in providing educational content to investors and advisors, generating leads and increasing the overall exposure to your firm and its mutual funds.

In an industry where credibility and reputation are of utmost importance, an effective public relations campaign will act as a catalyst for success.

By cultivating authenticity, consistency and credibility through these three mutual fund marketing tactics, can be well on the way to building confidence and trust with your audience, helping position your firm and its funds for long-term success

To learn more about implementing these mutual fund marketing tactics for your firm to differentiate your products and drive more asset growth, contact MBC Strategic today and let’s talk about your goals.