To be successful at raising assets in today’s competitive environment, it is imperative that managers allocate resources to marketing. It is not easy to break through the clutter of investment choices and beliefs. Prioritizing and effectively allocating time, energy and money to all the important activities, including marketing, is key to any firm’s overall success. An asset management firm needs a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) as much as it needs a CFO and CCO. It is necessary to clearly identify and prioritize the target investor audiences, to create a compelling brand identity, to examine all aspects of the quality of the investment product to ensure investors’ needs are met, and to effectively articulate the message to the marketplace so that investors’ perceptions of the quality of the offering are accurate.
Some firms decide not to spend time and money on marketing activities in the first year (or two or three) until a strong performance track record has been built. However, these firms recognize the importance of developing a comprehensive, well-thought-through strategic marketing plan at the outset, one that embraces this time-plan, even though they opt not to finance a full-time CMO until later.
Alliance Sales and Marketing makes it possible and practical for asset managers to take on one of Canada’s leading chief marketing officers on a part-time basis for a fraction of the cost of a full-time CMO.