Chances are you probably have a website. I mean, it’s 2019, and literally everything we do is digital - from shopping for clothes to ordering groceries to reading the news. If you don’t have a website, definitely keep reading this article but I would also highly suggest checking out this one as well: Why Asset Managers Should Embrace Brand Marketing, because frankly, you’re behind the curve. 

Your website (hopefully) is discoverable by investors on search engines, like Google or Bing, articulates your unique value proposition, and showcases your team of all-stars. You might even be sharing some thought leadership articles or relevant news stories about your firm, all of which help set yourself apart in the crowded asset management industry.   

Some of you may be taking it a step further by leveraging an investor portal which enables you to grant prospects, advisors, investors, and anyone else your heart desires access to view more detailed information behind a login. What makes using a portal so amazing is that you get to show off your expertise to a targeted, interested audience without fear of repercussions from the always lurking SEC.  

But honestly, what’s the point of spending the time, energy, and resources on a killer website with on-brand, relevant content? It’s so you can learn how to engage your target investors better and actively focus your efforts on prospects when they are most interested in your fund. 

While many have taken the time to design and launch their asset management firm’s website, few have made meaningful steps to take action on the data their website captures. So, here’s a few ways you can begin to leverage website activity data to make more strategic fund marketing decisions:    

Determine what content resonates most with your investor audience, and produce more of it:  

Leveraging free tools like Google Analytics, which provide a bird's eye view analysis of your website visitor behavior, allows you to easily answer questions like:  

• Which pages garner the most views? 
• Which type of content is being read the most often? 
• What pages are underperforming? 

This data is key for determining the strengths and weaknesses of your website and its content, allowing you to effectively hone your efforts in on the content that is most interesting to your audience and discard those that are less fruitful. Other crucial analytics, like bounce rate, returning visitor numbers, and pageview averages, provide insights into an average visitor's behavior and what changes can be made to keep visitors on your website longer. 

Take control of your digital reputation: 

Another advantage of Google Analytics is it allows you to see how visitors are landing on your website in the first place. Is it through organic search, social media, or digital media outlets? Controlling your brand messaging isn’t just about conveying your firm’s value proposition on your website, it’s also about ensuring your asset manager’s brand is correctly represented on third party websites like social media and digital media outlets. These are your website visitors’ first touches with your brand, and if the content presented on third-party websites is inaccurate or perhaps even negative, you want to rectify that as quickly as possible. Claim your LinkedIn, Twitter, and maybe even your Facebook profiles and actively engage media outlets through a thoughtful PR strategy. The worst thing you can do is let someone else tell your firm’s story. 

Put a face to your website visitors:

While Google Analytics can be a great tool for monitoring activity, it doesn’t provide the specific data on who is actually visiting your website. Integrating your website with an investor portal will allow you to see who is interacting with your content and documents behind the login. If you market to multiple investor types like high net worth individuals, endowments, and foundations, it is necessary to digest this granular data to ensure you are serving up the kind of content that is most relevant to each investor type. Further, knowing which prospects are logging into your portal to view your marketing presentation or most recent performance numbers will help your fund marketing team focus on those prospects who are expressing the most interest in investing.  

Take action on your data with a CRM:  

A CRM platform helps your fund marketing team effectively track their opportunities and build relationships with prospects. Integrating your CRM with a portal allows you to unify investor data, providing fund marketers and investor relations professionals with more prospect insights and meaningful ways to engage them. 

Using a CRM + Investor Portal, you will be able to:  

• Understand and grade prospect interest by assigning value to positive interactions like website activity, email opens, document downloads, and more. Then fund marketers can strategically leverage this information to prioritize their most engaged prospects. 
  
  
• This same grading system can be applied to current investors and indicate whether or not they are a healthy account. Has their engagement been on a decline? If so, get your IR team focused on them.  
  
  
• Use your CRM to create personalized emails with trackable website URL links. Not only does this provide insight into who is actually reading your emails and clicking through for more information on your website, but it also allows you to understand which investor types prefer certain sets of content. Take this meaningful data and tailor your email marketing approach.  

When implemented thoughtfully and regularly reviewed every one of these tactics can be instrumental in improving your fund marketing and brand messaging strategy. You’ll be able to deliver more relevant content to each of your investors and prospects and engage them when they are most interested.