International Investment Management Firm

Problem

The company had many large clients, such as Google, Inc., the University of Michigan, and several long standing family-owned businesses. However, they hadn't been successful in reaching the important small business market.

Over its 25 years in business, the company specialized in the niche of managing the fixed-income investments of larger clients. Their excellent reputation got them invited to bid on opportunities on a fairly regular basis, often beating much larger competitors to win the business. However, new clients were added infrequently and the company wanted to develop a steadier stream of new customers.

To accomplish this, a small selection of no-load mutual funds was launched to attract individual and smaller business investors. After a very short period of early success due to a well-timed newspaper article, the company struggled to win any significant new investors to its mutual funds. Their competition included extremely large, well financed, well-known brand names.

If they wanted to compete straight up against their competitors, the company would need to make an enormous investment in marketing and support services - well more than they had in their budget. To make matters more complicated, the mutual fund business really didn't fit with the company's core business and service approach. Rather than maintaining a personal 1 to 1 relationship with a customer, the mutual fund service was more impersonal. Customer loyalty was next to impossible to develop.

The time had come to make a decision: Either close the mutual fund business or find some other way to compete successfully.

Solution

Steve Banis was brought in to take over the project. After performing in-depth competitive research, it was determined that the company had an opportunity to create new sales by 'repackaging' their mutual funds. A unique service offering was created that followed the personal service approach it offered its largest clients, while economically managing client investments using a mix of its mutual funds. Further, this approach was consistent with the company's reputation, and it created a product that differentiated in the marketplace.

Once the product was created, a sales staff was recruited and trained. Then, a complete target list was reached and loaded into the company's CRM system. Finally, a marketing package consisting of web-based tools, printed material, direct marketing, and targeted broadcast advertising was put in place and the new business was launched. The entire process from concept to launch was completed in 120 days.

Results

Steve led the initial five-month roll out within the company's home state. The reaction from the target market was almost immediate. During this time, the company booked over $2 million in sales and built a pipeline of over $200 million in potential business.

To find out what Burst Marketing can do for your marketing or advertising campaign, Contact Us.