A leading financial services company sought to refine its communication strategy to enhance its position among financial advisors as an expert on key types of funds in the marketplace.
The company did not enjoy a reputation as a provider of these specific funds which were quickly evolving into key components of a diversified and stable portfolio. To overcome advisors’ concerns about its expertise, the company needed to identify, assess, and refine a range of positioning statements to develop compelling messaging.
We developed a blend of immersive approaches and an innovative quantitative technique to delve into the expectations and motivations of advisors. The first phase was exploratory focus groups that explored funds of interest to the advisors, followed by real-time concept optimization to revise positioning statements. The second phase was an online flash poll of 150 advisors in 24 hours to validate the relevance and persuasion of the refined positioning statements.
A clear communication path emerged to grow its business with financial advisors, one that focused on messaging around performance, experience, and fund management. A critical insight was that advisors needed proof points as evidence of performance and experience.