Fund Marketing CRMs vs Generic CRMs – And Related Tech Issues For Fund Managers
The world of fund marketing has gone almost entirely digital, which means that technology is ever more important.
And this means that firms that have failed to properly utilise their tech are suffering as a result. One of the biggest problems is when different parts of an organisation own different aspects of the tech stack, in the sense that what is most relevant to that department is left to them to govern.
But one thing I noticed during the Covid pandemic is that the firms that did well made it easy for all staff across all departments to gain access to and use relevant systems, wherever they were based. The major benefit of this was that it enabled a remote, digital way of working that was effective and efficient.
Of course, all firms did this to a certain extent – there was no choice. But those that did it well are going to reap the rewards in the future as they will have a flexible and cohesive workforce that can work from anywhere and use multiple systems.
Developing this capability is vital, as it seems highly unlikely that we’ll go back to the days of a whole firm descending on the office each day, as it’s such a costly exercise. Of course, many firms are swayed by the theory that people are more productive in an office environment, but this is not borne out by the evidence. A recent study involving 16,000 staff found that those allowed to work flexibly from home increased their productivity by 13%. The flexible workers also reported higher work satisfaction and took less sick leave than their office-bound counterparts.
On top of that, working from home has become ingrained – so capable, flexible IT systems that facilitate remote collaboration are more important than ever and will help firms grow. This takes investment and time, so that all staff across all departments understand the tech, even the parts they don’t use that much. This prevents confusion and problems and helps your operation to run seamlessly.
Develop a bespoke CRM
Of course, in fund marketing terms the most important piece of tech you have is your CRM.
It is this that can provide you with investor-centricity, so you know what your potential and prospective investors like and don’t like and what you need to do to both attract and retain assets.
But is it really good enough to just rely on big names like Salesforce, Pardot etc, simply because that’s what everyone else does? Or because that’s what they used in your last firm? Or is the because they sold you the full system but sent you Lego bits instead!!!!!
That can work, of course, but the highly successful fund marketers out there are using bespoke CRMs. They have invested time and money in creating and building a cohesive platform that works specifically for their own firm and is geared towards what their prospects and clients want and need.
That’s not easy – in fact, it’s incredibly difficult as you need the time and skill to develop a bespoke system that connects lots of different platforms. Get it wrong and, let’s be honest, it could cost you your job.
But the most successful fund marketers have shown that, when you get it right, the rewards can be huge.
