Are you marketing to the idea of an institution or the people within?
One of the biggest marketing mistakes hedge funds, private equity funds and venture funds make is directing their messaging towards the idea of institution and not the people within the institution. Building messaging that lacks emotion and designing decks that have no imagery are two great examples. This all originates from the desire to be…
Promoting your ESG strategy
The road to ESG integration is long. Do your clients know how far you’ve come? Greenwashing is easy. Getting away with it is not. With the introduction of SFDR and other oversights, investment managers need to be transparent about their ESG strategy, their responsible investing goals and where they fall short. And the efforts of…
Private equity fund manager websites are burying the information investors need
GPs often employ a disastrous strategy when it comes to planning a new website: first, they visit other private equity fund manager websites, for “inspiration” (to copy them); and, secondly, they proceed to gather all the content that feels approximately relevant and dump it on a few pages (and particularly on the homepage). The result?…
Mother Christmas vs Santa
As is the tradition for this time of year, our resident poet, Daniel Daines, has written and performed a festive poem about Mother Christmas. Have you heard of any business that uses these key messages? We assume not. In this year’s Christmas poem, Mother Christmas builds a business that is truly best in the market….
Embrace change. Challenge yesterday. Find your swagger.
Marketing is a competition for time and attention. Regardless of how badly you want to believe you are marketing to unfeeling institutions, in reality, you are marketing to the people that work within these organizations. Like you, they are busy with the stresses of life. To be heard and seen, you need to take some…
Seven emails that increase your chances of re-up, co-investment or direct investment
In asking for a re-up, co-investment or direct investment, most people present the attributes of the given situation, frame the return profile and inquire about one’s interest level. This is a really bad idea. There are four reasons why: Every good salesperson knows to never ask for the order until you have minimized the risks…
A decade of alt fund videos: what we’ve learned and what’s next
It’s been nearly ten years since we produced our first client video. We weren’t the first service provider to offer videos in the alternative assets industry – but probably the first to incorporate it into a holistic marketing program. More importantly, we were the first to use video to tell a story. The first video…
Your marketing deck is not a due diligence document
This story isn’t actually about due diligence, or your marketing deck. It’s about you. It’s about you exploring uncharted territory in the hunt for the fabled lost city of El Dorado. I am going to tell you some things you should pack, plus some things you should definitely leave at home. But first, a little…
Build consensus around brand messaging: increase AUM
I have been keenly observing the marketing prowess of asset managers for some time now. Generally, I am watching what happens and thinking about ways managers can alter their approach to improve the results. One thing always stands out, the more aligned a team’s brand messaging, the more effective their marketing. In writing this, my…
Rethink your due diligence questionnaire: five top tips to make it awesome
Did your due diligence questionnaire fall out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down? 🌲 Could it scare vultures off a meat truck? 😱 Does it read like an actuary, a lawyer and a compliance consultant teamed up to put investors to sleep? 😪😪😪 Your due diligence questionnaire needs to…