Spring cleaning for your marketing strategy

by Katie Bird

Do a belated spring cleaning to refresh your marketing plan

As mutual fund marketers, when was the last time you took a close look at your clients’ demographics? It’s not surprising that most of your investors are probably men. As Karen Blumenthal explains in her recent article “Girls Just Want to Have Funds” in The Wall Street Journal, most women continually rate themselves as less confident than men in making investing decisions. Blumenthal goes on to explicate the potential negative implications of this trend, especially given that women typically earn less money yet outlive men. This means women need to build up their savings to look out for their future. However, women have their humility and caution to work in their favor as these traits lend themselves to careful investment choices.

While the article points out several differences between investing habits, there is one finding that is particularly useful for mutual fund companies to know: women are more likely to gather investing information from people, such as advisors, friends and family. This is a green light for those who are looking for fresh ideas to target potential clients.

As many married women feel investment decisions are mutual (three fourths of them, as Blumenthal’s article points out), it is important they are as equally informed about your products as men. To reach your entire target audience, you should begin to consider new avenues for marketing. For instance, you probably won’t find many financial advertisements in Vogue or Cosmo. Aside from ads, it is also a good opportunity for an educational article.

Even if you’re not trying to reach women specifically, it’s probably a good idea to re-evaluate your audience and how effective your current marketing strategies are. Update your use of technology—maybe consider putting an ad on Facebook or other social media sites. Try hosting your first webinar or attending a new trade conference. Do anything you can to generate word-of-mouth buzz about your products, which many consider to be the most valuable kind of marketing there is. There are a myriad of ways to gain different types of exposure, so do a little belated spring cleaning and refresh your marketing plan—get out the cobwebs and tactics that aren’t working and take a crack at new venues. A shiny new strategy may be just what your fund needs to draw in a broader audience.