Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Brand, and why it matters (A LOT) in asset management

About three quarters of institutional clients see brand as a critical attribute in deciding which fund manager or asset manager to sekect.

So the message is this: if you're a fund manager and you're not investing in brand, you better. Because it matters a lot to your potential clients.

And yet conventional wisdom is that brand isn't so important in institutional asset management. Time to re-think that one, suggest Cogent Research and Casey Quirk.

Cogent's research, presented today in New York, suggests two relevant brand ideas in asset management: brand equity (are you known and/or liked?)and differentiation (barriers or "table stakes" and drivers or "delighters").

So are you known by your potential clients? And if so do they like you as well? The research suggests that only 10 of the 38 institutional asset management brands assessed were both known and liked - in other words had achieved both high levels of awareness as well as favourable impressions.

Cogent shared some fascinating findings, including:

- fund manager attributes that are either table stakes or differentiators (email me for the list)
- the relative importance of each of the four key table stakes manager attributes
- why thought leadership material doesn't get read
- which five things can build your funds management brand in the new normal (if there is such a thing!)

BlueChip Communication is attending PAICR (twitter #PAICR2011) in New York today and tomorrow.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading. Constructive and relevant comments welcome!