5 Biggest Topics from Marketers at MFEA
In late October, I attended the Mutual Fund Education Alliance (MFEA) Annual Marketing Council event (Nothing better than Chicago during the Cubs run towards greatness). Over a month later, five topics have remained in my mind. If you have thoughts or questions on them, please let us know. We’d love to discuss them.
Topic 1 – DOL regulatory changes – This topic seemed most prominent as all marketers I spoke with mentioned thinking about how marketing will change as many advisors change their business models. Many discussed an inclination to begin 2017 with a renewed investment in Marketing towards platform creators and home offices in lieu of efforts in the field. Others were contemplating value-add programs as advisors become responsible for the “best interests” of clients. Nobody is taking an ostrich approach.
Topic 2 – Behavioral finance continues to mystify – Through the best-selling efforts of Dan Ariely, Richard Thaler, and the Freakonomics team, behavioral economics has become increasingly mainstream. Many were familiar with the concepts discussed during an engaging presentation by Stephen Wendel. Yet, maybe 2 – 3 attendees had any plans to use the concepts in their Marketing plans. Everyone else found the topics and accompanying anecdotes simply amusing.
Topic 3 – Measurement – This is a tough one for me to observe. We’ve discussed Marketing measurement for over a decade with no de rigeur KPIs rising to the surface. One firm may resign itself to measuring client digital activity, while another uses sophisticated longitudinal brand surveys. This one seems to be a function of budget and senior management’s mandate.
Topic 4 – Customer journey mapping – A technique long used by marketers to connect information across siloes by gaining a comprehensive view of the complete journey across communication channels has come to asset management. Presentations by Lazard Asset Management and OppenheimerFunds were received with a lot of nodding heads, note-taking and practical questions. Afterwards, I received multiple questions on the nuances of creating a journey map, leading me to believe many organizations are beyond the “should we?” and are now at the “how?” step.
Topic 5 – Technology – Seemingly everyone has invested in automation software from companies such as Marketo and Eloqua. Attendees noted paying prices and experiencing highly different implementation timeframes from one another, for the same software.
Overall, MFEA events are very worthwhile. If you have not attended, consider the events forthcoming in 2017.