Hans: We approach the needs of the financial services space as a legacy problem that can be solved through technology. This differs from the digital version of traditional media advertising. Historically we’ve seen asset managers and financial services firms pour millions of dollars into archaic forms of digital advertising - such as banner ads - simply because that’s what was offered. The metrics used to measure ROI have been manufactured to measure something that isn’t measurable, or how like a correlation between a Super Bowl commercial and sales could simply be coincidental.
We approach marketing in financial services as something that requires ROI and something that exists to solve a problem. Today that problem is better engaging and understanding the needs and interests of clients. Yes, we execute on this through distribution and scale, but we focus on delivering value by measuring metrics that can prove engagement. Ultimately, if the content is valuable to our client’s end customer then the engagement metrics will improve - further informing our clients of what works and what doesn’t - further enhancing the engagement opportunities with the target customer.
Hortz: What trends do you see developing in digital and content marketing that may not be readily apparent?
Hans: We live in a digital world, and the first thing that meant was an increase in the velocity of information. Anything and everything was available instantly and along with that came an overwhelming amount of spam. However, with digital we have the ability to measure and learn. As we learn, we can iterate, and today you see companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google drastically increasing the relevance of content while also increasing the velocity of information. They do this through A.I. and machine learning. They collect more valuable proprietary data on real people’s real interests and their value as digital infrastructure exponentially increases. This is what Harvest is doing for investors and for financial services and this is the biggest trend, by far, in digital content and content marketing.
Hortz: What trends do you see that financial firms most care about with regards to marketing and client engagement and what is your response to those efforts?
Hans: Financial firms haven’t changed - they want to meaningfully engage with the right investor audience and understand what they care about. Historically this was done over the phone, in meetings and at conferences. The problem is that these efforts have never been terribly scalable or efficient for the investor. In an increasingly digital world they are even less so. Our response to those efforts is to focus on the problem, from both sides. Asset manager and investor engagement needs to be more scalable, efficient, cost effective, and frankly, it needs to be smarter.
Hortz: What are your plans to further develop your technology and platforms? Where is your R&D focused?
Hans: We improve our technology constantly. We deploy features and improvements daily, sometimes multiple times per day. Every technology decision we make is based on data and client demand. We focus on maximizing user experience and delivering a product that promotes the most efficient workflow possible.
Hortz: What are your recommendations for advisors on how to best develop a content strategy and differentiate themselves with their content?
Hans: It is important to remember that, at the end of the day, financial services is a purchasing decision, and regardless of how scientific we try to represent allocating assets, it is still a subjective human decision driven by emotion. That means brand matters. Managers are starting to realize that brands are carefully built through awareness (scale) and equity (differentiation). The correlation between brand and fund raising, and the differentiation between marketing, sales and client service are major trends that are long overdue.