Imagine my surprise when I saw two appointments on my calendar recently for calls with Kimberly Beck, one week after the other. I did a double take and thought I must have accidentally double-booked, but when I clicked on the links, realized I know two women named Kimberly Beck, both in marketing positions at leading wealthtech firms–Kimberly Beck, Head of Wealth Marketing at Envestnet, and Kimberly Beck, Marketing Coordinator at Redtail Technology. What are the odds?
That led me to think it would be quite interesting to hear two different perspectives on wealthtech–and what it takes to succeed–from these women, who share names but are in different points in their careers within the industry.
Head of Wealth Marketing
Envestnet
Kimberly Beck of Envestnet actually started her career in publishing in Philadelphia and went to work for Envestnet co-founder and interim CEO Bill Crager for the first time at an asset management firm where he was responsible for marketing.
She later moved to BlackRock, where she spent nearly 12 years moving upward through marketing roles before she and Crager reconnected, just as he was opening a Philadelphia office for Envestnet. Four years later that office houses nearly 350 employees as the firm continues its growth, in part through a buying spree of other wealthtech firms including FolioDynamix, PIEtech, Tamarac and Yodlee.
Redtail Technology
On the other hand, Redtail’s Kimberly Beck is a relative newcomer to the industry, having joined Sacramento-based advisor CRM firm Redtail Technology in June 2018 after marketing stints with consumer-positioned firms in Orange County and Reno.
Redtail has also encountered substantial growth over the past few years, albeit within its own specific industry niche.
Now let’s hear from the two Kimberlys as they tell us their vision for the future of wealthtech and what it takes to succeed in marketing in 2020.
What does your typical week look like in your current marketing role?
KB/Envestnet:
It is usually non-stop! I try to balance each week and focus on three key areas:
- Working with my team to set and execute on our marketing strategy;
- Building and enhancing our marketing infrastructure–through talent development, financial discipline, agency adoption, marketing technology integration, data and analytics enhancements and KPI evaluation; and
- Keeping a consistent pulse on industry trends and the needs of our clients by working collaboratively across our broader organization–with the leadership team, Sales, Product, etc., as well as with our external partners and clients.
We are an acquisitive firm, so I also spend a lot of time working on each communication strategy. I try to read as much as I can each week, and also try to dedicate time each week to advancing Envestnet’s internal and external women’s initiatives.
KB/Redtail:
When you work in marketing, every week of the year can be completely different. On a weekly basis, I manage our social media accounts, help distribute our email marketing campaigns, work closely with our (RedTail Univesity) and training teams to promote weekly webinars and Redtail University, and coordinate with our integrations department for marketing new partners and integrations.
What changes have you seen in wealthtech marketing in the past year?
KB/Envestnet:
I think Envestnet has been leading one of the biggest changes in wealthtech as we have pulled together all of the pieces that can help our clients offer truly unified advice–access to leading financial planning capabilities through MoneyGuide, investing solutions through PMC, access to protection vehicles through the Envestnet Insurance Exchange, and access to lending through the Envestnet Credit Exchange. Aggregated data through Yodlee underpins this all.
Now that we have all the pieces, we’re working to seamlessly connect everything through the technology. By bringing this all together, advisors will be able to help clients track their daily financial lives, and optimize that vs. their long-term goals–ultimately helping them achieve financial wellness.
KB/Redtail:
Gifs! Just kidding (kind of). But, as technologies have evolved to allow our marketing efforts to function similarly no matter where the audience views them, i.e., desktop or mobile device, it’s become increasingly important to graduate from screenshots and still images to the use of screen sharing, webinars, and gifs, etc., in the work we produce. That can be more challenging at times–it’s also generally more fun content both to produce and, we hope, to consume.