Content is a foundational component of marketing efforts, and firms are recognizing this. Surveyed firms are producing hundreds, if not thousands, of marketing materials annually. However, marketing resources are mostly consumed by creating business as usual content such as pitch books and fact sheets. This is leaving little time to create narrative content that differentiates the firm in the eyes of clients and prospects.
 
The survey looked at firms’ marketing capabilities in the following four areas:

Marketing Strategy

• Channel managers and digital team members are responsible for much of marketing’s activities in participating firms
• Marketing and sales are seeking to improve client communication by investing in sales enablement and marketing automation tools. Firms can further align distribution efforts by improving segmentation and the customer experience.
• Currently, marketing is most focused on content marketing, sales alignment, analytics, and lead generation
• Marketing forecasts it will significantly shift focus toward segmentation, new channels, and data management over the next two years
• Every surveyed firm reports customer experience management as a current priority

Marketing Content

• Many marketing organizations do not use common content development aids including personas, customer journeys, creative briefs, or workflow software
• Most marketers rely on static lists to segment audiences for campaigns
• 58% percent of surveyed firms are using a sales enablement tool

Marketing Channels

• Firms using native mobile apps, separate from a mobile website, are a rarity
• 58% percent of firms are using email nurture campaigns, and many are planning to increase use
• The type of client served (institutional, advisor, individual investor) does not change the social media platforms used by firms
• All firms are using social media, yet smaller firms are less likely to activate spokespeople, sales, and employees

Marketing Operations

• Despite the impact of data on marketing functions, only 36% of surveyed firms have representation in enterprise data governance programs
• Data is a big concern for marketing. Most firms report improvement is needed across the board in data quality, data completeness, and accuracy
• Only 4% of surveyed firms are using a purpose-built tool to integrate client data into a single view for analysis
• Most marketing organizations are not reporting ROI in terms of contribution to sales; they are likely to report marketing channel metrics
• 52% of firms are scoring leads; 34% of surveyed firms are grading leads. Yet 82% of firms are providing marketing leads to sales. It stands to reason that firms are providing leads to sales based on singular activities (e.g., event attendance, email clicks, website page visits, etc.) or purchased data packs.

Cutter Associates
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