Summary
Marketing strategists BPM Works and sales effectiveness consultancy Strategy to Revenue Ltd developed and executed an integrated marketing and sales campaign ‘Flexible Solutions for Hedge Funds,’ currently on track to deliver an initial 800 per cent return on investment for Thomson Reuters.
Firstly, BPM ran a series of Internal Proposition Mapping Workshops with Thomson Reuters’ stakeholders to develop a market segmentation based on hedge fund investment strategy. Further value propositions were developed based on the top of mind issues for the key decision makers by segment.
From this work, a go-to-market messaging strategy was developed along with supporting marketing collateral and sales toolkit materials. These messages were then delivered to global sales specialists by Thomson Reuters sales managers, using Strategy to Revenue’s unique interactive multimedia learning
tool POWERsession to equip, motivate and mobilise their sales specialists globally.
The marketing campaign has been praised at all levels of the organisation for its scalable and highly focused approach, enabling Thomson Reuters to successfully engage with a wide range of stakeholders and achieve incremental sales.
About the client company
With 2010 revenues of US $13.1 Billion and 55,000 employees in more than 100 countries, Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Powered by the world’s most trusted news organisation, Thomson Reuters combines industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare, science and media markets.
Strategy – Pole Position in the Hedge Fund Industry
The merger of Thomson and Reuters brought together a wide range of products and services that deliver value to the hedge fund industry – the fastest growing sector in capital markets. To take advantage of this opportunity, Thomson Reuters needed to articulate the value now offered to hedge funds through the combination of offerings and communicate the key points of differentiation.
However, hedge fund managers are some of the most knowledgeable and demanding buyers in the industry. So there was also an imperative to engage sales people and equip them with in depth selling and market knowledge.
Objectives of the Campaign
The ‘Flexible solutions for hedge funds’ campaign’s objective was to develop a set of customer-centric solution propositions based on an in depth understanding of the key investment strategies employed by hedge fund managers, and the opportunities and issues they see in the market. The campaign was aimed at the approximately 3,800 hedge fund management companies that exist globally, and a global sales force of more than 100 specialists.
Campaign deliverables:
• consolidate input and expertise from customers and stakeholders around the globe, from multiple business divisions to create a set of joined up solution propositions to take to market
• segment the market to enable highly targeted messages aligned to the specific challenges different hedge funds envisage
• create marketing and sales support materials that articulate complex solution propositions in a clear and easy to understand way
• engage with a new dedicated hedge fund sales team, as well as existing sales teams across the world, to sell the new range of solutions available to them
Campaign Development
The campaign was developed and designed in three phases with different media channels and techniques used to achieve the goals:
1. Proposition mapping and messaging strategy
The initiative started with a series of workshops to develop an innovative market segmentation based on investment strategy and style. Next, the specific needs of key buyer roles in each of the identified hedge fund segments were researched, through one-to-one in depth interviews and then tested on customers and key stakeholders at leading hedge funds in New York and London. Finally, value propositions and go-to-market messaging were developed using BPM’s proposition mapping methodology including messaging strategy development, analysis of the proposition map based on materials provided by the client to develop the core messaging framework defining market drivers and key differentiators for the value proposition.
2. Sales collateral and tools
Marketing brochures, detailed sales guides and web content, including a self-paced learning portal for new hedge funds solutions propositions, were created to target the different market segments.
3. Global sales execution
Strategy to Revenue’s POWERsession innovative multimedia driven workshops were used to equip, motivate and mobilise sales teams around the new Thomson Reuters propositions for hedge funds.
The critical element here is that POWERsessions are delivered and led by local sales managers who receive a complete multimedia package, including an interactive onscreen presentation, supporting presenter-led video, video interviews with key stakeholders, team activities and a simple yet comprehensive leader guide to run through the session.
Timescales
The ‘Flexible solutions for hedge funds’ campaign was initiated in late 2009 and rolled out globally over a period of nine months. The POWERsession sales engagement was launched and delivered over eight weeks, providing a less expensive roll out platform compared to traditional marketing methods.
Stage 1 Proposition and message development Nov 2009 — Feb 2010
Stage 2 Marketing and sales support materials Mar 2010 — Jun 2010
Stage 3 Sales engagement (POWERsessions and Hedge Fund Portal) May 2010 — Sep 2010
Stage 4 Reporting and evaluation Oct 2010— Mar 2011
Results
In the first quarter of 2011, following the setting up of the new hedge funds team and the roll-out of the campaign, more than 10 major sales opportunities were generated with annual revenue potential of over US $2 million, delivering an initial 800 per cent return on investment.
Client Testimonials
“This approach enabled us finally to crack the problem of engaging with a huge range of people across the company to develop a consistent and powerful set of messages for hedge funds – and then get real engagement with the sales teams.”
Michael Shires, global head of propositions, hedge fund solutions, Thomson Reuters
