Elevate Your Fintech Profile: Key Strategies for Alternative Asset Content Marketing
Introduction
Recent data from Ehrenberg-Bass Institute's research shows that the vast majority (up to 95%) of B2B businesses are not in the market for new goods and services at any given time.
Professor John Dawes, who authored the study for the LinkedIn B2B Institute, explains that companies typically change their service providers (like for banking, legal advice, software, or telecoms) roughly every five years. This cycle implies that only 20% of businesses are potential market targets in any given year, with just 5% actively looking in any given quarter.
What this means for B2B alternative asset investment platforms is that long-term brand building seems to be the key to growing business overall, rather than tightly niched content aimed at a tiny market segment that you think you can own.
The overall implication is that companies shouldn’t reduce marketing budgets during tough times because doing so creates an opportunity for competitors to gain market share. The study concluded that, instead, consistent investment in brand building, even when the majority of the market is not actively purchasing, is essential for long-term success.
This article will cover the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute's research in detail, bringing you the key findings and actions you can take today to improve your alternative asset content marketing strategy, maximising your chances of growth and success in the long term.
Long-term Brand Building Over Short-term Sales
I was surprised by this honestly because it contradicts a lot of popular marketing advice out there around focusing on ‘bottom of the funnel’ content for short term sales.
The research suggests that both advertising and content marketing is more effective for building and refreshing memory links to a brand rather than directly driving sales. This is crucial because when businesses are eventually ready to make a purchasing decision, they are more likely to choose a brand that they remember well from consistent advertising over time.
It’s simply not true that you should expect to see measurable results from your ad or content campaign within the first month.
This principle was expressed really well by Ty Heath, who said that:
“The problem with this marketing myth is that it leads marketers to believe the job of advertising is to move people ‘in-market.’ But ads don’t move buyers ‘in-market.’ Only buyers will move themselves ‘in-market” – when they need a new good or service.”
Ty is specifically referencing advertising here, which is different to content marketing, but I think it’s still relevant to look at what the data shows about how long client acquisition journeys actually are, and what the proven factors are that inform those buying decisions.
What this research emphasises is that high-quality content that genuinely serves readers is the key to capturing those same readers when they do eventually enter the market. If they don’t know your brand when they enter the market, then it’s already too late.
The 95-5 Approach to Relationship Building
The data shows that taking a 95-5 approach to your content marketing is likely to bring you the strongest results - over time.
This rule advises you to create content and direct ads mostly to people who are not going to buy from you today.
Looking at content marketing spend like this very likely mirrors how your CFO is thinking about sales because it shows a clear line of current and future cash flow.
I am continually amazed at how common it seems to be for CMOs and CFOs to be in disagreement about spend when data like this exists. I have worked with several CMOs who have found it hard to make the case that they should be heavily investing in content aimed at people who are extremely unlikely to invest in alts in the short-term.
But looking at current buyers vs future buyers, it’s obvious why it makes a huge amount of business sense to create content specifically for those pople who won't buy from you today: because future buyers represent the future cash flows that create the stock price for every publicly traded company and that create the profit for every private company too.
All of this basically underpins the next key point.
Importance of Brand Familiarity
Dawes emphasises that brand familiarity is essential for growth. Just like we covered above, fintechs need to advertise to those not currently in the market so that when they do enter the market, your brand is top of mind.
In alternative asset investment, transactions aren’t usually impulsive purchases but are calculated decisions often involving substantial sums of money. A lot of my clients run platforms with minimum investment numbers in the tens and hundreds of thousands. I think it’s pretty easy for all of us to relate to the idea that if we were going to give someone £100,000 of our money, we would need an extremely high level of trust in that person.
Granted, £10k is worth a lot more to me than it is to the HNW individuals, institutional investors, family offices etc who are likely to be your clients, but the principle remains very much the same.
Familiarity Breeds Trust, and Trust Translates to Transactions
When your ideal clients do enter the market, they lean heavily towards brands that are foremost in their memory. This is where the magic of brand familiarity comes into play for alternative asset platforms. By consistently creating content for and serving an audience beyond immediate buyers, you're investing in relationships that can bear considerable fruit over time.
I have heard this principle expressed in many ways. Some like to think of it as a stopwatch timer: Each interaction someone has with your brand adds a few more seconds onto the clock. Only once the timer you are building with them passes *an amount of time*, say, 15 minutes or 15 hours, will they trust you enough to buy from you.
I like to think of it this way: Every piece of content you put out there is a seed. For those not currently looking to shift their investments or explore new asset classes, these seeds will lie dormant. But with the right nurturing—through regular, valuable, and engaging content—these seeds grow into strong, green, memory links covered in lovely flowers.
When the time is right, and these potential clients are ready to explore new alternative assets or new platforms, your brand will be the first that springs to mind. It's the proverbial foot in the door.
Seeing is Liking
The “why” behind this process is deeply rooted in human psychology. Decision-makers in companies, much like individual consumers, are influenced by the mere-exposure effect. Simply put, the more they see your brand, the more they like it, and the more likely they are to choose it over an unfamiliar competitor.
It's not just about recognizing a logo or tagline; it's about associating your brand with thought leadership, market intelligence, honesty, and the foresight that's so important in the alternative investment sector.
Brand familiarity for alternative asset fintech platforms means creating a narrative that weaves your brand into the industry conversation, into the trends that are shaping the future of finance, and into the daily digest of industry news and analysis. It's about becoming synonymous with alternative assets themselves so that when a company decides to diversify their portfolio or adopt new asset management technology, yours is the name that resonates with authority and credibility.
So, when we talk about stopwatch timers or planting seeds for brand familiarity, we're talking about a deliberate and sustained effort to remain visible, valuable, and vocal in the spaces your potential clients inhabit— way before they realise they need you.
Challenging Short-term ROI Metrics
Short-term ROI metrics can be alluring; they give a quick dopamine hit and can make us feel successful. ‘Feel’ is the operative word here though because the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute's research suggests a pivot towards the long game is a much better predictor of long term profitability.
The report encourages marketers to move away from short-term ROI metrics that focus on immediate sales boosts and instead demonstrate how long-term brand investment yields dividends.
The Pitfalls of Short-Term ROI Metrics in Fintech Content Marketing
Beyond the Quick Win: Short-term ROI metrics on your ad or marketing spend are like judging the health of a tree by one fruit without considering its branches, leaves, and roots. Immediate sales spikes from a campaign can be misleading—they might reflect a transient success but not the health and depth of a brand’s market position. For alternative asset platforms, where customer journeys are longer and decisions are more considered, this is particularly relevant.
Building a Brand Fortress: Alternative asset decisions are not made on a whim—they are deliberate and researched. A brand that is recognized and trusted doesn’t just pop up overnight; it's built through sustained effort. By challenging the short-term ROI metrics, marketers can justify strategies that contribute to this longer-term trust and recognition. It’s about creating a fortress of brand credibility that competitors can't easily breach.
Long-Term Dividends: When it comes to investments, both financial and branding, dividends often come over time. A strong content marketing strategy aimed at consistent brand exposure rather than immediate conversion nurtures a growing interest that eventually leads to loyalty and advocacy. It's about sowing seeds now that will grow into a strong, loyal customer base in the future. It also makes your future sales process a lot easier because once a lead actually enters your sales funnel, there is a much stronger chance that they are already warm and interested.
Brand Recognition and Attribution: Demonstrating the ability of your brand to stay top-of-mind, even when prospects aren’t actively looking to buy, has immense value. It's important to show how your brand remains a reference point in the industry, making it the go-to when the buying cycle restarts. This can be evidenced by increased brand recognition, higher brand recall in surveys, or more direct attributions of industry-leading content to your brand.
Resilience to Market Fluctuations: A brand built over time with a focus beyond immediate sales is more resilient to market ups and downs. During economic downturns, those brands that have invested in long-term brand equity can weather the storm better than those that have not.
Education and Thought Leadership: Particularly for alternative asset platforms, educating the market is a long-term investment. Quality content that educates and informs prospects contributes to building a brand’s status as a credible thought leader and trusted educator. This strategic positioning pays off when customers are ready to make decisions about their assets.
By challenging the prevailing winds of short-term ROI, fintech CMOs can use deliberate strategies that embed their brand deeply within the industry dialogue and maintain relevance over the long haul.
Communicating Value to Leadership: Bridging the Gap Between Marketing and Executive Priorities
The Ehrenberg-Bass study suggests that CMOs need to be able to communicate the value of long-term brand investment in a language that CFOs and CEOs can understand, framing it as a strategic and entrepreneurial initiative rather than a discretionary spend.
Chief Marketing Officers within the fintech industry face the ongoing challenge of articulating the benefits of long-term marketing initiatives to their organisations’ top executives.
The crux of this challenge lies in translating marketing outcomes—which are often viewed as intangible—into concrete terms that resonate with the financial and strategic language of CFOs and CEOs. These leaders are typically focused on quantifiable results and may be sceptical of investments that do not promise immediate returns.
The key is for CMOs to reframe marketing efforts from a cost centre to a driver of long-term value. They need to present marketing as a capital investment, like investing in R&D or infrastructure, which accrues value over time.
Here's a few ways this can be approached:
Aligning with Business Objectives: CMOs must connect the dots between long-term marketing efforts and the overall strategic goals of the company. This means framing marketing not just as a way to generate leads, but as a fundamental pillar that supports company growth, market expansion, and customer retention.
Educating on Brand Equity: Educate leadership on the concept of brand equity and its impact on customer loyalty, price elasticity, and the company's competitive position. Illustrate how a strong brand can act as a moat during economic downturns and can command a premium in the market. You can show them this academic data from the journal Marketing Science which showed that loyal customers are less price sensitive - happier to pay a premium for brands they recognise.
Use Data and Case Studies: There is nothing more valuable than real data and case studies that demonstrate how sustained marketing efforts have paid dividends for similar companies in the industry, or even for your own company. Show how brands that consistently engage with their audience, even those not immediately purchasing, enjoy greater market share and customer mindshare over time. Data from Harvard Business School suggests that increasing customer retention by just 5% improves your sales by 25-95%, so this is really really worth paying attention to.
Risk Mitigation: Position long-term marketing as a form of risk mitigation. Just as diversification is a strategy for financial investment, a strong marketing strategy protects the company from fluctuations in the market by ensuring that the brand remains relevant and top-of-mind for when customers are ready to make purchasing decisions. Again, the retention data from the point above is relevant here in terms of future proofing your company.
Narrative of Investment: Present marketing as an investment narrative that appeals to the growth and entrepreneurial spirit of CEOs and CFOs. Emphasise how building brand awareness today lays the groundwork for future market dominance and creates barriers to entry for competitors.
By speaking the language of business growth and financial prudence, CMOs can recast long-term marketing as a valuable investment with serious ROI. This narrative shift can garner the necessary executive buy-in to support comprehensive, long-term marketing strategies that secure and advance a fintech company's position.
Action: A Blueprint for Sustainable Growth
To summarise what we have covered in this article, the best data suggests that CMOs would be wise to:
Emphasise long-term brand building over sporadic sales initiatives.
Maintain brand advertising to remain top-of-mind, even during economic downturns.
Challenge the focus on short-term ROI metrics and pivot towards measuring long-term brand value and profit.
Communicate the strategic value of brand investment to the financial leadership in clear terms that invoke the financials
Avoid the pitfalls of narrow targeting and instead, create broad, memorable campaigns.
Conclusion
The path to thriving in the B2B alternative asset industry lies in embracing a content marketing strategy focused on long-term brand building rather than short-sighted sales pursuits.
The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute's research underscores the importance of maintaining visibility with consistent branding efforts to stay top-of-mind. By adopting the 95-5 approach, fintechs can invest in building relationships with future buyers, laying a foundation of trust and familiarity that is more likely to translate into future transactions.
CMOs have the continual challenge of navigating the balance between educating leadership on the merits of long-term investments and managing immediate ROI expectations.
This is no easy task! But, in doing so, they can articulate the indispensable role of strategic marketing in supporting growth long into the future, resilience to market fluctuations, and a memorable, trusted brand that stands the test of time and economic cycles.
Explore a Partnership
Interested in elevating your brand narrative with insightful content? Let's explore how a partnership could enrich your content strategy and brand growth. Connect with me to start the conversation.
