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Recently, VettaFi CMO Jon Fee was interviewed by the CMO Network’s Jay Sen. The interview is available on the Content Marketing Virtual Summit Podcast.
“What got me into marketing was one part curiosity, and one part just pure luck,” Fee said at the top of the interview. Coming into marketing from more front of office roles, such as distribution, Fee was asked to take on additional marketing responsibilities. “The curious part of me loved the unknown of trying something new, but then also how much technology was being used back then even as it just relates to the birth and rapid expansion of the internet.”
How VettaFi leverages data to help issuers
Fee sees VettaFi as working primarily with issuers and asset managers. After explaining VettaFi’s role as an index provider is to help issuers develop products, primarily ETFs, Fee said, “the second thing we like to do is help those companies better understand who to bring those products to market to, who to target. And that’s where our data & analytics gets involved.” VettaFi has data & analytics products that can help issuers find quality leads, shorten sales cycles, and optimize their marketing efforts to reach the prospects most likely to convert.
“Common challenges that clients are trying to overcome include how to optimize their digital marketing online, using more data and analytics,” Fee said. “It's not uncommon for a lot of our clients to be operating with a mix of different marketing tactics, but not sure which ones to weight, one over the other.” He noted that data and analytics are particularly useful for unpacking which audiences are connecting with a product and which audiences need bolstering. Perhaps RIAs aren’t connecting. In such an instance, VettaFi’s data and analytics tools can help chart what marketing collateral is working well for those audiences and help issuers strategize their outreach efforts from there.
If a given issuer wants to innovate a new product, VettaFi’s indexing capabilities come into play. “We’re constantly helping clients of all size,” Fee shared. “Through data, we help make healthier connections throughout the marketplace.”
Asked about his go-to-market strategy, Fee said, “core to any strategy within marketing or distribution has to be your go-to-market.” He offered three things to look at.
Are we achieving product market fit? If the product is new, it’s worth reflecting on whether or not you’ve cracked the code for untapped demand in the marketplace. Are the functions right? Is the product ready?
What are clients’ outlook? Buying journey is one thing, but understanding how clients feeel about the current market environment and changing regulations is essential. Understanding headwinds can help you understand what budgets might look like for potential clients. A lot of headwinds can create challenges in generating new business.
What’s everyone else doing? Fee stated the importance of understanding what the competition is doing. “Are they innovating faster than you? Are they setting prices lower than you? Are they placing prices lower but actually giving up a lot of quality and value add that a client actually needs?”
When asked about his preferred channel for generating leads, Fee said, “everyone is looking for a silver bullet. But, spoiler alert, there isn’t really a silver bullet.” He shared that he likes thinking about his relationships with clients and prospects through the lens of friendship. Authenticity, dependability, and trust are all critical traits in a friendship. “You start to think more and more about how do you achieve that in a friendship, and you realize its not through a single touch.”
One phone call, email, or dinner does not deepenreal connections. Rather, a mix of those things over time does. Similarly, there is no one channel that will forge a true business partnership, but rather, the right mix of channels.
The idea that “content is king” is something of a cliche in marketing, but Fee believes it to be true. “I believe it to be as true today as it was a decade or even two decades ago,” he said. The “how” has evolved and changed over the years. Ten years ago you might not be using social media, and twenty years ago you might not be using email as much. But the “what” goes back to the content.
“We’ve said historically that content is king in marketing. I think content is king in distribution.” Sales teams require sales enablement and a good talk track. That’s content, according to Fee. “Whether you are dripping it out through [email] nurture journeysl or making it snackable on social, content is still king because that is what you are putting in front of your clients.”
AI has been a buzz word throughout 2024. The technology has its champions and its skeptics. There’s no denying that it has invited curiosity and interest among many. “I play with AI almost every day as part of my daily routines of putting pen to paper and pushing myself to be a better communicator,” Fee shared. “What I’ve learned in using AI quite a bit this year is you can’t spell ‘plagiarism’ without ‘AI.’”
If content truly is king, Fee sees some issues with creating content using ChatGPT. Because generative AI relies on a pre-existing set of content, the content that it creates is neither genuine nor authentic.”You could be doing a disservice to your brand.” Fee noted that though you can get a short term win by creating content in seconds that might have taken longer, there is risk of long term damage, as the content will not be original.
According to Fee, “You never really know the value of a creative campaign until it is in market.” Something could seem to have a lot going for it, but until it is in the market place you can’t really know whether it works. Fee noted that there are many metrics that can tell you a given piece of creative’s effect once it is in market. Did it get clicks? Did people stay on the page and see it through to the very end? “I think those metrics are fantastic and it’s taken a lot of the subjectivity out of whether or not the marketing is good, or at least it’s created a grounding.”
Fee took care to express that there is innate value in doing something creatively and artistically sound, but at the end of the day you need to drive growth, and these metrics help show that. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Fee urges marketers to rally around two kinds of measurements: quality and quantity. “If you are only measuring the success of your website by the number of people who visit it, you’re only looking at quantity.” Getting people to show up is a success, but you need to think about the experience of being on that website. Are people immediately turned off and leaving, or do they want to stay and look at other things? “Time on site is fairly easy to measure.”
Marketers face lots of challenges. According to Fee, one of the biggest challenges is just a lack of understanding of what marketing is and the value of marketing. “A lot of that lack of understanding of marketing or frankly of brand typically surfaces between functions in an organization.” Financial organizations might not understand why they need to spend on marketing, while sellers might not understand why things can’t happen on a certain timeline. Much of the friction within organizations around marketing is ultimately rooted in a lack of understanding. Fee advises that marketers should approach their colleagues in a similar fashion to how they approach a prospect. “You can not assume that people get how it all works together from a marketing perspective, so you have to take the time to educate folks on it.” A common lexicon is vital, and it takes time for people to understand why there is more to a brand than a logo.
“I’ve heard this before, folks used to say ‘marketing is colors and fonts.’ That’s like saying selling is just cocktails and dinner!” Fee said. Creating a common lexicon can help create cross-functional opportunities and break through the friction.
Fee shared his belief that the most important decision any leader can make is who they hire and what they acquire. Acquiring anything, from another company to a new technology or service, can change the way that your team works. Fee says that people come first, though. “There’s an ongoing war for talent that I don’t see changing anytime soon.” Brands that hire the best people and get them working together will better set themselves up for success. “The [teams] that can align to common success metrics, align to how to work together in a work system, the teams that can be the most transparent and accountable to each other are the teams that are winning and will continue to win.”
Giving advice to new up and coming marketers, Fee underscored the importance of building a network from moment one of your career. Everyone you work with is in your network. “I can’t urge you enough to keep that network healthy and connected.”
His final piece of advice is for marketers to “stay forever curious.” There will always be a way to do things better, and you need to be curious to be open to it.
Learn more strategies to sell your funds effectively by joining this upcoming free webcast.
Recently, VettaFi CMO Jon Fee was interviewed by the CMO Network’s Jay Sen. The interview is available on the Content Marketing Virtual Summit Podcast.
“What got me into marketing was one part curiosity, and one part just pure luck,” Fee said at the top of the interview. Coming into marketing from more front of office roles, such as distribution, Fee was asked to take on additional marketing responsibilities. “The curious part of me loved the unknown of trying something new, but then also how much technology was being used back then even as it just relates to the birth and rapid expansion of the internet.”
How VettaFi leverages data to help issuers
Fee sees VettaFi as working primarily with issuers and asset managers. After explaining VettaFi’s role as an index provider is to help issuers develop products, primarily ETFs, Fee said, “the second thing we like to do is help those companies better understand who to bring those products to market to, who to target. And that’s where our data & analytics gets involved.” VettaFi has data & analytics products that can help issuers find quality leads, shorten sales cycles, and optimize their marketing efforts to reach the prospects most likely to convert.
“Common challenges that clients are trying to overcome include how to optimize their digital marketing online, using more data and analytics,” Fee said. “It's not uncommon for a lot of our clients to be operating with a mix of different marketing tactics, but not sure which ones to weight, one over the other.” He noted that data and analytics are particularly useful for unpacking which audiences are connecting with a product and which audiences need bolstering. Perhaps RIAs aren’t connecting. In such an instance, VettaFi’s data and analytics tools can help chart what marketing collateral is working well for those audiences and help issuers strategize their outreach efforts from there.
If a given issuer wants to innovate a new product, VettaFi’s indexing capabilities come into play. “We’re constantly helping clients of all size,” Fee shared. “Through data, we help make healthier connections throughout the marketplace.”
Asked about his go-to-market strategy, Fee said, “core to any strategy within marketing or distribution has to be your go-to-market.” He offered three things to look at.
Are we achieving product market fit? If the product is new, it’s worth reflecting on whether or not you’ve cracked the code for untapped demand in the marketplace. Are the functions right? Is the product ready?
What are clients’ outlook? Buying journey is one thing, but understanding how clients feeel about the current market environment and changing regulations is essential. Understanding headwinds can help you understand what budgets might look like for potential clients. A lot of headwinds can create challenges in generating new business.
What’s everyone else doing? Fee stated the importance of understanding what the competition is doing. “Are they innovating faster than you? Are they setting prices lower than you? Are they placing prices lower but actually giving up a lot of quality and value add that a client actually needs?”
When asked about his preferred channel for generating leads, Fee said, “everyone is looking for a silver bullet. But, spoiler alert, there isn’t really a silver bullet.” He shared that he likes thinking about his relationships with clients and prospects through the lens of friendship. Authenticity, dependability, and trust are all critical traits in a friendship. “You start to think more and more about how do you achieve that in a friendship, and you realize its not through a single touch.”
One phone call, email, or dinner does not deepenreal connections. Rather, a mix of those things over time does. Similarly, there is no one channel that will forge a true business partnership, but rather, the right mix of channels.
The idea that “content is king” is something of a cliche in marketing, but Fee believes it to be true. “I believe it to be as true today as it was a decade or even two decades ago,” he said. The “how” has evolved and changed over the years. Ten years ago you might not be using social media, and twenty years ago you might not be using email as much. But the “what” goes back to the content.
“We’ve said historically that content is king in marketing. I think content is king in distribution.” Sales teams require sales enablement and a good talk track. That’s content, according to Fee. “Whether you are dripping it out through [email] nurture journeysl or making it snackable on social, content is still king because that is what you are putting in front of your clients.”
AI has been a buzz word throughout 2024. The technology has its champions and its skeptics. There’s no denying that it has invited curiosity and interest among many. “I play with AI almost every day as part of my daily routines of putting pen to paper and pushing myself to be a better communicator,” Fee shared. “What I’ve learned in using AI quite a bit this year is you can’t spell ‘plagiarism’ without ‘AI.’”
If content truly is king, Fee sees some issues with creating content using ChatGPT. Because generative AI relies on a pre-existing set of content, the content that it creates is neither genuine nor authentic.”You could be doing a disservice to your brand.” Fee noted that though you can get a short term win by creating content in seconds that might have taken longer, there is risk of long term damage, as the content will not be original.
According to Fee, “You never really know the value of a creative campaign until it is in market.” Something could seem to have a lot going for it, but until it is in the market place you can’t really know whether it works. Fee noted that there are many metrics that can tell you a given piece of creative’s effect once it is in market. Did it get clicks? Did people stay on the page and see it through to the very end? “I think those metrics are fantastic and it’s taken a lot of the subjectivity out of whether or not the marketing is good, or at least it’s created a grounding.”
Fee took care to express that there is innate value in doing something creatively and artistically sound, but at the end of the day you need to drive growth, and these metrics help show that. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Fee urges marketers to rally around two kinds of measurements: quality and quantity. “If you are only measuring the success of your website by the number of people who visit it, you’re only looking at quantity.” Getting people to show up is a success, but you need to think about the experience of being on that website. Are people immediately turned off and leaving, or do they want to stay and look at other things? “Time on site is fairly easy to measure.”
Marketers face lots of challenges. According to Fee, one of the biggest challenges is just a lack of understanding of what marketing is and the value of marketing. “A lot of that lack of understanding of marketing or frankly of brand typically surfaces between functions in an organization.” Financial organizations might not understand why they need to spend on marketing, while sellers might not understand why things can’t happen on a certain timeline. Much of the friction within organizations around marketing is ultimately rooted in a lack of understanding. Fee advises that marketers should approach their colleagues in a similar fashion to how they approach a prospect. “You can not assume that people get how it all works together from a marketing perspective, so you have to take the time to educate folks on it.” A common lexicon is vital, and it takes time for people to understand why there is more to a brand than a logo.
“I’ve heard this before, folks used to say ‘marketing is colors and fonts.’ That’s like saying selling is just cocktails and dinner!” Fee said. Creating a common lexicon can help create cross-functional opportunities and break through the friction.
Fee shared his belief that the most important decision any leader can make is who they hire and what they acquire. Acquiring anything, from another company to a new technology or service, can change the way that your team works. Fee says that people come first, though. “There’s an ongoing war for talent that I don’t see changing anytime soon.” Brands that hire the best people and get them working together will better set themselves up for success. “The [teams] that can align to common success metrics, align to how to work together in a work system, the teams that can be the most transparent and accountable to each other are the teams that are winning and will continue to win.”
Giving advice to new up and coming marketers, Fee underscored the importance of building a network from moment one of your career. Everyone you work with is in your network. “I can’t urge you enough to keep that network healthy and connected.”
His final piece of advice is for marketers to “stay forever curious.” There will always be a way to do things better, and you need to be curious to be open to it.
Learn more strategies to sell your funds effectively by joining this upcoming free webcast.
