Just decided to launch a fund? Congratulations! 🥳 Whether it's your first or fifteenth, I can only assume this decision to launch a fund was based on strong investor demand…
I mean, this launch is based on strong investor demand, isn't it? You didn't just have a few drinks with a couple of investors who told you after dinner that they will “probably” invest if you launch a new fund? Did you?!!! 😰😬
Even if you did, I know you'll have everything in place to make marketing it a success, right? RIGHT?!!!
Oh dear… 🤦♀️
A successful fund launch requires solid foundations. But it's not too late!
A successful fund launch requires solid foundations.
Below are the five marketing pillars you should have in place before you launch a fund:
One. Market research. 👨🔬
When you want to launch a fund, your first step should be to determine what to launch, and for who. Are current LPs delighted with the strategy and execution of your last fund? Do they want Fund III, only bigger?
A successful fund launch requires first-class research. But how can you get the most useful, honest answers out of LPs?
Get a third party to survey current, lapsed and prospect LPs way before you launch a fund. Why a third party? You will get valuable insights outside of your own experience and LPs will be more likely to tell the truth to someone they don't have a relationship with.
Two. What's your story? Get it straight – and get consensus. 👨🏫
Once the market has told you what it needs, you need to marry that with what differentiates you from the competition. What are the two, three or four talking points you want to get out into the market? And how can you tell a story around these points in your marketing deck?
Invest the time to get this right – and make sure the whole team is singing from the same hymn sheet. If everyone is telling a different story, investors won't know what to think. PLUS, if you want your messages to be remembered, they need to be repeated, again, and again, and again.
Three. Get your website and LinkedIn presence up to standard. 💻
Would you pay good money to eat at a restaurant with dirty tablecloths and decaying décor?
Nowadays the first impression you make with an investor is either via your website or LinkedIn. We know – we've done the research! 🧪 A dated website with a clunky interface, weak messaging and hard-to-find information is not a good idea. It suggests to investors that this is how you run your business.
Four. Check if your marketing infrastructure is up to the task. 🏭
Do you know who is looking at your website? Which pages they visit? Which videos they look at more than once, and which they skip entirely?
When you send a document do you know how long recipients spent looking at it? Which pages they paused on?
Do you know the right time to send the right message to the right prospect?
If the answer to any of the above is no, your marketing infrastructure needs an overhaul. Don't worry. In most cases it's a pretty simple task – and the results will be game-changing.
Five. Get your content plan together and start building an audience. 🧍♀️🧍♂️🧍♀️🧍♂️🧍♂️🧍♀️🧍♀️🧍♂️🧍♂️🧍♀️🧍♀️🧍♀️
Now you know your message will make an impact with investors, it's time to get that message into the market. Build a plan around a few white papers or research pieces that showcase what's great about your strategy and your firm. Then get a series of blogs and social posts, leveraging that content, out to the market.
Get into the market, talk to potential investors and build familiarity and confidence, before you ask for the meeting and the money.
From a marketing standpoint you should have all the above in place well before you launch a fund. The good news is all of the above can be achieved within 12 months. All of it.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
