The latest episode of ‘Lessons from the Master’ hosted Hemant Rustagi, CEO, Wiseinvest who in conversation with KS Rao, Head Distributor Development and Investor Education, Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund spoke about brand building.
Here is an excerpt from the insightful episode.
What has been instrumental in building ‘Wiseinvest’ as a brand?
I believe that our ‘always client-first’ philosophy, focus on attaining sustainable business development and an early adoption of technology have been instrumental in creating ‘Wiseinvest’ as a brand.
Prioritising clients’ interest takes business relations to another level and helps in winning client loyalty. It is also important to focus on sustainable business development by creating manuals for systems and processes. This helps in setting clear roles and responsibilities for team and gives them a clear vision to operate. Lastly, having a digitalised model not only improves the overall efficiency but also gives clients the feeling that they are not missing out on something.
In addition, in my early days, I began with my passion for writing and wrote for various publications. Every article carried my contact details making it easier for my readers to reach me. This created opportunities to talk to them on one to one basis.
Thereafter, I started the ‘Wise Wealth’ newsletter in two languages i.e. English and Marathi, which comprehensively covered the latest happenings in the market as well views of various MF officials. In both cases, consistency helped in connecting with investors on a long term basis and creating a brand.
What is branding?
A brand is a combination of three things - How clients perceive you, services you offer and what you promise your clients.
Branding and marketing both play an important role in business. However, branding is a far deeper concept. While you can grab attention of people through marketing, branding your business helps retain their attention. Overall, branding comes first and marketing follows.
What are some powerful ways of creating a brand?
While many perceive branding to be a complicated process, in the current digital era, it is simple and cost-efficient.
Through a website and an active social media presence, you can position yourself as an expert and create opportunities for yourself. You can also think of having a newsletter that can make you an information source for investors. However, consistency will be the key here. In addition, you must thoughtfully create an emotional connect and keep your content easy to comprehend.
While some MFDs may think about spreading their brand awareness through hoardings, they must consider the fact that hoardings do not have a targeted approach and they may not be cost-effective. They can overcome these limitations by being an information source.
Lastly, referrals also play an important role in brand building. Working with referrals is easier as your existing clients market your brand here. There are mainly two sources of referrals - existing clients and your knowledge base i.e. newsletter, social media post, etc.
To summarise, focusing on building strong relations, winning client loyalty and establishing an emotional connect can go a long way in brand building. After all the business of mutual fund distribution is about helping people to achieve their goals, helping more and more people is the best way to build your brand.
You can watch the entire episode here.
