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The MK Difference

MK is a true believer in the power of financial planning to change the world. Over the years, she's crafted an industry-tested, practical approach to professionalizing marketing teams so wealth management enterprises can serve more clients who need them.

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The fundamental beliefs behind MK's work and leadership

Financial planning changes the world

The work of wealth management is to create stable families, who can then pursue creative endeavors and give to their communities. These are the families that transform the world, one gift at a time.

What got you here won't get you there

The initial growth of most SMB wealth management firms happens through referrals, not marketing. But every firm reaches a point when referrals alone aren't enough to drive the kind of growth required to meet business goals.

Marketing functions must mature

In a firm's early days, marketing's role is usually to make pretty brochures and plan client events. They team is staffed more as an admin function than a growth driver. But to deliver world-class results, a radical evolution is required.

Message is everything (read that again)

Rapid Prototyping in HubSpotWithout a clear, unforgettable message, the rest of your marketing strategy is irrelevant. Your brand messaging is how you express who you are. Your marketing must start and ends there.

Get the foundational work right

The everyday activities of marketing can quickly turn into chaos with very little value when they're not built on a strong strategy, not measured with a logical framework, and not managed with a cohesive infrastructure.

Strategy + Consistency = Winning

Success at marketing is very similar to success at wealth management. We create a plan based on your goals, select the right vehicles, then follow the plan diligently. It's not very flashy, but it's the only thing that has ever worked.

Not all marketing functions are created equal.

It's just common sense: the marketing team of a $50 million firm should look nothing like the team at a $50 billion firm. More resources mean a higher caliber of talent, better technology, an increased ad spend, and more data science resources to effectively track ROI. The problem is this: Too often, firms between $1B and $10B AUM are operating at roughly the same level of marketing maturity that they did at $100 million. 

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Why is that a problem? Because it causes a "growth bottleneck." They've gotten so big that they're not growing at the same rate they could when they were smaller, and even though they need more growth support, their marketing functions typically aren't built for that purpose. They have one or two people to create brochures, gussy up slide decks, plan client appreciation events, and update the website. 

And these folks are working their tails off. They're just not working on things that will drive growth.

It's typically around the $7.5-$10B AUM mark that a firm invests in an executive marketing leader. At that point, they start working from a real growth strategy and start seeing real traction on the maturation and professionalization of the marketing functions.

My role working with RIAs, wealthtechs, and custodians is to help them blast through that growth bottleneck by rapidly laying the groundwork and building out a growth-focused marketing function. Even if I'm just spearheading a large-scale marketing project, the processes, technology and strategic thinking brought to bear almost always impacts the rest of the team and helps them improve the way they strategize and execute.

 

Core (1)

The approach

The road to a mature marketing function is non-linear. It's more like weaving -- bringing together different threads at the right time, in the right places to create the best outcome.

But at the core of the weave -- the very loom itself -- is a north-start strategy that comes directly from the firm's growth goals, a messaging platform that dictates what we stand for, and a shared understanding of what success means and how we're measuring it.

Infrastructure

This is the MVP marketing function. The absolute basics, aligned to your strategy -- tech stack, equipment, budget and 5 essential marketing pieces: Website, master brochure, pitch deck, social profiles, explainer video.

4Ps

People, Processes, Production and Prioritization. This refers to organizational structure plans and upskilling, implementing SOPs, producing large-scale content projects for launch, and deprioritizing low-value work and "pet projects" that don't add to the strategy.

Visibility

The evolving marketing team starts publishing significant, high-quality content to the outside world in the form of PR, owned editorial (blogs, podcasts, YouTube), social media, engaging client outreach, organized prospect nurturing, and lead generation.

Optimization & scale

Continuous improvement processes to and ongoing accountability to metrics let us know when to scale and what needs to be optimized to hit goals. Optimization is an everyday practice that's baked into processes.

It starts with a conversation.

Whether you're an RIA or a Wealthtech, if you feel like you're living in that in-between space between small company and enterprise, and you just KNOW that your marketing should be doing more to put points on the board when it comes to your growth goals, we should talk.

Let's sit down for a few minutes and talk about your vision for the future. If I can't help you, I'll recommend someone who can.

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