Any marketing course will tell you that you need to have the 4Ps: product, place, price, and promotions. These are the essentials of a profitable business. However, a fifth P is necessary to complete the equation. And that is a fairly accurate profile of your clients. The first 4Ps will not succeed in generating the profits that you want to achieve if they are not tailor fit to your target market. As investment managers, understanding the importance of client profiling will allow you to come up with stronger, more competitive, and more compelling investment packages for your market.
Client profiling essentially involves gathering information about the people you are selling to. This does not stop with their contact details and purchase history. You need to dig deeper into their attitudes and behavior. To put it simply, it’s like putting a face and a character to the type of clients that you are targeting. Profiling usually starts with demographics information which includes the age, economic status, marital status, educational attainment, occupation, and common hobbies and interests. You then move on to purchase and investment behavior. How do they manage their finances? What kind of savings or investment products do they have? What is their risk appetite? These are just some of the relevant questions that investment managers need to consider before making a move on their client.
All the information that you gather can be used to identify or to develop investment products that are more appealing to your clients. With such targeted marketing efforts, your chances of success in increasing your sales revenues are higher. More importantly, the satisfaction level of your clients in as far as your products and services are concerned is also likely to increase. Client profiling makes it easier for investment managers to build lasting relationships with their clients, especially when the clients realize that their investment partner has taken the time to know them and understand their needs.
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