Investor communications aren’t often considered a profit-driver. However, the most successful firms know that investor relations, when done well, can drive tremendous value.
When investor communications are running smoothly, clients feel engaged and confident. This has many benefits like referrals and willingness to further their level of investment.
Effective investor communications are thoughtful, relationship-focused, and responsive. When this is done well, investors can count on clients for the long term.
Clear and proactive communication doesn’t always come naturally. Instead, investors assume it’s enough to execute well and deliver when the results are in, but that’s a mistake.
Prioritizing investor communications leads to measurable results for the entire company.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to improving communication, the good news is, there is a simple framework to follow.
In this guide, we share our strategy and top tools for relationship-building with your investors through communications.
Establish Communications Objectives
Investor relations teams are often on the defense, as requests from investors, analysts, and other stakeholders flow in daily. It’s important for IR teams to create sound communications plans and objectives.
When your IR team is fielding requests, these plans and objectives will help in the triage process. Team members will know whether a request should be high priority or low.
Define Audience Segments
Audience segmentation is essential to maintaining and growing relationships in the digital age of financial services. It’s bad practice to send impersonal messages to every investor on your list – and they’ll know they’re part of a mass email campaign.
Take the time and use the tools necessary to segment your audience and create personalized messages.
Send Helpful Messages
Your message should be focused on answering investors’ questions before they ask them. Anticipate what your investors want to know the most and provide succinct updates on those topics.
Be consistent in your messaging as well which will help to solidify your trustworthiness. With reliable communication, investors will grow a strong sense of trust in your company.
Create a Powerful Outreach plan
The cornerstone of IR communications is the annual report. Many companies just use this as a regulatory requirement and check it off the list.
The companies that think creatively and consider the annual report as an opportunity, find that their investors are incredibly engaged.
An annual report that goes above and beyond the requirements should include:
- A letter to shareholders
- Financial wins and strategic efforts
- Management’s Discussion and Analysis
- Financial statements
- Auditor’s report
- Corporate governance
We highly suggest that you leverage your internal marketing and creative resources to develop this annual report. Work with a writer to ensure the letter to shareholders is compelling and enlist a designer to create a presentation that is vibrant and tells a story.
Implement a World-Class Investor Communications Strategy
Once you have an established communication strategy, use the following tools to improve outreach.
Targeting
Use your CRM to determine the right investors for fundraising
A CRM will allow you to lean into relationships through segmentation. Using CRM filters, you can define specific groups of investors. Then, you can speak to those investors with personalized messaging, making the outreach more likely to land.
Automation
Use the right email marketing tools
To elevate your communication strategy, you need an email marketing tool that will streamline your email marketing plus give you valuable information about who is opening and engaging with your messages.
Make sure the system you’re using provides performance metrics and integrates with your CRM so you can see all activity associated with your investor outreach.
Data
Invest in FinTech applications
Every year more financial data tools emerge to make investors’ lives easier. Some of our favorite tools are:
- Preqin – provides market-leading reports, data, and analytics tools.
- PitchBook – according to their website, PitchBook provides access to more private market data than anyone else.
- Datafox – is an account intelligence tool that integrates firmographic data into workflows to enrich investor account records.
Leverage business intelligence tools to show trends and fund performance
The best communication includes impactful imagery. Providing data and visualizations proactively helps answer clients’ important questions.
Security
Consider a virtual data room
Awkward handoffs can impact investor confidence and degrade trust. Use a virtual data room to help with GP-LP engagement. Keep files both secure and accessible.
Start with the Objective and Results will Follow
The goal is not to implement every strategy mentioned above.
Instead, start with your objective. Once your IR team has solidified an investor communications mission statement, the processes, tools, and messaging you develop will follow.
When your team spends the time to build strong relationships with investors, securing funds is a natural result.
