The past 15-plus years of easy monetary policy provided cheap capital and created fertile ground for M&A activity in the advisory industry. This environment drove a consolidation trend, providing a path forward for advisors who sought to exit businesses, while also aligning growth-oriented advisors with partners that could take their careers/practices to the next level.
As market conditions change, we are now seeing many firms shift their focus inward to fully integrate new partners and reemphasize organic growth. This year, new business objectives are being set and marketing initiatives must evolve with them to account for newly acquired capabilities, expanded service offerings and additional thought leaders under one roof.
Bringing companies together as a unified organization takes tremendous resources and effort from across the business. As a fully integrated PR and marketing agency supporting the financial industry for over 20 years, Gregory FCA has been through these business cycles before and successfully supported our clients through the integration process. In our experience, there are three primary aspects that all stakeholders need to align on, and today’s options and platforms offer many ways to do so:
Messaging and positioning: Whether an acquired company has been around for one year or 20, it will have its own business focus and areas of emphasis. When multiple companies are coming together under one umbrella, message training and similar exercises should be conducted to ensure everyone understands the foundational elements of the broader company story. It is important to arm the employees of your growing company with the information they need to be successful when communicating with clients and prospects about the opportunities provided by the new partnership.
Branding: Whether new partners have adopted your brand or maintained some branding independence, it is critical to evaluate marketing collateral from websites, company fact sheets, LinkedIn header images and everything in between to ensure some continuity — or at least understanding of the connection that exists between the newly aligned brands.
Thought leadership: Showcase the talent you’ve acquired and, in turn, give those thought leaders a larger platform to promote the business. A comprehensive media relations campaign can deliver instant credibility and impart lasting awareness of the experience and expertise your firm brings to the table. You can also promote your expanded depth with short-form video, allowing individual team members to highlight what they bring to the collective table.
As the lending environment cools and firms turn to fully integrating and optimizing their newly combined entities, it is of utmost importance to craft and carry out a plan that unifies resources and propels future growth. If you’re a company looking for a partner to help you drive organic growth after years of M&A, let’s talk.