M & A Rainmaker

London Wealth Management companies are starting to get serious about Digital Marketing and Social Media

Centripetal looks at how some of these Wealth Management companies score using industry standard benchmarks

This article in the F.T.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/09fadc9c-8d75-11e2-a0fd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2TSakGTNY

and the associated Cisco Wealth Management Study

http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1114148

came at a great time as we are working with a number of companies in the sector.

As part of our research I decided to do 2 things:

1. Run them through the HubSpot Internet Marketing Grader and see how they shaped up. If you are not familiar with Marketing Grader here is a quick description of what it does and why.

2. Check to see if and how well these companies ranked ( on Google ) for something you would expect them to.

Obviously these do not represent an exhaustive study. I just thought it would be interesting to see whether these two things backed up what was being said about Rathbones, Charles Stanley and Barclays Wealth and Investment.

1. HubSpot Marketing Grader Analysis

I couldn’t get HubSpot to analyse Rathbones Internet Presence ( see overview of Rathbones below ) but Barclays Wealth scored 86/100 ( great score !! ) and Chas. Stanley 70/100 which are respectible scores.

The top Wealth Management companies for a Google search on Wealth Management London are ( HubSpot scores alongside ):

www.spi.sanlam.co.uk 32/100

http://www.scmprivate.com/ 21/100

http://www.rbcwminternational.com/ 41/100

http://www.azure-wealth.com/‎  28/100

https://uk-wealthmanagement.bnpparibas.com/public/en/home 44/100

http://www.menzies.co.uk/en/services/menzies-wealth-management/ 73/100

http://www.moorestephens.co.uk/WMLon.aspx 53/100

http://www.londonwm.co.uk/ 24/100

http://wealthmanagementandtrust.rothschild.com/page.aspx?id=118 46/100

http://www.cernocapital.com/partners_n.php 19/100

Apart from Menzie’s and Moore Stephens these are pretty poorly performing websites. ( Although of course these are the TOP companies that are FOUND for this search phrase !! ).

N.B. Rathbones did not rank on Page 1 of Google. So we could not get a HubSpot analysis and they don’t rank. However Rathbones clearly has a Social Media presence ( Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc. and has  blog which it links to ). It also has Google Analytics installed. It is likely that Rathbones Internet Marketing Grade would be around 70  – 90/100 although it does not seem to have been optimised for search.

2. Google search on ” Wealth Management London “

It is important that companies get ” FOUND ” for the right ( key ) words and phrases. Some Wealth Management companies have simply ” bought their way to the front page ” by paying for Google Pay per Click and/or Adwords advertisements. This is certainly one way of doing it but I am not going to talk about these companies. ( Anyone can buy their way to the front page of Google if they pay the going rate ). A few companies have used Google maps to get a listing below the top 3 P.P.C. adverts. – perfectly valid and a good idea. Interestingly neither Rathbones, Barclays or Chas. Stanley appear in the ” natural ” or ” organic ” not paid for listings. What companies do then and what sort of HubSpot scores do they have ???

( The search results are in 1. along with the HubSpot scores ).

3. Landing Pages

Who has the best Landing Pages ??

When you click on the Google search result for a particular company ( first click ) you will be directed to whatever page that the company wants you to see. Often this is the home page or sometimes the contact page. Apart from the text that you see on the Google search result the ” Landing page ” is the first real contact that you will have with that company and therefore it needs to have:

Impact 

and it also needs a way of

Converting

a visitor to this page to a ” lead “.

Typically this is done with a ” Call to Action ” such as ” Call us ” , ” Email us ” , ” Give us your email address ” or ” get this valuable piece of information ” ( the second click ).

Typically the Landing Pages are impersonal ( often the front page ) and you need to click again to get to the ” Contact ” page. ( e.g. Sanlam, SCM, RBC, BNP ) only a couple present ” real people ” ( Menzies, Cerno ). My favourites are probably – LWM, Moore Stephens and Menzie’s. Azure Wealth is probably the most striking and unusual.

4. The 10 Fastest Growing Wealth Management Companies ( 2010 )

http://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/the-10-fastest-growing-wealth-management-companies/a442303

Spearpoint

Brooks MacDonald

Barclays Wealth

Towry

Cheviot

Heartwood

Partners Capital

Williams de Broe

Vestra Wealth

Standard Life Wealth

5. Correlation and Thoughts

There appears to be very little correlation here. Barclays Wealth is said to be active in Social Media , does not rank but does have a high HubSpot score. RBC appears to know how to get found using a variety of methods. ( Google maps and search results ).

Surprisingly this area appears to be ripe for someone to come in and do a good job. It would be relatively straight forward to create a high ranking website ( one that gets found ) , that also scored high with HubSpot ( which means that it has created an effective Internet Presence and Digital Marketing Ecosystem ) , has great Landing Pages and converts visitors to prospects using various appropriate Call to Actions.

See also related post: http://www.centripetalnetwork.com/2013/05/16/london-finance-and-wealth-management-firms-should-be-using-social-media-heres-why/

N.B. Centripetal is carrying out ongoing research in the Wealth Management sectors in the U.K. and shortly in the U.S. – please keep in touch for more blog posts and contact us tofind out how to be the top Wealth Management company on the Internet or talk about the area in more detail.

Have your business and marketing reviewed by three globally recognized SMB experts!  Learn about our free CNC assessments here and see how our dashboard can help you understand your Return on Marketing Effort (RoME)  CNC Assessment.

If you combine Staffordshire’s recent commitment to provide ” Superfast Broadband ” with it’s prowess in the use of social media then I think the seeds of achieving the label of ” Silicon Staffordshire ” are there.

What is most important is that at the highest level within Staffordshire County Council there is the belief that this CAN be achieved.

Staffordshire IS putting it’s money where it’s mouth is; walking the walk not just talking the talk – both in broadband and in social media.

Staffordshire Police’s ACTUAL use of social media to communicate with people is a great example:

http://www.staffordshire.police.uk/about_us/social_media/

Twitter ( particularly ), Facebook, YouTube and eBay ( to sell seized stolen goods !! ) are all being used to great effect.

When I visited Staffordshire County Council’s office’s recently I noticed the Cisco phones on the desks of the ( very smart looking ) receptionists.

As I happen to have spent much of my life working with Cisco I immediately realised that here was a Council that put the correct Information Technology Strategy above short term, price driven solutions.

A Google search revealed this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/government-computing-network/2011/jul/18/councils-share-networks-infrastructure

on ” sharing networks ” – something I believe in passionately. CIO Sander Kristel said:

” Staffordshire county council is making good progress towards integration with health partners within a shared network infrastructure. Chief Information Officer Sander Kristel expects its emerging Public Service Network ( PSN ) to save the council £10m.

He believes true shared services may only be achieved through sharing a network infrastructure. “To provide better services to the public it is necessary for us to work much more closely with others,” he says. “To do that it is best to share network infrastructure where it is much easier to share data securely.”

Kristel describes the move to a shared network infrastructure as partly opportunistic. “Our current network contracts were up for renewal, our telephony systems needed replacing and some of the other partners in Staffordshire had similar timelines,” he says.

“We have taken a very pragmatic approach, as the requirements of the PSN were not available when we went ahead with it. However, our supplier Kcom is part of the national PSN group.” The contract is valued at £23m.

Working across multiple public sector agencies, the network has to comply with multiple standards including those for N3 and GCSx, but Kristel is confident that the PSN will be closely aligned to those standards.

Staffordshire is bundling the shared network core into BT exchanges at the moment. “Traditionally local authorities have put comms hubs into their own building, but for partners to trust the PSN we found it necessary to put it in BT exchanges.” At the network edge it is rolling out fibre and also quite a lot of copper, in a pragmatic attempt to create a flexible infrastructure.

The council is also putting in Cisco telephony and contact centre technology, which it plans to share. “The idea is the customer should not really need to understand who does what and where,” Kristel says.

He already has an agreement with South Staffordshire Health that it will join the network, and says: “I understand from the Cabinet Office that we will be one of the first in England who will share with health partners We’re also having conversations with Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.”

He describes the process of setting up the shared network infrastructure as less complex than first expected: “We share the costs equally and the county council charges a very minimal administration fee to manage the contract.”

I have not met Sander but there are a number of key views expressed in the above article and in this one

http://www.cio.co.uk/article/3339374/cio-profile-sander-kristels-clear-vision-for-staffordshire-council/

that let me know that Staffordshire is on the right course. Just a few quotes from the above article:

” Integration is a term Kristel uses a great deal and it clearly describes the vision he and the authority have of how to ensure residents get the quality of service they deserve in return for being taxpayers.”

” Staffordshire is almost a pioneer of the public sector network model now being demanded by the Cabinet Office in Whitehall. “

“We have taken a pragmatic approach, opting for copper not fibre optic. Copper is easier to deploy at smaller sites and we will rationalise our estate again soon; why dig a trench into these buildings?” he asks.

“The network is step one. We can provide services almost like a cloud so that organisations can run their email or document management over it,” he says.

” The network is just one of a range of cost-saving projects Kristel has led at Staffordshire.

A move to Citrix thin client desktop applications on HP hardware gives the authority’s new HQ a desk-to-staff ratio of 7:10, making the building seem like a bank rather than a council office.

Voice over IP has been added and videoconferencing is on the way.

The authority is proud of its new HQ and screens at reception tell you it is saving the council £250,000 a year. Virtualisation has reduced Staffordshire’s datacentre fleet to two and each datacentre has just three racks in it.

Using the new PSN disaster recovery facilities via a reciprocal deal with a neighbouring authority is also being considered.”

” Influence of IT
While Kristel does not have a direct line to the CEO — “I report to the CFO. I used to report to the previous chief executive, but this very much depends on your chief executive” — he is on the wider leadership team and says IT is very much part of the big picture in Staffordshire.

“You have a lot more influence and early warning of what is going to change in the authority,” he says.

Early warning is the most important thing as the European procurement process can take up to a year. ”

I have italicised some of the key words and phrases that I believe should be taken forward into the next phase of broadband and social media development.

Becoming a ” Silicon Valley ” in the U.K. is not a simple process. This video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTC_RxWN_xo

titled ” The Secret History of Silicon Valley ” explains some of the historical factors ( beginning in World War 2 ) that led to Silicon Valley becoming the start-up powerhouse that it is today.

That is not to say that it cannot be done though. It WILL require a number of challenging pieces of a jigsaw to be put in place.

At the end of this video interview with Marc Andreesson ( founder of Netscape and now a Silicon Valley VC ) he explains what he thinks needs to be put in place to recreate another Silicon Valley:

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/05/andreessen-no-tech-bubble/

There are other articles that I have read that further help to understand the components required.

Sunday Times Tech Track 100 company 365 iT is set to further accelerate its growth with a new office in the City of London .

February 2011

365 iT was recently ranked 15th out of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK according to the prestigious TechTrack league table.

It now starts 2011 with further ambitious expansion plans by opening a new London office to meet the accelerating growth opportunities in the financial, legal and property services sectors.

With a growing portfolio of managed service offerings, backed by best-in-class vendor partnerships which include Cisco, Microsoft, Citrix,

Verint, Zeacom, IBM and VMware, 365 iT is excellently positioned to deliver IT solutions that are relevant to the needs of both existing and

new clients in key market sectors.

Commenting on the new offices Peter MacLean, 365 iT plc’s chairman and chief executive, said: “Based on our success with London clients

last year it has become evident that many companies are increasingly looking for a technology services partner that can meet all of their requirements whether it is a new communications system or a virtualization solution. Furthermore local service and support is key to these businesses hence the new offices.”

In addition to providing a base for a new sales and support team the new office in the heart of the City at Old Broad Street will offer clients an excellent venue for technology briefings, business seminars and demonstrations.

The key focus of the new team will be to work with clients to help them understand and justify how technology investments can significantly support business initiatives such as security and compliance, client service, real-time collaboration and business continuity.

MacLean adds: “An experienced team has already been recruited and  the office is open for business. The next stage is to work with our supplier partners to deliver a series of seminars and workshops at the offices which demonstrate the  true business benefits of the technologies and services we are proposing. The first seminar: Collaborative communications that meets FSA compliance is scheduled for March. Others scheduled for later in the year which will focus on critical issues in the legal and property services sectors.”

If you are a Cisco Partner looking for support and guidance  to drive engagement and accelerate both activity and results with Cisco then I would recommend talking to Channel Intellect who have a client list that includes many of Cisco’s highest achieving and award-winning Partners and also delivers the much-heralded Comstor Mentor Programme. Additionally, Channel Intellect has engaged with Cisco on a number of projects and is, as a result, uniquely placed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how Partners can make the most out of their investment in Cisco.

What Cisco Says….
Bernadette Wightman – Operations Director – UK & I Channels – Cisco

	Channel Intellect has provided a vital and excellent service to support and guide many of our developing Cisco Partners in the UK and Ireland. They have also been able to assist and advise a number of Cisco teams within the organisation in constructing Partner-centric programmes and initiatives. The insight that Channel Intellect provides to our Partners in developing a profitable and sustainable relationship with Cisco has made a positive difference to both Cisco’s and the Partners’ engagement and performance.

Channel Intellect engages with Partners around the “Six Pillars” – a series of best practice disciplines centred around the following focus areas:

• Certification/Specialisation
• Cisco Programs (VIP/OIP/SIP/etc)
• Support
• Market-Specific Initiatives (PSPP/SMB)
• GTM & Marketing
• Relationship Management

Cisco Health Check

The Channel Intellect Cisco Health Check is based on a day’s analysis with a Partner, in order to assess current engagement levels and to advise on how this can be complemented and refined in order to ensure an appropriate ROI is delivered against the cost of maintaining an effective Cisco relationship.

Based around devising an activity plan which embraces the “Six Pillars” disciplines, the Health Check comprises:

• A pre-engagement briefing
• A Partner executive workshop
• A Partner action cverview
• A Costed Channel Intellect proposal

Contact info@channelintellect.com for further details.

If you are looking for a phone system in Dorset then Cisco FutureLine is one of the most popular systems to be installed by small and medium businesses in the Dorset area.

Companies ranging from lawyers to wealth management companies and garages to marketing and PR companies are benefiting from the flexibility, support, low cost, ease of moves and changes and advanced technology that Cisco FutureLine phone systems bring.

These are just some of the quotes from happy Dorset businesses that have bought Cisco FutureLine phone systems:

“Initially we opted for FutureLine because of the flexibility it

gave us. When we first started we weren’t sure how fast we

were going to grow and we needed to ensure that whatever

we choose we would always have flexibility. When we

recently added an extra member of staff, we simply placed

an order and within 24 hours the new phone was installed and

being used. The ease of use is great. The FutureLine team is

easy to deal with, they are very knowledgeable and always

quick to respond to any query. Also I now only have one bill to

pay rather than several and about the best thing is that it’s

about half what it used to be”.

Tim Gallego – Partner – Poundbury Wealth Managment

“The Futureline phone system offered us all the features we

needed at a price that suited our budget. We now have a

new phone system and we are paying less a month for phones

and line rental than we were before. We’ve used ring groups

and hunt groups to make sure we never miss a call. We can

see which number the customer has called so we can track

sales campaigns and we can review call records to help us

plan better for the future.”

John Johnston – Manager – Ford Harbour Bonfield Garage

“We wanted a phone system that would give us ultimate flexibility

whilst still ensuring that we paid a fair amount for the

features we needed. The ‘all inclusive’ package from Future-

Line allows us to easily manage our budgeting. The flexibility

has been fantastic for us. We have moved offices several

times and there is never any fuss – just a simple, quick move.

Each time we add a new member of staff it is a simple, quick

process. We know in advance what it is going to cost, so planning

and budgeting is easy.

Natalie Gamble – Partner – Natalie Gamble and Associates.

Contact FutureLine on

0871 594 3555 or

email at: info@futureline.net.uk

Why choose a telephone system from Poundbury Systems?

We have range of options that not only suit your business, but can grow and change as your business does.

Flexible – Simple – Effective

The features you need, at a price you want.

All our Telephone Systems all contain the following features

Our standard telephone systems come with all the features below needed to successfully run any business. Apart from all these useful components, we can also customise your system to provide what you need for your individual business.

Free calls within your own company – All calls to your other offices or home workers equipped with our VoIP phone are entirely free of charge. Calls to other land lines and mobiles are cheaper than BT’s standard rates.

Lower call charges to everyone else – Our phone call charges are significantly lower than most national phone companies’ standard prices without compromising any quality.

Single Bill, Single Point of Contact – One bill and one phone call for all your calls, line rental, broadband and even your IT support.

Main number voice mail – Collected from the phone, remotely or by e-mail. Callers can leave a message out of hours or when your reception staff are busy, safe in the knowledge that their call will be returned swiftly.

Individual voice mails – Any employee you choose can have their own voice mail. Messages can then be forwarded to their e-mail account, mobile phone or can be accessed from their desk phone.

Individual call forwarding – Individual phones can be set to Do Not Disturb. Calls can be forwarded to other extensions, mobiles, home numbers etc.

Presence Indication – See when your colleagues are already on the phone – Have you ever transferred a call to somebody only to find that they are engaged? See with ease who is on the phone or available.

Fully customisable – You can turn on and off features, or add them at a later date.

Easy access to call reporting – Reports are available for you see exactly who has been calling where and for how long. These are issued automatically with each monthly bill.

Geography free – The system can receive numbers that are normally associated with different parts of the country – London for example.

Music on Hold – let your customers hear music while they are on hold.

Home workers – The system can support remote users so working from home becomes easier.

Road Warriors – The system can connect you with those members of staff who are always on the road.

Demonstrations

If you would like to see and try one of our phone systems, just call us and we will arrange for a free demonstration.

Additional Services
PSL can supply any other services you might need for your new telephone system, such as a broadband (ADSL) lines and routers. We can also provide servers, PC, e-mail and anti-spam service through to desktop PC support.

Common Additional Options:

Automatic greetings – Many professional companies are now or will soon be required by legislation to ensure industry specific announcements are made to each and every caller. Remove the worry for you and the hassle from your reception staff by recording the important messages and letting the system automatically play them for you.

Automatic call routing – Callers can choose 1 for sales 2 for accounts etc. This can save resources on reception and enable calls to be answered with more speed and efficiency.

Paging Service – Do you need to know about emergency calls out of hours? – No problem at all with our system.

Conference calls – Easily talk to any other group of people without the need to get in the car.

Personalised numbers – Individual users can have their own direct dial number – where only their phone will ring – ideal for you to give to your premium clients. These can be geographic i.e 01 or 02 numbers or non-geographic numbers such as 0800/0844/0871 etc

Multiple company numbers – The system can accept calls to multiple numbers and will display the number the caller has dialled – i.e. ‘Sales Order Line’.

Operator software – this can give specific users the ability to drag and drop incoming calls and see the status of all users within the organisation.

Company Specific Directories – these can be synchronised with ‘off phone lists’. Public folders in Microsoft Exchange can be linked to the phones for example.

Click to dial – allows you to select a number on your desktop and dial it by clicking with your mouse.
Screen pops – can show you information about who is calling and be linked to your other internal software, if the necessary external connectors are made available to us.

Time aware behaviour – The system can do different things automatically at different times of day. i.e. all calls to voicemail after 5.30pm.

Handsets
There are a choice of handsets and we can show you all the options at our demo facilities in Dorchester.

If you are visiting Convergence Summit North and want to discuss Hosted Voice solutions then please call onto the Azlan stand where you will find Clare Jenkins of Cisco FutureLine.

Not sure if George Clooney is going to be there but I am reliably informed that there is a Nespresso machine and coffee mugs and Clare will be happy to go for a coffee with you and discuss how Cisco Hosted Voice might be the right Hosted Voice solution for you.

Andy Brocklehurst, Cisco’s RSM for Small Business will be presenting and participating in a round table discussion and wondering around the show.

Cisco have a new Small Business website at http://www.ciscosblaunchpad.com/

Clare Jenkins, M.D. of FutureLine, is going to be one of the speakers at UCExpo 2011 and will have a simples message to deliver.

For Hosted Voice to become widely used it needs to be simples !

It also helps when it is supported by one of the biggest networking companies in the world – and Cisco Systems fits the bill perfectly.

At UCExpo 2011 the Cisco FutureLine stand ( 504 ) will show and demonstrate the latest in Cisco S.M.B. telephony options.

Actually there are two audiences for Cisco FutureLine – the end user and the reseller. Clearly the reseller knows all the technical jargon but the end user does not – especially the S.M.B. end user.

The message needs to be simples to both but between Cisco FutureLine and resellers it may be ok to use the jargon.

It’s about communicating in the right way – taking into account who your audience is.

S.M.B. customers don’t know all the answers to questions like ” What features do you need ? ” – they are typically growing, dynamic businesses who are changing structure and direction quite often.

What they do need therefore is FLEXIBILITY and UPGRADABILITY.

They want to know that they can get a phone system that does the job right now but can grow to suit the needs of thier business in the future.

SIMPLES !!

FutureLine Hosted Voip will be at UC Expo 2011, Olympia, London from the 8 – 9th March on the Cisco Systems stand.

UC Expo is one of the premier U.K. events for CIOs, Business Managers, Technical Directors and associated professionals from organisations of every kind interested in Unified Communications.

As one of the leaders in Unified Communications Cisco Systems has made a major committment to UC Expo and FutureLine will be there for S.M.B.’s and other organisations interested in Hosted Voice and Unified Communications.

Andy Brocklehurst of Cisco will be one of the Cisco speakers and is quoted as saying:

“We are seeing an increasing demand for managed and hosted solutions in the voice space and this is especially the case for smaller businesses with less than 20 employees. FutureLine have a refreshingly new approach by addressing the key fundamentals of quality, security and ease of use and deployment. This is all underpinned by partnering with Cisco who fully understand how to manage different media provided by the various consumption models.”

Andy Brocklehurst
RSM Cisco Small Business

Clare Jenkins, M.D. of FutureLine, will be speaking at the event aswell. Further posts will give more details of Clare and Andy’s themes and also we will be posting about some exciting offers that FutureLine will be making to people interested in evaluating FutureLine’s Hosted Voice solutions.

For more information about FutureLine please go to:

http://www.futureline.net.uk/

or call Clare on

0871 594 3555 or

email her at: info@futureline.net.uk

If you are looking for small business phone systems and you live near Telford or Shrewsbury in Shropshire then I highly recommend that you talk to Vanilla Communications

http://www.vanillacomms.co.uk/

who have recently become a Cisco FutureLine Partner

http://www.futureline.net.uk/

and who are able to provide a full communications solution. They say :

” VANILLAcomms is an independent and whole market provider of Business Communications solutions. We work with you to provide the entire communications platform, comprising of Mobile, Fixed Line, Data, Conferencing and IT Services.

Let VANILLAcomms take the stress out of Business Communications for you, allowing you time to focus on your business.

Whether you are simply looking to save money on your monthly mobile telephone costs, undertaking a full audit and reconfiguration of your communications infrastructure, or somewhere in between, VANILLAcomms will create relevant and effective solutions for you.”

A new Cisco based Hosted Telephony service is available, via selected Cisco partners, in Liverpool, U.K.
Cisco Hosted Telephony ( otherwise known as Hosted Voip, Voice, Phones or  Hosted Unified Communications is particularly suitable for small and medium sized businesses and those with many small offices ( or small numbers of telephony users in each office ).

A representative from Cisco Systems comments:

“We are seeing an increasing demand for managed and hosted solutions in the voice space and this is especially the case for smaller businesses with less than 20 employees. FutureLine have a refreshingly new approach by addressing the key fundamentals of quality, security and ease of use and deployment. This is all underpinned by partnering with Cisco who fully understand how to manage different media provided by the various consumption models.”

Andy Brocklehurst
RSM Cisco Small Business UK

For more information please contact Clare at Futureline

http://www.futureline.net.uk/contact.html

for the chance to win an ipad go to

http://info.futureline.net.uk/win-an-ipad/