individual consulting project

Fisher Investments

Global Marketing Strategy

Proposal by Simple Solutions Consultant Catherine Millmann

Simple Solutions 500 El Camino Real Santa Clara, CA 95050 707.235.4269

October 28, 2013

Mr. Kevin Visconti, ManagerFisher Investments1450 Fashion Island BlvdSan Mateo, CA 94404

Dear Mr. Visconti:

In response to your request listed on your website for an appropriate solution to your global marketing difficulties, Simple Solutions is pleased to submit the following proposal to meet your specific needs. We appreciated the opportunity to visit your office on October 5 in order to submit this proposal.

After carefully reviewing your specifications for a new global marketing strategy to attract prospective foreign clients, we believe that implementing your company’s successful Seminar events overseas is the most suitable approach.

By utilizing the highly successful Seminar events abroad, prospects will have the opportunity to listen to senior members from the firm give formal presentations on Fisher Investments ideology and strategies. Hearing from senior members will instill confidence in prospects by allowing them to meet, in person, employees who are directly connected with the company – a tactic that will open the doors to a number of prospective clients in your European and Middle Eastern markets.

Currently, Investment Policy Committee members such as CEO Ken Fisher and Vice President Bill Glasser travel throughout the United States to present to thousands of clients and their referrals at FI’s annual seminars. Your company’s statistics show a high client retention rate after attending such an event, compared to clients who are considered “serial non-attenders”. And over the last 16 years, more than 9 out of 10 Private Client group clients have chosen to stay with Fisher1 due to the success of your client programs.

Fisher Investments prides itself on its strong relationships with its clients. Through Investment Counselors, clients feel an intimate connection to the company. This connection comes with the security they feel in knowing that their point of contact knows them by name and provides personal attention tailored to their individual needs. Spreading this connection overseas is imperative. While Outside Sales Persons (OSPs) and Regional Sales Associates (RSAs) are vital to successfully managing global offices, bringing a more official face to the company through events, like the Seminar, would increase morale among global clients.

Background and Necessity1 Fisher Investments Online: http://www.fisherinvestments.com/about/default.aspx

Fisher Investments is a privately owned, independent money management firm who provides an investment approach that is global, dynamic, and flexible.


Effectively communicating in a global market is an essential tool needed to successfully attract foreign investors. Fisher Investments has dedicated valuable time, money, and resources to expand this company worldwide, successfully establishing offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. With prospective establishments in the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Arab Emirates, FI’s next step is to contract new clients.

One challenge your company currently faces is training your global Relationship Managers (RMs), OSPs and RSAs to translate Fisher’s mission statement and investment ideals into languages that prospective clients will understand. Due to information getting lost in translation, FI’s presence in the global market is waning. At this moment, your company is finding it difficult to grasp the attention of prospective clients because they are not confident in the idea of investing with an American firm. Recent times show America, while a global power, is not currently an economic stronghold. With an unstable economy and possible double-dip recessions, Europeans and Asians alike would prefer to trust their money and investments in a company and economy that is more stable. Of all American investment firms though, Fisher Investments has proven to remain successful, as shown in the graph below2:

Fisher Investments, and current clients, are aware of the continuing success of the company. The parties involved understand that their money is being managed by one of the largest independent investment advisors. They are aware that Founder and CEO Ken Fisher was recognized in 2010 as one of 30 most influential industry figures in the last 30 years and ranked a top market forecaster among his peers - information that foreign investors may not be so knowledgeable of.

2 CXO Advisoryhttp://www.cxoadvisory.com/4808/individual-gurus/forbes-evaluates-ken-fishers-stock-picking/



A recent book, published in 2007, titled Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath identifies the main problem in business communication today as the “Curse of Knowledge”: The person sharing the idea has all sorts of insider information that others don’t, so they have already framed the problem and understand its relevance. That is precisely the case with Ken Fisher and the other members of the Investment Policy Committee, they know all of the secrets to successful investments; and its is up to them to communicate to clients that their secrets are operational.

In the United States, an effective way Fisher Investments relays this “knowledge” to its clients is through its highly successful client programs. Currently, the Client Programs department within the Private Client Group hosts a number of events such as Fisher Friends Event, Investment Roundtables, Fisher Client Forums, Webinars, Investment Education Workshops, and Seminars. Two-thirds of the events listed are open to clients and any guest they feel might benefit from the event. By opening such events to any interested person or party, Fisher is allowing prospects to see first hand what the company is all about. Currently, clients and prospects abroad do not have that luxury.

The Heaths’ Made to Stick divides its six chapters into effective ways for a person or company to express its ideas and make it “stick” in a listener’s mind. The chapters follow the instructions of simplicity, the art of presenting something unexpected, concreteness, credibility, appealing to the listener’s emotional side, and utilizing storytelling. Simplicity, credibility, and emotions are the three tools Fisher Investments must embody in order to effectively appeal to global clients.

Simplicity

Due to the language barrier, translations must be kept simple. This meaning that the presenter is obligated to know its audience culturally and not insult their intelligence with inappropriate non-translatable phrases or clip-art images.

Credibility

That being said, visual aids, such as the Seminar power point presentation can be helpful in allowing the audience to read the main points of what the speaker is saying. Useful images such as graphs are effective tools as well.

Emotions

By having Investment Policy Committee members present to prospective foreign clients, credibility is established. Prospects then have the opportunity to meet the men behind the mission statement first hand, a notion that is appealing to their emotions by instilling confidence in who they are entrusting their money to.



Cost Analysis

The following cost estimates are based on transportation from San Francisco, CA to London, United Kingdom and lodging within London. 200 total guests have been estimated to attend the separate lunch and dinner events.

All expenses below have been calculated through the US Dollar and UK British Pound Sterling exchange rate (1 British Pound Sterling equals 1.62 US Dollars).

Travel ExpensesAirfare Round Trip $2,000.00Hotel 3-Day Stay $380.40Transportation Stipend $240.00Total for one IPC Member $2,620.40

Venue ExpensesBallroom Rental 1-Day $1,300.00Lunch100 guests for 3-course meal $37.98/head

Dinner100 guests for 3-course meal $42.98/head

Hotel for over-night guestsApproximating 40 guests $126.80/guest

Total $14,468.00

Consulting FeesIndividual Fee per HourApproximating 209 hours $60.00

Total Expenses $29,628.40

If 30 out of 200 prospective clients and guests choose to sign with Fisher Investments after attending the Seminar event, it can be estimated (through current client statistics) that each person will sign on with an average approximated value of £500,000.00 – which exchanges to $810,200.00.

Calculating the total estimated value of each client (in US Dollars) by the target number of clients to sign, Fisher Investments can expect to see a Return on Investment of $24,276,371.60 per event ($24,306,000-$29,628.40).

Assessment



Evaluating the effectiveness of this proposed strategy, both immediately and over time is simple. Success will be initially measured if at least 30 prospective foreign investors sign with Fisher Investments after the first event, to be held in January 2014.

Over time, success will be measured by the retention rate of the new clients: If after 3 years 60% remain satisfied with Fisher Investments and after 5 years have brought in 1 referral each, then Fisher Investments may consider themselves successfully integrated into the foreign private investor market.

Conclusion

Thank you for the opportunity to submit this proposal to Fisher Investments. We are confident that you will be pleased with the results of a Simple Solution global marketing strategy. If we can provide you with any further information about our service, please call at 707-235-4269 or visit us at our website.

Sincerely yours,

Catherine MillmannIndividual Consultant and Project Manager


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