How has your experience of Money 20/20 USA been?
Money 20/20 is one of our flagship events. I oversee our three key sectors: payments, insurance and asset management. From a payments perspective, it’s the biggest US event of the year. This year’s stand positioning was our best yet, located close to major payments players like JP Morgan and ClearBank. Footfall was strong, and interest in AutoRek is growing, reflecting five years of US expansion.
At Money 20/20, people invest heavily, so they are looking to bring back ROI. Therefore, the key was to pre-arrange meetings with prospects. That is why Money 20/20 works, not just from a brand perspective, but also for lead generation.
The next step for us is to get more involved in those post-event activities.
How do you adapt your marketing approach to appeal to both established financial institutions and emerging fintech companies?
We’re working towards an ideal customer profile (ICP), which continues to evolve. In the payments space, some firms that may not initially fit the ICP can grow to reach that level. We work closely with the sales team each week, discussing what’s working well, what isn’t and where we should focus or enhance our budget in terms of clients.
Partnerships are very important. We’ve done joint webinars with partners in payments. Teaming up with partners gives us exposure to names we wouldn’t otherwise come across.
Industry associations are also important, as they guide us on what the audience wants to hear. We are currently running a huge campaign with the Payments Association, across videos, podcasts and a roundtable. Through all of that activity, we aim to be in front of the right audience.
What role does data and analytics play in shaping your marketing decisions and evaluating campaign performance?
Analytics is central to everything we do. We spend significantly on lead generation, so we need to ensure we attract the right people—those who interact with us and move to the next stage. It’s great to have huge volume of MQLs, but if they don’t convert to SQLs, they become dormant.
One of my key metrics is how many wins come from marketing activity. We then look back through the journey and replicate that.
A great example is the safeguarding regulation, with a compliance deadline of 7 May. Interest is huge, so we released a white paper, and within the first half hour we had upwards of 60 MQLs. But I need to track and ensure these qualify further.
There isn’t any decision we make without analytics. If we create a follow-up to a white paper, we need to ensure it resonates. Without analytics, we don’t have evidence to suggest we should continue with what we’re doing.
As AutoRek expands internationally, how do you tailor your marketing to suit different regulatory landscapes and cultural contexts?
It’s about picking the right partners. Things are different in each market. For example, US consumers are more direct and want to hear how you can help them. In the UK and Europe, it’s slightly different.
At conferences, you can navigate this yourself but for virtual campaigns choosing the right partners is essential. In payments, we work with a leading publication whose content team guide our messaging.
Before webinars, we collaborate with them to identify key themes relevant to AutoRek and select speakers who strengthen our message. Launching campaigns in a new market can be daunting, but with the right knowledge and partners it becomes manageable.
What are the priorities?
Our main focus is driving growth. From a campaign perspective, my responsibility is to scale up successful activities and increase volume. Expanding the team to focus on each sector will help drive that growth.
Secondly, we want to explore new areas like conferences and campaign themes. Our financial year begins on 1 February, when we launch three industry reports. We go to market within each sector, gather top-line data, analyse it and publish the reports.
These reports position us as thought leaders. Off the back of them, we host webinars, roundtables and breakfast briefings. Through these initiatives, we’ll continue to grow AutoRek and build on our success.