Gene-ius

Franklin Templeton Investments (FTI) has been a partner in success for over three-quarters of a century, providing (FAs) with the knowledge and skills to deliver top-level financial advice and asset management. Together, FTI & its global client base have helped reach countless goals since 1945.

However, this has become increasingly difficult in recent times. Not only has the global investment market become more competitive, but it is also rapidly evolving. This means that FA needs are becoming increasingly complex. 

Recognizing this, FTI’s leadership team decided they wanted to understand their FA clients’ behaviors, preferences and needs more personally. At the same time, they needed to better communicate information about relevant products with the right message through the right channel. They also wanted to understand how their company’s interactions with FAs could provide maximum value to them while simultaneously ramping up their level of digital engagement. 

“Ultimately, we are striving to build and define and improve an ongoing conversation with our customers and optimize and deepen our relationship with them.”

Kate Biagini

FTI’s analytics manager

FTI realized it needed expert help to meet these goals, so it turned to Fractal for assistance. The Fractal team recommended its Advisor Genomics proprietary machine learning algorithms. This solution leverages machine learning and pattern-matching algorithms that could develop a comprehensive understanding of FTI’s FAs. 

“We learned that Genomics could help us determine which advisors to contact, how to contact them, and what to discuss.”

Jennifer Ball

FTI’s senior vice president of global product marketing and insights

Fractal demonstrated that it could use granular historical data to generate personalized ‘FA genomic labels.’ “These include channel preferences and message responses to purchase propensities and their experiences with our solutions,” says Ball. 

The labels are probabilistic scores that predict how FAs will transact and interact in the future. They are also self-learning and adaptive, updating every new data point automatically.

FTI uses these labels for lead generation and to identify relevant conversation topics for its sales force to use, as well as for its digital marketing efforts. “Each activity and response feeds into our models,” says Ball. “The goal is to have an environment where sales and marketing are equipped to engage with financial advisors in a way that speaks directly to their preferences and needs.” 

Thanks to the solution, FTI has been able to advance its digital strategy and – as a result – leverage data analytics as a competitive advantage. It’s been able to increase message relevance across all digital channels and use actionable insights to add day-to-day value for FAs. 

For instance, by combining Customer Genome predictions with product attribute matching, Fractal helped FTI profile potential advisors with laser precision. This helped them recommend the company’s products to their clients. It has also been able to identify and engage more valuable leads, such as advisors most likely to be active on social media.

“This new marketing channel, combined with the new analysis and the analytics that we get from it, is helping us expand our practice and reach clients that we wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise.”

David McSpadden

FTI’s chief marketing officer

The results have been impressive. FTI’s implementation of Fractal’s Advisor Genomics personalized behavioral and contact strategy system has resulted in a 26% uplift in sales, US$600 million of new assets, and an 82% ‘thumbs up’ favorability score among FAs.  

That’s not all, the ANA has recognized FTI’s collaboration with Fractal for the Genius Award in Digital Marketing Analytics. “Fractal is a great partner that has helped us advance our analytics practice,” says Bell. “They invested in learning about our industry, business, company, and people. Ultimately, they contributed a level of analytics experience and expertise that allowed us to move much more quickly than we would have been able to do on our own.” 

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