[This case study was delivered by one of our Fractional CMOs before they joined VCMO.]

The Company.

Qorus (rebranded from Efma) is a global ecosystem that helps financial services companies reinvent by bringing together valuable insights, inspiring events, rich data and active worldwide communities all in one place.

The Background.

Previously known as Efma, and having fallen behind the times in terms of digital relevance as a result of the COVID pandemic, Paul Bennett was brought in as Interim CMO to re-establish their brand for survival in a rapidly modernising industry.

The Marketing Challenge.

Efma was developed for companies in the financial services industry by providing a global ecosystem connecting people, organisations, and ideas. But when the COVID pandemic caused the industry to dramatically shift into digital, they weren’t ready and fell behind the times. Efma needed to reestablish its relevancy, stop a member exodus and grow a base of larger clients. The challenge was for Efma to do what they normally tell their clients to do: “reinvent”.

It was also crucial to refresh and modernise the brand’s style and tone of voice to accommodate its new digital positioning on a global stage, whilst differentiating it from other organisations in the same space. User experience also needed an overhaul, to make sure valuable resources could be located and understood, and to ensure that customers’ digital journeys could be properly amplified and not hit dead ends.

Marketing Transformation.

Website User Experience Optimisation

User experience was improved by introducing a community based approach to segmentation to increase relevance of content and offers.  This also drove tiers of viewing on the website, behind barriers such as email capture and pay walls, which kept valuable resources from leaking for free. In this way, fulfilling, relevant, and longer-term customer journeys could be forged, whilst boosting sustainability.

Enhancing the Value Proposition

Paul, alongside brand agency Future Kings, worked diligently to find three core pillars, based on the values and value proposition, to build the new brand from those foundations. By curating insightful and innovative projects, it was discovered that the financial services industry could be pushed further. The data suggested that by increasing efficiencies, companies could move faster. Furthermore, by facilitating collaboration, it was found that the industry could share, learn, and improve together. A new brand tagline was born “further, faster, together.”

Performance Marketing

At the same time, Paul established a platform to redefine the performance marketing strategy and implement a data driven approach to new member enrolment and value-added offers. This was achieved based on developing user journeys and relevant brand content to engage the audience.

Result.

Through Paul’s marketing transformation efforts, the end result was the birth of ‘Qorus’ - a modern digitally focussed association helping financial services providers reinvent themselves. Market results were extremely encouraging as feedback suggested Qorus offered a more personalised digital approach to match members needs with a creative inspiring brand to take them to the next stage of performance.

About VCMO

VCMO helps SMEs and investor-backed portfolio companies with a £2 million or higher turnover that operate without a full-time Chief Marketing Officer. Our Fractional CMOs and tailored services transform marketing potential into a competitive advantage that delivers scalable and predictable growth, increased profits, and enhanced enterprise value.