Background

Investor Force, Inc is a financial software company that has been a pioneer in the development of advanced solutions for institutional investment consultants.  Originally founded as an eCommerce marketplace during the dotcom boom, the firm began to experience slower growth after the Internet bubble began burst.  Seeking to better understand their customer needs, usage habits and relationship preferences, they retained Chris Malone and his firm to help them accelerate growth.

The Solution

After undertaking a thorough review of the InvestorForce business model and marketing strategy, customer relationship research was conducted with hundreds of institutional investment professionals.  The data and our analysis revealed that while InvestorForce had generated solid awareness and trial usage, they had some significant trust and reliability issues that needed to be overcome.  In addition, certain key product features were not viewed to be very compelling, suggesting that some significant product redesign opportunities.

As a result, a new customer relationship strategy was developed for InvestorForce and several important product design enhancements were recommended that would help  overcome the credibility issues they faced.

Business Results

After reflecting on Chris’ findings and recommendations, InvestorForce elected to boldly redefine their entire business model, ultimately adopting a “software as a service” strategy that catapulted their growth forward.  Within a year of implementing our recommendations and their new strategy, their growth accelerated dramatically.

“Chris Malone and his firm helped us develop a fact-based understanding of what our customers thought of us and wanted, which guided us to more clear and relevant value propositions for each customer type.  In the end, the insights and strategies that he recommended to us helped guide several key strategic decisions we’ve made to enhance our revenue and profitability model.  His work for us has been very valuable and I would recommend Chris and his firm to any business seeking to grow more rapidly.”

Jim Morrissey, President and CEO
InvestorForce