The Independent Advisor For Vanguard Investors (TIAVI) publishes financial advice for Vanguard investors but is losing money on its marketing campaigns. TIAVI's current marketing lacks qualified leads, control over mail delivery, and customization. Two potential solutions are identified: implementing a digital email campaign or a better lead qualification process. The document recommends implementing a customized lead qualification system to gather investor interests and tailor subscriptions accordingly. This approach aims to increase qualified leads and sales while reducing costs compared to TIAVI's current untargeted mass mailings.

1. Vanguard Case
Prepared by:
Geovanny Reyes, David Mendez,
Ben Sawyer, Dan Pemberton
Executive Summary
The Independent Advisor For Vanguard Investors (TIAVI), an advisory financial
publisher, is pursuing a viable and cost-effective new marketing campaign. TIAVI’s
current marketing campaign is not attracting enough subscribers to break-even.
The main problems that the company needs to overcome to achieve a better
marketing campaign are: (1) lack of qualifying leads, (2) lack of control in mail delivery
effectiveness, and (3) lack of mail customization.
After an extensive strategic analysis, two potential solutions were discovered: (1)
cutting cost by implementing a digital e-mail campaign and (2) implement a better lead
qualification procedure.
The implementation of a digital e-mail campaign will significantly reduce the
overall cost, and will provide data analytics tools. On the other hand, TIAVI will need to
convert their current customers to the digital platform.
The implementation of a better lead qualification system will enable TIAVI to
keep its paper mail system and create customized and personalized marketing material.
This strategy will increase the number of new subscribers per marketing material that is
sent. On the other hand, this strategy will increase the overall cost by customizing the
marketing material for different customer segments, and by implementing a lead
qualification platform.
We think that the best course of action is to implement a better lead qualification
system. This process will involve: (1) gathering of investor information by databases, (2)

2. discover particular investing interest of each prospect and (3) devise the custom
subscriptions for each respective segment of investors. We choose this approach
because if we target clients we will reduce time, cost, narrow our reach, and we will be
highly profitable with an estimated ROI of 20.
Analysis
The Independent Adviser For Vanguard Investors was a high quality publisher
that provided sound financial advice specifically to individuals invested in Vanguard
funds. With such a quality product, why was the publisher losing money on their
marketing campaigns?
TIAVI issues faces are products of their prospecting methods; they filled the top
of their funnel with expensive high quality leads but they didn’t spend enough time
actually qualifying them before sending out equally expensive mailers. TIAVI had no
idea if their mailers were actually reaching their intended recipient, it was seemingly a
“mail and pray that they respond” strategy. To make matters worse, every list that was
generated received the same mailers with no regard to how or why they were selected
to be on the list. TIAVI’s lack of specific knowledge of who their actual base was is the
reason that they were losing so much money on some of their marketing campaigns.
Proposed Solutions
The Independent Adviser For Vanguard Investors have a few options to resolve
their marketing campaign issue. Moving forward TIAVI has to either cut the cost of their

3. marketing campaign, or integrate a better lead qualification system to increase the
number of subscribers to their increase revenue.
When it comes to TIAVI marketing campaign costs; they are currently spending
$145,500 for marketing material, and netting about $64,452 leaving a deficit of about
$81,000. If TIAVI were to convert their mailing material to a digital email marketing
campaign their cost would decrease to less than a thousand dollars a month (mailchimp
pricing around $450 a month for 50,000 subscribers, and unlimited emailing capability).
Integrating an Email Marketing software like Mailchimp or Constant Contact would allow
TIAVI to send mass emails to potential clients for a much lower cost than their current
paper mailer system. These softwares would also provide more accurate analytics, and
create different campaigns for potential subscribers to join depending on the information
they would like to receive. Disadvantages to this plan are that TIAVI would have to
convert all of their current subscribers to the digital platform, and begin to acquire email
information for prospects.
TIAVI could continue with their current printed mailing system, but instead of
sending a mass mailing system, tailor marketing material to the prospect. For example,
if a broker provided a list of investors in the healthcare vanguard mutual fund, instead of
sending them just a one size fits all mailer they would be sent a mailer about the
healthcare vanguard mutual fund. This system would increase the cost of printed
material, but the success rate of mailing campaigns would also increase. A cost
effective approach to this proposal would be to not just mail to everyone on the list, but
to only mail to people with a certain amount of money invested in the Vanguard mutual
funds. This way you are reaching prospects with a higher interest in your product, and

4. decreasing your cost of marketing. Disadvantages to this plan would include the
increased cost of creating different marketing material, and creating a system to sort
prospects based on interest.
Recommendation
As described throughout the case, TIAVI faces the issue of increasing marketing
costs not being covered by enough subscription revenue. Too much money and time is
being spent on trying to advertise the subscriptions en masse to prospects that
ultimately may be unqualified. To effectively reach as many qualified customers as
possible in a way that is cost and time effective, TIAVI must use a method that enables
it to filter prospective clients and then tailor the subscriptions to their individual and
respective needs. While the integration of online marketing software makes it possible
to reach an unlimited client base in a way that is inexpensive and fast, it does not allow
for custom-style subscriptions; in addition, it would be very difficult to implement this
solution without first gathering the emails of all prospective clients and convert clients
already satisfied with paper subscriptions to online ones.
The most appropriate solution to bettering the marketing system of TIAVI is to
continue the paper mailing system, but in a way that is tailored to the clients individual
interests. Targeting clients with an already known interest would eliminate time and
money being spent needlessly on a “one size fits all approach”, where resources are
being spent on advertising to unqualified or unwilling prospects, products that most of
the time they are not looking for or need. This custom subscription method would
ensure that the clients continue subscribing to the service for a long period of time, as
value is seen in paying for something tailored to their needs.

5. To begin the implementation of this marketing strategy, gather information on
prospects through provided lists of investors and try to discover the particular investing
interests of each individual one. After making an average count of particular investing
interests, and devise the custom subscriptions for each respective group of investors
based on interest.
Return on Investment:
145,500 x .20 = 174,600
174,600 - 145,500 / 145,000 = 20% increased sales