Making IR relevant with design thinking
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
With rapid economic progression worldwide, it is imperative for us to
stay relevant and in line with developments especially within the capital
markets. This is only possible if we stay actively engaged with our clients and
race toward a solution or objective together. While this more often than not
involves an iterative process of failing and learning fast, one key aspect to
success is to uphold the mind-set of design-thinking.
Design-thinking is about constantly innovating one-self or even
work-processes with a focus on the end-user or objective. Applying it to the
context of our professional capacity in investor relations (IR), it is
imperative for us to truly understand what is in the best interests of our
clients as we provide our counsel to solving their problems with a combination of creative and analytical
thinking.
Having successfully assisted several companies to grow their valuations
by more than 100% over a 12-month period, I often like to adopt a “fly on the wall” approach which is carried
out through a two-tier design-thinking strategy. This allows a
360-degree perspective of the various factors that will determine the outcome
and has been proven to be effective.
Tier-1 (Client-focused)
- As a professional solution provider, we have to first understand the objectives or problems faced by our clients
- This could range from seeking strategic investors to fund their expansion plans to enhancing shareholder value through share price improvement
Tier-2 (Output-focused)
While we devise a customised plan to assist our
clients achieve their objectives, we have to first identify the key channels
that would impact the outcome. We then align ourselves in their perspective
positions to design-think what would
suit their interests and address their concerns.
i.
Analysts
Driven by
fundamentals, it is important to assess the company from a few
angles such as
valuations, macro and micro-economic conditions
ii.
Investors
Be it strategic
institutional investors or the retail counterparts, the underlying
concern is
always on the returns
iii.
Media
Crafting the relevant
and palatable pitch to ensure that the key messages in
any corporate
development are being communicated
In a perfect economic market such as Singapore, it would be assumed that all information and
factors are effectively reflected in the company’s share price. There are
unfortunately various variables that upset this hypothetical statement such as
lack of information and understanding by investors of a particular company.
While design-thinking complements and sets the foundation of a
successful IR programme, it more importantly inculcates the culture to have a
holistic approach by looking through the lenses of various components. This
also promotes a shift in general perception that an IR consultant is indeed
different from a PR consultant with the former focusing on financial literary
then communication.
As we progress with our clients, it is paramount that we adopt an open
mind-set to embrace changes and innovative thinking. In the complex financial
market that we live in today, the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach is
almost obsolete. While design-thinking may have set us apart today, we continue
to reinvent our work processes to stay relevant with industry developments.
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