Private Equity (PE) firm’s websites differ from other types of corporate websites in several key ways.
Firstly, let’s look at the audience. There are the expected ones – those that place money with PE firms to invest in other companies, management teams of companies that those PE firms are looking to invest in and individuals looking to work for a PE firm.
But there is also a growing group of people who effect a PE firm’s licence to operate. These broader audiences are important when the PE Firm looks to invest in companies with a public profile, treasured consumer brands or civil infrastructure firms like airports, power generators and railways. What happens to these companies affects the lives of people and those people and their representatives have a point of view on who should own them.
All these audiences are now demanding a better understanding of who the PE firms are, whether they manage their investments in a responsible fashion, whether they are in it for the long-term and how they see their role in society. In the absence of a narrative, you run the risk of audiences defaulting to stereotypical negative perceptions of PE & finance.
Secondly, it’s important to look at why these audiences are visiting the website. Typically, they seek clarity on the following areas:
- Management team: Who’s in charge, what’s their experience
- Investment history: What has the firm done before and how successful was it?
- Scale and numbers: What are the key financial indicators of the company?
- Investment approach: What is your unique approach to generating value?
So how does a PE firm go about achieving this on their website? Here are 6 quick wins:
- Clearly define your brand proposition, clarity of approach and evidence through proof points
- Give transparency to the management team
- Evidence responsible management of investments
- Quickly and clearly display financial and other complex information
- The medium is the message. Demonstrate you understand the world your portfolio companies operate in – most important when investing in tech firms, for example
- Have a clear stance on ESG. Good corporate governance is a given but it is also an important indicator of how you will hold your portfolio companies to account critical to audiences such as NGOs
The differences outlined about reflect the specialised nature and professional focus of private equity firm websites. Radstone has extensive experience of building award winning websites in this sector so if you’re looking for advice, we’re here to help!
