Why messaging matters

By Harriet Alexander, Founder & Managing Partner

September 2025

My journey

 In my early years working in the markets, I had little interest in marketing material. It was ‘just a presentation’, or an awards entry that needed ‘getting out of the way’. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I began to appreciate how wrong I was. The proverbial penny dropped when I observed a senior Partner at a sizeable hedge fund spend hours agonising over the details of a presentation, right down to the punctuation. It was at this point that I realised if this was something worthy of the Partner’s time, someone who was clearly very busy with a multitude of responsibilities, it was surely worth my time, too. As my career progressed, my appreciation for the significance of messaging grew. In a subsequent role the entire distribution team was responsible for producing a marketing presentation from scratch – and it had to be perfect. Again, seeing very senior members of the distribution team take such a keen interest in ensuring that every word and graphic was accurate and polished demonstrated the importance of clear, relevant and concise messaging.

In my various fundraising roles, I knew that investors I was contacting were receiving hundreds of similar emails and calls from competitors. They had a vast choice of investment managers and were scant on time. It became evident that first impressions are of paramount importance, and every interaction and its content are critical – and can make or break a relationship.

As I progressed into more diverse roles with increasingly wide-ranging responsibilities, all communications across various media types had to be perfect. Whether it was editing a press release, scrutinising a video frame by frame, crafting a new presentation for or preparing for an investor meeting, I would ask myself: how will this be received? Is it clear, polished and accurate, or will it leave my audience with more questions than answers?

What is marketing and communications?

It’s not just the written presentation, but how you present it. It’s every factsheet, newsletter, press release and social media update. It’s more than presenting a keynote speech at a conference - brief, informal conversations afterwards can be even more impactful. White papers and research papers are also valuable and often overlooked ways to communicate. The first impression of a company website can make the difference between reading further and engaging or clicking away to a competitor’s more accessible site. Marketing and communications, in short, encompasses the messaging of all information and provides the basis for relationships and trust.

What are the key tenets of effective messaging?

Authenticity over AI: When AI-generated content makes its way into content, not only does it often ‘miss the mark’ (to use tired, clichéd AI parlance), but it also erodes trust. If a disembodied AI program has written your material, how does anyone know that it’s a true reflection of what you represent? Authentic, genuine content is a key foundation for building relationships. It tells the story in the company’s own words, communicating its true principles and philosophy, and demonstrates thoughtfulness and commitment to investors and other stakeholders. While AI undoubtedly has its uses, original and thoughtful content creation is not one of them.

Transparency: Without transparency, there can be no trust. After a client meeting in the early days of my career, I was pulled aside by a Partner who was also present. He lightly reprimanded me for sidestepping a question with a vague answer. “Just tell them you’ll come back to them. When you’re not clear, it looks like you’re hiding something.” His words stayed with me to this day and apply not only to spoken communication but to all messaging. Transparency promotes effective understanding and, in turn, builds confidence in an organisation and its capabilities.

Creating an identity: Building a strong brand not only helps stakeholders understand the business; it’s also a way to communicate critical differences. Furthermore, a unique identity not only provides differentiation but will also help people to remember you. Ask yourself: What’s our edge? Does it come across clearly or is it lost in a deluge of information? Why should or will this person remember me and is it for a good reason?

Accessibility: Overwhelmed with information from numerous sources, we have little time to process everything we see. Make your messaging clear, straightforward and jargon-free. Even the (very common) act of cramming too much text onto a slide can be hugely detrimental to how much information is retained. Content also needs to be relevant – get to the point as quickly as you can, before you lose your audience.

Professionalism: Poor grammar, typos and misaligned text are just a few examples of basic mistakes which are made all too often. If a company doesn’t put time and effort into their communications, or seem to care about their public persona, what else do they skimp on? Polished, accurate messaging demonstrates attention to detail and competence which permeates an organisation.

So, what’s my message?

It is crucial to give all marketing and communications materials the time and attention they deserve, ensuring the main message is clear and concise. Senior team members need to prioritise how their company is perceived and lead by example. The level of dedication and care around a company’s messaging is a demonstration of their level of professionalism. Finally, care and diligence in messaging, marketing and communications represents an understanding of and commitment to stakeholders, upon which lasting and trusting relationships are built.

Please reach out to info@alexitas.co.uk to discuss further.