Expert: Hakan Kocabeyoglu, VP Product, Unblu Inc. Facilitator: Caroline Burkart
Headlines:
- It is very difficult to drive differentiation through technology so the sector should stop trying
- Good functionality is still hard to achieve
- Push notifications need to be improved
- Younger clients expect greater digital capability
- The industry needs younger advisers coming through to help drive the digital revolution in wealth management in tandem with younger clients
Discussion Points:
Differentiation:
The sector needs to stop trying to drive differentiation by building in house or tailored tech. Wealth management platforms should be similar so that there is no hard switch for clients and they can move fairly seamlessly between providers as necessary.
In retail banking, while all the banks are competitors, in reality, their banking apps are very similar in terms of functionality so there is little differentiation.
Functionality:
Many delegates agreed that functionality exists on their apps but ‘convenience is king’ so it’s hard to guide advisers away from using WhatsApp to message clients, despite the compliance implications and especially when a client might instigate a conversation via WhatsApp.
Advisers have to be continuously reminded that they need to swap to email or phone call for certain topics e.g. when providing actual advice which can often be tricky to do if the client is messaging via WhatsApp.
Messaging can be good for a quick question but it is difficult to know where to draw the line into a compliant communication via the company app.
It was agreed that functionality with online chat bots is very difficult as they are only as good as they are programmed to be.
There is apathy towards usage as one never knows if a real person or a bot is behind it. Often you are calling precisely because you can’t find what you want online and the bot is not sophisticated enough to answer either.
Push notifications:
Whilst some firms have managed to convert clients to their apps for messaging, this only happened as a result of the pandemic.
Other firms still struggle to convert people to their app, often because it’s time-consuming to check notifications as security needs to be navigated to be able to see the message.
When using WhatsApp, no-one has control over who might be looking at their device. Therefore, for firms’ apps, detailed push notifications are not able to be used without going through a security process.
It was asked if biometric recognition could be used that will ‘unlock’ the push notification without having to go into the app, but again there is a clash between easy access for convenience and the need to comply with data privacy laws to protect client data.
Younger clients expect greater digital capability:
Since the pandemic, everyone is much more engaged with technology but as a result, expectations have risen, particularly among younger clients who expect much greater digital access and flexibility.
They also want data and analytics but many firms are not quite there yet and it was felt that more research is needed to be able to build the capability. However, much of the technology actually exists but many firms are not aware of it.
Any digital capability needs to drive better productivity and efficiency – it needs to help any process be faster and easier. It also needs to be about engagement with the client rather than just passing on information so that it encourages dual use e.g. co-browsing by the client and adviser.
It’s also very important when choosing new tech for the business to engage with the process and not just leave it to the IT team. It does not work to build tech functionality based on the IT team’s plans as they will have very different goals and approaches to the business needs.
The business also needs to be fully involved to ensure any processes developed have the necessary compliance approval so that all functionality operates within the regulatory environment.
The adviser gap:
Where are the younger advisers? As the number of younger clients increases, it’s difficult to engage with them as they are finding that their adviser is not compatible with them.
We need to be asking how digital improvements can allow advisers more value-add facetime with clients and how digital can be used to enhance the client relationship. An app can be used internally as well to drive push notifications to advisers and relay pieces of information.
It can also be used to transcribe calls and help with evidence and record keeping through producing call reports of phone calls and pull-out key points and actions from a conversation. Of course, good CRM systems can also drive and implement these actions.
It was agreed that this blended approach going forward would enhance the process for both advisers and clients, but as is often the case, the issue of cost arose and how much it would take to park legacy systems and move to a new tech base to support this new and enhanced way of working and interacting with clients.
There is also the challenge of ensuring good functionality, while remaining within the regulatory boundaries.
Key Takeaways:
- Is there a way with biometric recognition that will ‘unlock’ the push notification within an app without users having to get through the authentication process? And if so, how does this remain compliant?
