Expert: Johnny Beloe, Director of Pre-Sales & WDX1 Product Strategy at Wealth Dynamix
Headlines:
- It’s dangerous to be swayed by flashy interfaces and client tools
- Self-service experiences should always start with the essentials
- E-signatures are more than a nice-to-have
- Adding in amendments via the portal is the next step
- A phased approach makes infinite sense
Context:
We are in a changing landscape. During the last few years, we’ve witnessed a real sea change within the industry as multiple factors have transformed how clients wish to interact. More touchpoints, higher interaction frequency, and a wish to interact on their own terms means wealth managers need to find ways to deliver exceptional service in a more personalised way, often at scale.
The digital experience is now essential to clients who expect to access information and services on the go, from wherever they may be. Yet, wealth management technology is about far more than offering a client portal. Many in the industry have yet to fully glean the possibilities available via intelligent technology, so it was heartening to see so many delegates seeking to centre their strategy on the client.
It is now wholly possible to improve consistency and relevance across the entire client lifecycle to forge closer, more meaningful relationships with your clients, which is why our roundtable topic explored:
1. Improving the relationship between clients and advisors:
Banks and wealth management firms’ relationship with technology is not always an easy one. When probed on how technology could be used to improve client relationships, it was clear opinions within the sector varied dramatically, with some seeing technology as a huge opportunity to ‘get ahead’ while others, often in more traditional settings, viewed it as a threat to their very existence. Universally though, there was a sense of urgency surrounding digitising the client experience in some form, to compete.
2. Embarking on a digital transformation project
Debate and insight gained from the delegates’ own experiences shared with the group, highlighted clear areas of alignment.
Internal processes and integration must be prioritised before you consider adding self-service or client-centric tools like video chat and Robo-advisory services.
Onboarding and reviews were considered the priority in terms of self-service experiences. There was some debate on which should take precedence given that onboarding only had the potential to impress new clients whilst improving reviews would impact every client.
There was a consensus that the implementation of e-signatures was the next logical add-on to a client portal to fully reap the rewards of such a system and deliver a more efficient service.
Allowing more self-service elements was not top of the list, but given it will both empower the client and provide efficiencies, it was felt to be a desirable addition in time.
Not all priorities are equal. As demonstrated by the case studies, trying to make too many changes simultaneously can be counter-productive to improving client service.
A few areas such as messaging and multi-channel communications were considered low priority in private banking, with expectations of low adoption voiced with the exception of the retail banking space.
Key takeaways:
- It is paramount to have a clear vision before embarking on any transformation project. A successful approach takes all views into account, from marketing and sales to back office, operations & compliance – and the most important of all: the client
- It’s a puzzle with three interconnected pieces: the firm, the client, and the advisor. To miss any of these elements out of the equation will prove a mistake
- When implementing, it’s vital to test the technology on clients to gauge appetite and take up. Only by evaluating your offering can you consider tactics to increase adoption and ongoing usage, thereby carving a path to optimising your client experience
- There are many complexities facing modern-day wealth managers as they strive to meet client expectations, but firms need to adapt to survive. Miss the opportunity, and you may miss out on safeguarding the future of your business
