In wealth management, the client experience is a critical component of a healthy ongoing client relationship. Frequent, high-quality interactions not only improve trust, but can also contribute to 5.7 times more revenue compared to organisations or advisory firms that are not client-centric. 

Of course, if asked, most advisers would claim to be client-focused, dedicating themselves to improving the relationship with their clients and delivering results. The problem is that good intentions based on previous industry best practices are no longer enough to guarantee a quality client experience.

The root of adviser frustration

It is not uncommon for advisers to feel they are offering the best client service they can, only to be embarrassed and frustrated when a modern wealth management client claims it is not what they expect. And this does not just harm the relationship or threaten churn, but can also stagnate assets under management (AUM) growth.

When this happens, it is not because the adviser is bad at their job or that the advice itself is not good enough. The issue is rooted in the way the advice is delivered. 

Sit-down dinners, emails, phone calls – all of these channels should either be used rarely or not at all in today’s environment. They are, to put it simply, inappropriate communication channels. 

What do clients expect?

Client expectations have been shifting for years now. Changes in demographics and more digital service offerings in other areas of life mean that older methods of communication simply do not cut it anymore. 

It is not reasonable for future clients to have a more modern service with their everyday retail bank than when interacting with a personal adviser. This is why a report found that younger generations would sooner trust BigTech firms like Apple, Amazon, or Google. 

In short, it is because of the digital client experience they offer. In these organisations, all investment products, personalised advice, and communication channels can all be found in one place – and easy to access thanks to digital technology.

As McKinsey found, there is an increasing demand for “one-stop-shop solutions” for wealth management solutions, with 29% claiming they wanted it in 2018 and 47% in 2023.

If you consider just younger investors, this jumps to a huge 73%, indicating that the future of client experience is centered around convenience.

Do I really need these new tools?

This is a common question that advisers ask themselves. While the world is undoubtedly changing, it sometimes is not obvious in their day-to-day lives. There are still a substantial number of ideal clients who are happy with more traditional methods of communication and advisers are left wondering, is it worth my time? 

Statistically speaking, there will undoubtedly be a watershed moment where all wealth managers need to offer a high standard of digital service or suffer financial repercussions. This has already happened with texting and the advisers that were not prepared have suffered as a result.

Take for example the historic fines amounting to over 390 million dollars due to uncompliant WhatsApp messages.

The client base demanded more convenient access to their advisers. As a result, the advisers engaged in practices that were not compliant in order to offer the client the personalised experience they want. 

By having an alternative like Secure Messenger, wealth managers are in a position to offer this positive experience without putting themselves, their clients, or their wealth management firm at risk.

As emails prove increasingly unreliable for document exchange, we can see similar situations arising that will catch advisers off guard who do not take steps now to offer broader communication options.

The wide-ranging benefits of communication

Instead of waiting until customer demands dictate that you must change, it is instead safer and more cost-effective to take the first step now and incorporate new tools into your tech stack. 

This also allows you to offer new features to the customer that they were not aware of before, but have been shown to improve the frequency and quality of interactions. 

Here are some of the features that can transform the client experience. 

AI-powered workbench

When adopting new tools, it is important to make sure that they actually make your life easier and do not just get in the way. This is why having a single space for client communications is essential.

Instead of having to look through email threads, text messages, or whatever channel the client chooses to find the information, it is possible to have everything in one place with the Interaction Management Hub.

This is, in essence, the only place that the financial adviser will need to be to manage all of their client interactions, boosting productivity and making their lives easier.

Frequent interactions with Secure Messenger

One of the most immediate benefits comes from Secure Messenger. This is a messaging channel that offers all of the same experiences as popular messaging apps, whether WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook Messenger, etc. 

By using Secure Messenger, financial advisers can promote more frequent interactions with their clients, improving the relationship and boosting trust.

But how do they get in contact?

Having a secure messaging channel is all well and good – provided the clients use it. With features like WhatsApp connector, the Secure Messenger channel can be integrated with this popular messaging platform in a secure way. 

This means that clients can get in touch whenever they want, and however they want. 

Take the initiative with outbound messaging

There is no reason for you to sit around and wait for the client to get in contact with you. Being proactive can have a wide-range of benefits, promoting trust and sparking new opportunities. 

Collaborate on documents

How do you share and collaborate on important documents with your clients? Whether reports, contracts, agreements, this is information that cannot risk being leaked.

More traditional channels like emails are not secure enough and some of the other options, like wealth portals, may not always align with client preferences. 

Having a single platform for client communication means that clients can share documents on any channel that they want to, whether Secure Messenger, the wealth portal, or anything else.

But that is not all that Document Collaboration can do, especially when used alongside Co-Apping or Co-Browsing. 

Going out of town?

Making the adviser’s life easier will have a knock-on effect on the quality of the service that the client receives. One example of this is the Deputy Management feature, which allows you to elect a colleague to take care of your clients while you are unavailable or out of town. 

The feature includes access levels and, as everything is recorded in one single hub, you can pick up where your colleague leaves up when you return.

Ask for some help

The final feature we will highlight in this post is breakout chats, a way for advisers to bring colleagues or experts in on a conversation with an advisory client. You can simply open up a new thread, almost like a new email chain, inviting the expert to take part in the conversation, without sacrificing privacy.

It is time to improve your client experience 

Market trends show that a new level of service has become the norm. The generation of clients that are gaining control of wealth have different expectations  regarding the digital customer experience, where product offerings, communications, and more are all centralised and intuitive.

In this context, advisers must take an active role in offering investment options or collaborating with financial plans and financial decisions in an ongoing manner.

Each client-adviser interaction must feed into the overall strategic objective of offering an enhanced digital experience and exceptional service to boost the relationship and drive AUM growth.

Investment management has changed and a personalised service based around personal attention throughout the client journey, from client onboarding and beyond, is essential.

Achieving this requires upgrading and consolidating your communication channels.

If you would like to meet and exceed digital expectations to offer advisory customers an adaptive approach that fulfills their requirements, get in touch with us today for a personalised demo.

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