In the extremely competitive field of financial advice, professionals must confront the twin task of not only acquiring new clients but also protecting their present client base from rivals. Clients, who are frequently targets for poaching, may not always completely declare their holdings, splitting their wealth among many advisors. The degree of service advisers give is important in distinguishing them in this competitive industry.
Take, for example, a financial advisor who, albeit offering the same services as other advisors, distinguishes themselves by consistently updating clients about their assets, establishing a personal relationship, and maintaining consistent communication with them. The performance of these advisers is typically superior to that of members of the industry who do not participate as frequently.
Advisors who maintain consistent communication with their customers have a clear advantage over those who do not. They benefit from a healthy inflow of referral business as their clients begin to encourage individuals in their networks to join them in giving their adviser business.
Unfortunately, many advisors rely heavily on annual reviews, which limits their client interaction to a single session for the year. In the absence of elevated service, the majority of their book is vulnerable to competition.
How to offer elevated service
Engage Well
It is possible for advisors who want to improve their service to accomplish so by utilising two straightforward approaches. Before everything else, the client must find the quality of the touchpoint to be important. Take into consideration the marketing text messages that you could get on your phone. The time spent reading the text message is not even worth it. Let’s now consider a notification of a payment that you get by text message. Due to the fact that the SMS is significant, it has quickly captured your attention. This straightforward illustration demonstrates how advisers are required to provide contact points that are both relevant and helpful while interacting with clients.
When it comes to wealth advice, there is no information that is more helpful to a client than the current health of their investments and the impact that the market is having on them. It is in this area that the extra service adviser can be of assistance. In order to provide them with a sense of relevance about the information about their goals and plans. This results in a client who has faith that their adviser is doing a good job of managing their finances.
Engage More
The second component of the approach for service enhancement is to increase the frequency with which you interact with your customers. Advisors put forth a lot of effort for their customers, and the foundation of their value offer is a connection that is not just productive but also trustworthy. On the other hand, when there are no updates or when there is a significant gap between the two of them, it is simple for suspicion to creep into the relationship. The distrust that exists between advisors and their clients poses a challenge to the perception of the value that advisers provide for their clients.
Utilize Technology
When advisors strive to enhance both the number of contact points and the quality of those touchpoints, they rapidly encounter a human limit. In order to overcome this limitation, advisers have two options: either they construct their procedures and infrastructure by making major investments in a back office, or they must utilise technological solutions that are based on best practices to empower themselves.
Putting technology to use comes with a variety of additional advantages. To begin, technological platforms frequently provide best practices that enable brokerages to overcome the hard lessons that the sector has previously learnt. The second benefit is that technological solutions frequently offer updates based on happenings in the market. Seed Analytics provides consolidated client portfolio statements for advisors as well as analytics on advisors’ books. During the early stages of the Covid pandemic, Seed Analytics developed individualised data extracts for advisers, allowing them to identify customers who were most affected by changes in the market. Advisors were then able to expressly interact with those customers in order to guarantee that they got guidance from their advisers at the most crucial moments. This is an example of how technology was able to provide updates at a crucial moment for advisors and clients alike.
In conclusion, advisors who embrace technology to enhance both the frequency and quality of their client interactions are setting a new standard in the industry. By utilizing these technological solutions, they deliver a superior level of service that distinguishes them from competitors. This approach not only secures a steady stream of new business through referrals but also elevates their brand, paving the way for a prosperous future for both the advisors and their brokerages. In the competitive realm of financial advice, the integration of technology in client engagement is not just an advantage, but a necessity for those aiming to lead and thrive.
Hermione Fry is a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in the investment industry and is currently serving as the Chief Operations Officer for Seed Analytics. She plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and operational efficiency of the organization.
Passionate about delivering exceptional value to her clients, Hermione goes above and beyond to anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations. Her unwavering commitment to client satisfaction serves as the cornerstone of her leadership philosophy, guiding her decisions and actions every step of the way.
