So many of today’s business decisions are data-driven when you look under the hood. As the saying goes, “adopt or become obsolete.” Put simply, if you aren’t using data to benefit your firm and clients, someone else is. Doing so is in your best interest, as gathering and using data can help you provide a more attractive value proposition while increasing profitability.
While this endeavor might seem daunting from the outset, it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can harness simple tools in your practice, and you may already leverage data without realizing it. Generally speaking, the goal is to capture key customer, market, and operational data points to identify and track patterns and make more informed decisions.
Data Bridges the Gap
Technology-driven efforts serve your firm and the client. For one, consumers today are more likely to recognize and appreciate your value due to the personalized approach. This can engender loyalty and satisfaction, both of which bode well for referrals, organizational health, and longevity.
A data-informed approach means advisors can eschew a surface-level approach and present more meaningful insights to help clients feel more in control of their financial destiny. Through data analytics, RIAs can better understand a person or couple’s financial health and offer more relevant advice for their situation and goals by distilling information from multiple sources — such as account statements, spending habits, and other third-party sources — into a dashboard. This data can indicate where clients can use your expertise and insights to tackle such areas as debt management, saving, and spending.
RIAs stand to benefit directly from data analytics when it comes to vetting potential clients. By looking at revenue from each household, you can make more intentional decisions about how and where to spend your time and energy. Similarly, you can use tools to calculate a potential customer’s lifetime value and determine if they fit your goals and ideal profile.
Unlock Productivity
Practically speaking, data analytics can help advisors and firms work smarter. For instance, insights derived from data analytics might reveal that you spend several hours a week on cumbersome tasks that don’t bring in revenue. If client-related paperwork takes up 20% of your workday, it’s a good indicator that it may be time to automate your processes. You might need to research solutions that help reduce the time devoted to non-revenue-producing activities.
With that goal in mind, there’s a reason so many RIAs choose and trust Docupace. Our platform empowers wealth management firms to move away from clunky manual form entry and document management to an automated system that fills in forms quickly, all while staying compliant.
Data Elevates the Client Experience
Many clients value regular communication and hands-on advisors. As mentioned above, you can leverage tools to produce client-specific reports that present clients’ progress and how developments fit into the bigger picture of their investment strategy. Regular communication keeps you top of mind; that’s always good for service-based professionals who rely on relevancy to maintain and increase their business in a crowded marketplace.
Data can also help RIAs produce marketing campaigns that reach the right audience with the right message at the right time. By using the correct tools, you and your team can develop relevant marketing tactics that reflect trends and preferences. Segmentation can help you determine what’s working and what’s not — and where the growth potential might lie in terms of certain demographics or markets.
In short, data analytics can open doors you might not be able to access without the insights. However, keeping the client at the center of interaction is still necessary, and certain hallmarks of a client experience cannot — nor should not — be replaced by technology. Adding a human touch to every client interaction can lead to more predictable revenue streams and sustainability.
For more information about how Docupace can help your wealth management firm process information more efficiently in 2024 and beyond, get in touch here.
