Your current and future clients are busy, and so are their inboxes. The average person receives over 100 emails every day. They don’t have time to look for useful information — they want information that’s immediately relevant to them.
Personalization means that you anticipate and respond to a customer’s individual needs. This requires a deep understanding of your clients so you can tailor your products and services to their deepest values and dreams.
Personalization is What the Market Demands
Clients increasingly expect personalized advice, and financial advisors who can deliver it have a better chance of standing out from the competition. Most clients are willing to share personal information if they know they can trust their advisors to use it to help improve their financial lives.
In a recent Salesforce survey, 73% of customers said they expected companies to understand their unique needs and 61% of consumers approved of companies using their personal information to benefit them. A McKinsey survey stated that 76% percent of customers become frustrated when companies fail to personalize their interactions with them.
Clients are accustomed to being offered recommendations for entertainment, food purchases and social media that is based on their previous activity trends. While some clients and prospects may not hold their financial advisor to the same standard as Amazon or Netflix, that expectation is most certainly on its way…and fast!
What’s interesting is that if you’re an RIA, you already know this and agree that personalization is important. However, few report optimized use of personalization techniques, which means missed opportunities to cultivate long-term relationships.
Are You Glossing Over Opportunities to Gather Client Info?
It may seem obvious that to meet your client’s needs, you need to understand them deeply, but your firm may be glossing over this step. Two key elements can help you get the information you need — a solid, trust-based client relationship and technology capable of adapting to your client’s needs.
Building a strong relationship with your client takes time. Questions to ask include their financial goals, risk tolerance and comfort level with technology. When you ask about their preferences for interacting with you, you may learn, as many firms do, that most clients prefer more frequent contact with you or additional services beyond financial advising.
Once you’ve established the financial basics, you can dig deeper. What are their values? What motivates them? What kind of legacy would they like to leave? What kind of future do they imagine for themselves? What tools do they use to track their financial information, and are they working well?
This information is important not just to help you sell products but also to measure your success. You can use this information to help your clients achieve what matters most to them.
Three Ways to Leverage Data for Personalization
You can use data to personalize clients’ experience with you in many ways, but here are just three suggestions to get you started: content curation, predictive analytics and transparent access.
When you understand a client’s interests and values, it’s easier to create content that will speak to them personally. Clients are more likely to read content that’s relevant to them. You can segment your content to target specific groups. For example, a group of clients may be interested in retirement planning, and another group may be interested in impact investing, so you can tailor your content accordingly.
It’s not just a matter of what you send but also of when and how. Some people read emails first thing in the morning every day. Others prefer to catch up on their reading on the weekends. By sending your information the right way and at the right time, your automated marketing tools can help keep your clients interested and engaged.
Predictive analytics can help you proactively engage your client’s when big milestones are approaching. For example, many pre-retirees are concerned about health care expenses in their later years. AI-driven software like InterGen Data can analyze decades of data to determine the impact of increasing health care costs on your client’s financial plans years before they retire.
In addition, personalization tools like Bento Engine can automate these opportunities at scale…so your firm never misses an opportunity.
Transparency is closely related to personalization. Clients increasingly prefer to have access to their financial information on demand. If you can provide tools such as an app or client portal where clients can track their progress on their financial goals, it’s not only more convenient for clients, it also helps your clients see positive results from the services you provide. It’s also crucial for your firm to use processes that allow you to access information quickly whenever your client asks, improving client experience and saving both of you time.
No matter how you personalize your client interactions, your firm will benefit from your efforts to provide services that more closely match your clients’ needs.
Ready to learn more about how Docupace’s integrated software solution can help you develop a personalized client experience? Contact Docupace to get started.
