A Third of Clients Switched Wealth Managers for a Better Experience
According to Salesforce's Connected Financial Services Report, clients seek better experiences from their wealth managers, with 34 percent switching providers in the past year. In fact, only 27 percent of clients are completely satisfied with the digital experiences provided by wealth managers. Clients today want to be able to access, manage, and track their financial lives online — and that includes their financial plan.
This comes as no real surprise to us. Much of the technology used in the financial advice process has been designed and built for the advisor. We have modeling, portfolio management, risk tolerance, cash flow, and more tools to report on the client's financial performance.
But is that really the experience clients want?
Let me put it this way: it's like making Bruce Wayne's accountant the hero of the Batman movies. The reality is, Bruce Wayne's millions are just a means to an end — that end being the ability to fund his vigilante endeavors. Yes, managing this money is critical if Bruce wants to continue to be Batman, but we, as the audience, couldn't care less. And it's much the same for the vast majority of clients.
The numbers are the hygiene. The facilitator. The engine. But it's not what gets the client excited. We want to see the challenges we've overcome, the goals we're striving to achieve, and visualize our best lives now and into the future. Sending clients a portal or digital experience that looks like an enhanced version of Excel isn't going to cut it. That may be what we, as financial professionals, like — but for most clients, it's like watching a movie about Batman's accountant.
Improving the Digital Client Experience
When looking for new tools or technologies to enhance the digital experience for clients, there are some important things to consider.
1. Has it been designed for the client first — or for the advisor?
A lot of software has been designed for advisors with what we'd call a "client extension" — essentially a simplified version of the financial tools advisors use, largely focused on financial metrics and performance with some goal tracking.
A client-first solution should be designed for the client, showing them what they want to see: how their financial plan allows them to live the life they've always dreamed of. We also have to remember that not all clients are financial experts. Some will want to monitor their portfolio's performance, but many are not interested in the numbers alone — and a portal that's solely about metrics is going to turn a lot of people off.
If your client portal is truly designed for the client, it will help translate financial strategies into meaningful life outcomes. It will focus on life first, finances second — providing an experience that non-financial clients can engage with and participate in. That's a more meaningful digital experience: one where you log in to see how you're progressing in life, not just how your investments are going.
2. Is it visual?
Clients want to see and understand the life outcomes they'll achieve by adhering to their financial plan. This means bringing to life how their finances will align with their needs, wants, dreams, and values. We've previously talked about the importance of imagery in goal setting, but it's equally important to take a visual approach to every aspect of financial planning — whether that's showing how a legacy will be divided, how each strategy aligns with their values, or how they're progressing with their plan.
The more your client portal can meaningfully bring financial strategies to life and relate them to the client's world, the better their understanding of what you're working toward together. The better they can visualize their best life, the more likely they are to achieve their goals — and the better their overall experience will be.
3. Can they interact with their plan?
Clients want to be able to manage and interact with their plan through their digital experience. This means your client portal must identify areas within the advice process where clients can meaningfully engage without creating additional compliance requirements. Can they tick off their to-do list? Keep their profile and financial information up to date? Do you have tools that keep you informed on client progress and whether their goals have changed?
Your client portal should also enable clients to use your guidance in real life to make informed choices aligned with their values — not just interact with their plan, but use that information on the fly to make decisions that keep them on track to living their best life.
4. Digital experiences are not a silver bullet for retention
While demand for digital experiences increases, so too does the need for human-to-human interaction. More than half of clients prefer to communicate with wealth managers in person (52%) or over the phone (51%). Clients need to feel seen, known, and taken care of. Additionally, 73 percent of wealth management clients want personalized recommendations, with more than half saying they would switch providers if they felt treated like a number (62%) or if services felt impersonal (53%).
When designing your digital experiences, align them with client preferences and your human-to-human interactions. They should complement each other, with clients able to seamlessly switch between the two. If your physical and digital experiences don't align, the overall experience can feel disjointed and negatively impact client perceptions. It's also important that your digital experiences capture the deeply personal conversations you've had with clients and keep those elements front and center — demonstrating that this is their personal plan, and that they've been seen, known, and taken care of.
Want to learn more about how to enhance your overall client experience? Get in touch today.