Let the client decide how to communicate

In the not-too-distant future, advisers may have a section on their websites that asks clients or prospective clients how they would like to communicate. The options might be: (a) in person (b) telephone (c) email (d) text (e) video conferencing.

As reporter Liz Skinner’s story last week made clear, more advisers are starting to give their clients those choices now — and more of their clients are deciding on something other than face-to-face meetings.

As millennials become a more important market segment, advisers are under the gun to offer them alternatives to in-person meetings. Many of them prefer to communicate via email and video conferencing.

But a new report from McKinsey & Co. points out that it’s just not millennials driving this trend. Surveys show that 20% to 30% of mass affluent and high-net-worth clients are already comfortable handling their finances at a distance.

Advisers are slowly getting on board. In a survey last year, only 4% of respondents listed video conferencing as one of the communication methods they use to reach out to clients, although 32% expect to employ video conferencing within five years.

Advisers who have instituted more digital communication tools in their practices are big fans. It’s not only satisfying a client demand, they say, it allows them to run their practices more efficiently — and profitably. As one adviser put it: “Virtual meetings can be set up back-to-back, but when you’re traveling in a car between meetings that just can’t be done.”

Then there’s the issue of holding onto a client’s assets after the client decides to move halfway across the country, either because of a job change or because he or she is retiring. In the past, that client may have severed ties with his old adviser; in the future, a tech-savvy adviser may be able to hold onto those assets.

DOUBTERS

Whether it’s human nature to resist change or because of a deeply held belief that face-to-face contact is best, a number of advisers are in no rush to join the virtual advice movement. Said one: “There’s something about a client shaking your hand and looking at you face to face. I don’t know if you can give that same level of service virtually.”

That same adviser acknowledged that every year more of his clients want to meet virtually with him or his partners, but so far he has put them off. That might be dangerous if his clients get fed up with that answer and take their business elsewhere.

THE ULTIMATE PRICE

The graveyard of American business is littered with the skeletons of companies that felt their products or services were so much better than their competitors’ that it didn’t matter if they stayed current with new technology or changing customer tastes. Smart companies know that it is the customer who drives change, not the other way around. Companies that don’t respond to those demands sometimes pay the ultimate price.

Advisers don’t have to change overnight, but they must begin the process. If your firm doesn’t offer alternatives to face-to-face meetings, now is the time to draw up a game plan. Form an internal committee, review options, set timetables to buy the technology tools you need and arrange the training your staff will require. The goal should be to put your clients in the driver’s seat. Let them decide how they want to access your services. It just may lead to more fruitful relationships and a more successful business.