Defining and driving success

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Matt Archer and Nina O’Neal are excited. They clearly see robo-advising as a fit for their young, forward-thinking business. However, as we listen to this conversation, it’s clear that some vital questions remain. Perhaps the most critical: “How will you define success—and what measurements will drive it?”
Choose your destination with care
Imagine you’re in a hurry. You open the GPS app on your phone. You begin to type a destination. A list of possibilities pops up. You see the one you want and you tap it, or you think you do. The app says “Let’s go”. You’re navigating past traffic jams and road hazards, making great time. Then, you suddenly realize that you’re not headed to the destination you had in mind.
New solutions like robo-advising can help your firm to get to a variety of destinations, many of them potentially profitable for both you and your clients. But, without careful consideration, you run the risk of making great time without achieving the goals that are right for your business.
Three overarching goals
A thoughtful approach is essential. Outside perspectives can be invaluable. And it helps to frame your objectives in terms of some very big-picture goals.
• How will this help me build my brand?
• How can it help me share my knowledge?
• How can it help me optimize my practice in ways that make me more effective in supporting my clients?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Your practice may be larger or smaller than Matt and Nina’s. Your clients may skew older or younger. Your top priority may be new business or client retention. All of these factors can prompt you to look at robo-advising differently than Matt and Nina do.
However, taken together, these provide a strong essential framework for the critical questions for your practice:
• Will the solution add, detract or have a net-neutral effect in achieving these goals?
• Are the benefits more than enough to compensate for any potential drawbacks?
• Are your answers different over the short and long terms?
Measures and drivers
Matt and Nina are focused on whether robo-advising can help them optimize their practice, reducing costs and freeing up time for more valuable person-to-person interactions. They are looking to build their brand by providing technology that clients and prospects want today and will expect tomorrow.
Their ultimate success, however, will be measured through adoption by the right clients, for the right purposes, so that their firm can continue to foster and grow long-term, profitable relationships.
Through Practice Makeover, they’ve come to realize how important it is to share their knowledge – and how important it is that their knowledge sharing includes insight into the value of the tools, robo-advising and otherwise, that Archer chooses to provide.
Smart ways to share knowledge—and add value
The same principles that make robo-advising attractive for clients and advisers are prompting more firms to consider higher-tech ways of educating their clients.
Advisers are increasingly adding value and adding to client satisfaction by providing online seminars, online content on key financial topics, and digital client newsletters. This digital knowledge-sharing really appeals to tech savvy investors who want instant 24/7 access to information, prefer digital to print, and like to learn on their own time. Well designed and well presented, these represent a smart, powerful way to connect with customers.
Once Matt and Nina finalize their definition of success, they’ll need personalized, relevant communications to articulate their vision, enable their clients, and guide them to the most mutually profitable destination.
Drive success with Broadridge
With Broadridge, you’ll uncover new ways to target, network and market more effectively. Achieve more every time you engage clients and prospects. With solutions that can help you build your brand, share your knowledge and optimize your practice, we’ll help you prosper as a breakout adviser.
For the smart way to grow, contact Broadridge today.