The four key considerations for improving client experience and productivity

The following is an excerpt from a new white paper, The rise of the digital adviser’, Oranj and the InvestmentNews Content Strategy Studio:

The digital tools to enhance the client advisory experience already exist and are improving. Importantly, however, advisers must understand and define what, precisely, the term “client experience” actually means. To do that, let’s look at the typical series of contacts a prospect and eventual client would have in dealing with your firm. Think of this experience in these stages:

1. The search: First, a prospect is likely to use a search engine to find out information about you and your firm. They are also likely to look at social media sites, especially LinkedIn, to learn more about your background, as well as at sites that have posted any of the material you’ve written or on which you have appeared, perhaps as a result of your philanthropic or public service efforts, or your leisure interests. They also will try to find comments about you.

If they haven’t already done so, they’ll click through your website. Is it updated? Does it have useful information that cannot be found elsewhere? Does it provide a sense of who you are and what you do that makes you unique? If they are accessing your site from a smartphone, is your responsively designed and optimized for a mobile visit? They also will ask themselves whether the site looks like it will be easy to use if they become a client – and ultimately if you are a firm that has kept pace with their communication habits and technology.

2. The onboarding: Assume, then, that the prospect becomes a client. How will the client interact with you and your firm then? Aside from in-person meetings, those interactions will be mediated by technology, so consider all those interactions and how they might be improved to enhance the client experience.

Client onboarding is the newcomer’s first interaction with your firm as a client and as is usually the case, first impressions matter. Key questions to consider when evaluating the experience of your onboarding process:
o Is becoming your client as easy as, say, filling out an online credit card application – or becoming the client of a robo adviser?
o Can information that is entered once automatically populate other forms and documents necessary to onboard a new client?
o Is the nomenclature and terminology you use easy to understand?
o If the process is too long or complex for the new investor to do it themselves, can it be done interactively online?
o Do you allow for e-signatures?

Opening a new account traditionally has been a long, manual, tedious and error-prone process, which frustrates the new client as well as advisory staff. Easy, comprehensive and quick onboarding not only reduces errors and improves operational efficiency, it also signals a level of competence to the new client and confirms the wisdom of his or her decision to join your firm. Technology is available to make the process much more efficient and easy.

3. The access: With other major vendors and service providers, your clients have access to their accounts 24/7. They expect the same from you, with seamless access from whatever device they use. Your clients do not understand how difficult it might be for you to aggregate all the information they are looking for and present it in a unified, coherent manner. The ability to integrate all your customer data, therefore, is essential to giving clients the information they need when and how they want it. Advisory software integration tools exist and greatly increase efficiency while enhancing the client experience.

4. The on-going client contact. Some clients prefer regular calls. Other prefer emails. Still others are happiest when you don’t contact them at all. Unless you have a robust customer relationship management (CRM) system that is integrated with other systems and is a required component of everyone’s work habits, the client experience will suffer. Depending on the level of human interaction they prefer, clients expect that their advisers will be attentive to their needs. Given the volume of tasks and activities that advisers face, they need the appropriate technology tools to enable them to deliver the human service their clients require.

To read the full white paper, “The rise of the digital adviser”, click here and download now.