Modernizing Digital Solutions: How to Stand Out

When every wealth management firm is offering digital solutions to clients, how does your firm stand out?

The financial services industry often talks about digital transformation – how to streamline onboarding, create more advisor efficiency, increase compliance and so on.

But when digital transformation takes root in your organization, it will logically impact your client experience, too. Today, we’re outlining three ways you can capture that experience and optimize your client experience.

Personalize Your Client Portal

Nearly every advisory firm offers a client portal. Some firms use the default custodian option, while others use a favorite provided by a financial planning or portfolio reporting software.

Client portals allow investors an inside look at their accounts, anytime and place. When they’re laying awake and wondering how that Gamestop stock is doing, or whether their retirement fund is on track – the client portal offers an immediate way to answer those questions.

Giving clients an interactive, intuitive and aesthetically pleasing portal is vital to your firm’s scalability and overall client satisfaction. But if you leave your portal as-is and don’t customize it to your clients’ needs, you’re doing them (and your advisors) a disservice.

How to Get Started

Since your portal is the home base for all digital interactions, it’s worth investing time and effort upfront to ensure the overall look and feel of your portal matches your brand.

Here are a few tips to get you started as you begin to personalize your client portal:

Customize your colors and logos to match your brand guide.
Customize the portal options based on your clients’ needs.
- A client that’s very involved and enjoys active communication might want a deeper look at their portfolio than busy-man Joe who checks in online twice a year. Check to see if you can customize the homepage of your portal based on specific client needs.
Place the most pertinent client information upfront and center for easy access
Remember that your client portal is an extension of your office – the way clients interact with the digital portal informs how they feel about your services.
Ask for feedback from your clients – What do they like about your online portal? What else, if anything, would they like to see in the future?

Additionally, as you evaluate your current portal’s effectiveness, consider whether the current system properly integrates and streamlines your CRM, provides a holistic and helpful overview to clients and also has certain cybersecurity measures in place to protect sensitive data.

Turn Your Website into a Digital Storefront

To be blunt: A website that isn’t interactive is not a 2023 version of a website.

For advisors, creating an engaging website will require a shift in mindset. It’s not just one big ad for your services; rather, think of your site as more of a digital storefront.

Just as people would walk into a physical store and explore the goods section by section, they should be able to fluidly and intuitively navigate your website.

There are two main ways you can approach this:

Offer compelling CTAs

CTAs (call to actions) should provide opportunities for prospects and clients to immediately schedule a meeting with you, rather than be shuttled off to a form and wait for a response. The CTAs you use should simulate the “high” customers get at the checkout of a real store or shopping site.

Make your site a resource-driven, lead-generating machine

Let people “window shop” you, so to speak. Provide educational resources and detailed information about how you work with clients, including all the information they need upfront about why you’re the right advisor for them.

It may seem like almost every advisor is doing this now, but truthfully most advisor sites haven’t caught up with these trends – so there’s still time to get ahead of the curve.

Offer a Hybrid Working Relationship for Clients

Even the best digital advisor websites and client portals can’t replace the human interactions vital to positive advisor-client relationships. At the heart of these interactions, the best path forward depends on the specific client you’re communicating with.

To make the biggest impact, it’s important to allow clients to dictate how they want to interact with you. Some may prefer texting, while others would rather receive emails – or even talk via a Zoom meeting. There’s even a chance you’ll meet some totally digitally-averse clients who would rather meet in person over a paper copy of their plan.

And while one recent study showed that 80% of clients desire email communication, that still leaves one in five who don’t – and your firm needs to know how to talk to those individuals.

Plus, knowing your clients will allow you to personalize their client experience. You can modernize and provide digital tools, but in the end, you still need to understand the willingness of your clients to embrace those tools.

Make sure your clients are aware of all the digital tools available to them – and offer training as needed – but leave the choice of how they interact with you in their hands.

Modernizing your digital solutions begin with getting in the head of your clients – and truly listening to their needs. By personalizing your client portal, optimizing your website and offering a hybrid working relationship, you’re on your way to better client relationships and streamlined processes.

Learn More with Skience

If your firm wants to stand out in 2023, you have to be able to offer personalized services and also create a digital experience that makes clients feel valued.

Click here to connect with a member of our team and get started today.