Our Clients Want Us to Text Them. Here's How.

Security issues surrounding technology have permeated every sector of business, and the misuse of personal communication devices and third-party applications for the transfer of sensitive materials is at the top of the list. As mentioned above, the United States' top banks are paying the price for unregulated communication through these applications, which outwardly tout safety for the users through encrypted features. These measures, however, are not always compliant with FINRA and the SEC's more stringent regulations. 

As intimidating as these concerns may be, providing a stellar client experience is hugely important in financial services, and meeting your clients where they are, in terms of communication, is a big part of that experience. When it comes to texting, the data doesn't lie.

Eighty-two percent of text messages are read within five minutes, but consumers open only 1 in 4 emails they receive, and 90% of customers prefer text messages over direct phone calls. It's evident that text messaging as a form of communication is almost universally preferred to email now, especially when a short, concise message is all that is needed. 

Educating Your Staff and Codifying Communication Policy

As with other regulated aspects of your business requiring compliance supervision, how mobile technology is (or is not) to be used for communication must be an ongoing educational process in your office.

It isn't safe to assume that just because you've announced a policy on mobile usage that all your employees are strictly adhering to said policy, especially given how ubiquitous and amorphous texting and other newer forms of electronic communications are. That leaves it up to you to effectively iterate policies to the people you manage and give shape to the processes needed to protect your clients and your business. 

To begin this process, you can start with a face-to-face meeting with all employees to convey expectations regarding the policies you are enacting, while also cultivating a space for your team to ask questions and gain clarity. This allows you to drive home the importance of your mobile communications policy — where it might otherwise be overlooked in an email or Slack message — and creates room for your team to further their understanding and connection to the importance of these processes. 

Further, you'll want to codify your policy so that it's accessible to all your staff members should additional questions or concerns arise, as well as having follow-up meetings when significant changes are made to policies. Considering the rapidly evolving nature of modern-day electronic communications, policies should be reviewed regularly. An annual (or more frequent) review of your policy should be administered.

In the end it's about your clients, for whom text messaging services are a must in 2022. Now that the technology exists to enable this, we need to marry those advancements with the mandate of every fiduciary to uphold the regulatory principles of the SEC and FINRA. So, to avoid fines as we step into the future to greet our clients, let's text, but compliantly. 

 Brian McLaughlin is co-founder of Redtail Technology and president of Orion Advisor Technology.