Page 47 - Investment Advisor November 2022
P. 47
THE FAST TRACK
By Angie Herbers
3 Steps to Speed Up Your Client
Response Time
Clients used to expect a response within 24 hours, but that window
has shortened dramatically.
inancial advice is always going professional advice — but also quick
to be a people business. Because response times. So how are advisors
Fof the way that money is con- accommodating their clients’ needs in
nected to human emotions, our clients this area? One main way is that they are
are always going to need to interact with building a digital client experience.
real people. They will always want to feel Before sharing examples of what a
understood, and they will always want to digital client experience can look like, it’s
see in your eyes whether you’re truly important that we define the term. That’s
confident in the advice you’re giving. because in other industries, the digital
At the same time, the industry is client experience is often connected with
increasingly making room for technol- social media, email marketing and other
ogy — and for good reasons. One recent parts of firms’ marketing programs.
example of how technology is becom- In a recurring revenue model, where
ing more critical has to do with clients’ a client pays for the service they receive
changing service expectations. once a quarter or once a month, the
Every firm’s approach Over the past three years, we’ve digital client experience becomes criti-
has to be mapped out seen clients wanting their advisors to cal after the client has hired the advisor.
The primary goal is to keep existing
respond faster and faster to their inqui-
intentionally. And ries. Clients used to expect their advisor clients engaged and connected.
It’s critical for advisors to under-
to respond to a call or email within 24
the digital experience hours. Not long ago, that window had stand clients’ preferences when it
must align with, and shortened to the end of the day, and now, comes to digital communication, and
which mode of communication will be
based on what we’re hearing from the
sit on top of, the initial hundreds of firms we serve, more and most effective. Should you communi-
more clients are disappointed if they
cate with clients via text? Is email bet-
client experience. don’t hear back within 90 minutes. ter? Phone calls? How about document
We don’t know precisely what’s management programs?
caused expectations around response Some of those forms of digital com-
times to change. It could be a symptom munication can increase response times
of our modern, anxiety-driven culture. significantly, but they also can put a
It could be a form of fallout from the burden on compliance. Every firm’s
COVID-19 pandemic. It could be driven approach has to be mapped out inten-
by the fact that we can get pretty much tionally. And the digital experience must
anything we want instantly on Amazon. align with, and sit on top of, the initial
But based on feedback from our clients, client experience.
there’s no question that the response- If your fundamental client experience
time bar has been raised. has holes in it, your digital client experi-
Thus, the yardstick for client ser- ence will be flawed as well. Assuming
vice today not only consists of the old you have a solid client experience in
basics — technical knowledge and place, it’s time to look at the ways that
NOVEMBER 2022 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 45
