Page 48 - Investment Advisor November 2022

the digital client experience is evolving
to shorten response times.

1. SET A RESPONSE TIME GOAL.
A foundational part of creating a success-
ful digital client experience is establish-
ing a response time goal. Whether digital
or otherwise, what is the time in which
the firm expects to deliver responses to
client inquiries? Does the firm expect all
advisors to respond to clients within 24
hours? 90 minutes? One hour? Expected
response time will determine the solu-
tions that a firm will have to build into
its digital client experience.
If the target response time is, let’s
say, 60 minutes, then the digital cli- Firms must cater to the way that
ent experience will have to be robust.
If the standard is to respond to cli- clients prefer to communicate.
ents by the end of the day, then the
digital client experience won’t need to That’s client experience 101.
be as complicated. It’s worth keeping
in mind, however, that many advisory as how clients want to communicate. Another micro-technology example:
firms are now striving to respond to cli- Much of the digital client experience We have a client firm that specializes
ents’ financial planning needs in under will be built upon what you learn by in divorce; it has set up technology to
90 minutes. researching your client base. quickly scan emails for keywords and
That can present challenges for the If you’d like to communicate with respond with templates to questions
typical advisor firm. If the advisor that your clients primarily through email, that come up again and again. The
the client wants to hear from is in a but they say they want to interface with firm has 20 to 30 pre-populated emails
meeting with another client, or they’re you primarily through quick Zoom calls, for clients who are facing a particular
stuck in back-to-back meetings, then or more client meetings, then there’s issue in their divorce. Think of it as
responding to the inquiry properly a disconnect. Firms must cater to the FAQ responses that are pushed out to
becomes pretty hard. Setting an expect- way that clients prefer to communicate. clients immediately.
ed response time is important because it That’s client experience 101. A final example: Firms we’ve worked
will allow firms to prepare solutions for with have successfully decreased client
such scenarios. 3. EMBRACE MICRO-TECHNOLOGY. acquisition costs by using videos during
So how should advisors start tapping the onboarding process to explain the
2. REVIEW CLIENT technology to respond quickly to clients client experience, and next steps. These
COMMUNICATIONS. in the ways they prefer? A single tech- emails can be general, but it dramati-
After determining desired response nology program that solves the whole cally reduces clients’ questions about
times, the next step in creating a digital dilemma is elusive. I suggest that advi- “what’s next”?
client strategy, before implementing any sors begin by harnessing micro-technol- A thoughtfully designed digital client
technology, is to analyze how clients ogies that are readily available. experience, making use of commonly
communicate with the firm the most. Email rules are a great example of a used micro-technologies, can be very
Do many of the clients call? Do many of micro-technology that can solve spe- effective in shortening client response
them email or text? What is the primary cific communication issues. Let’s say times. And financial advisory firms
communication method? And how, opti- you want to prioritize your 10 largest that are focused on response times in
mally, would clients like to communi- clients in terms of responsiveness. In today’s digital age have more clients,
cate with their advisors? that case, you could set up an email and more referrals.
I’m not a big fan of client surveys that rule, or a rule in your CRM, to ensure
seek feedback about satisfaction levels that the advisor or the service team is Angie Herbers is managing partner and
with advisors. But I do endorse client notified immediately when any of these founder of the advisor consultancy firm Adobe Stock
surveys that ask practical questions such clients contact the firm. Herbers & Co.

46 INVESTMENT ADVISOR NOVEMBER 2022 | ThinkAdvisor.com