Digital, Personalised Client Experiences in Wealth & Asset Management

Wow wealth and asset management clients with personalised, digital-first experiences

The pandemic forced consumers to address their financial needs online. And now that customers have adjusted, they expect digital-first experiences to remain. But the wealth and asset management sector is not meeting consumers’ digital needs.

While 78% of banking customers start relationships on a website or app, only 42% do the same for wealth management companies. The complexity of wealth management products means online or app-based experiences are not as widely available. This presents an opportunity for digital wealth management companies and traditional firms willing to adapt.

Salesforce recently conducted a study into the The Future Of Financial Services report. As part of this, we explored how providers can wow through digital-first wealth management client experiences. Read on to find out more about the opportunities for the sector.

Digital-first demand is high in wealth and asset management

While many of today’s wealth and asset management clients remain wary of new technologies, the digital demand is shifting — because wealth is shifting too.

While it’s important to continue servicing existing clients in their preferred ways, asset managers must also attract new customers.

Wealth and asset management companies should consider future-proofing their business through technology. This is essential to appeal to the younger generation to whom wealth is being transferred.

As said in our The Future Of Financial Services report, “The future of financial services is clearly digital. There is a large demographic wealth transfer underway as baby boomers leave their assets to the next generation, the youngest of whom were weaned on iPads and Alexa.“

The financial services industry is becoming dominated by digital-first customers. But their needs aren’t being met — particularly in wealth and asset management.

Our research found that customers want their financial services experiences to be:

• Easy and transparent – Companies should design experiences with users in mind. And these experiences should exist across customers’ preferred channels for convenience.
• Efficient – Deploying strategic automation can speed up customer service and simplify processes.
• Seamless, personalised, and caring – Wealth management companies need to look beyond metrics such as churn, revenue, and transaction growth. Customers want to feel valued as an individual.

Digital platforms need to be intuitive and easy to use for a great client experience

37% of those who switched their wealth management service provider did so due to ease of use. Customers are willing to move providers if their existing one does not offer simple-to-use platforms. However, financial startups that offer more complex interactions, such as wealth management, experience lower adoption rates than more straightforward service providers like banks. There’s still an opportunity for digital wealth management firms to thrive, but creating an intuitive experience can be harder than it is for other financial services.

Transparency was just as high on customers’ priority lists, with 37% of those surveyed naming it as one of their reasons for switching.

The need for transparency should be considered when switching to digital platforms. Providers must be transparent about how platforms and digital technologies use customer data. Consumers want to know how their data is being used. And they want to be able to control this easily and efficiently.

Younger cohorts are more likely to be comfortable with less control over their data. But older generations will still share data if they get something in return. Across all ages, 37% of people are willing to share channel preferences (e.g., via an app, text, or in person) for a more personalised service. Similarly, 31% will share their major life events (such as marriage, children, and illness).

Being transparent about how you use data can help your clients understand how it benefits them. This will also increase their likelihood of sharing data with you.

Personalisation is not wanted; it’s expected.

Personalisation is now the norm in the financial services industry. And clients are demanding the same from their wealth and asset managers.

We asked 2,250 people to rank what they missed most from their interactions with financial providers. The top three concerns were all to do with personalisation.

1. Personalised support

People want quick and easy omnichannel communication. They want the right support when they want it and where they want it. And they want it to be tailored to their needs.

2. Finding relevant content

Customers want to be able to locate personalised articles and resources quickly. You can achieve this with a well-maintained knowledge base, which is a self-serve library of information. This helps customers to find answers to questions quickly.

3. Receiving personalised communications

Clients want to receive information and options related to their specific circumstances.

Once a nice-to-have, personalisation is now firmly a must-have. To attract and retain clients, you need to not just respond to their queries but also anticipate any concerns they may have. Understanding how to get the most out of your data can help you personalise your service in this way.