Where would we be without our Netflix subscriptions, the Just Eat app, and even our CRMs?
Whether it’s delivering films, food or financial advice, technology gives us a simpler, more convenient way to access what we need. And the better the experience gets, the more we want to use it.
The big techs behind everyone’s favourite apps and services know what works when it comes to getting people engaged. And now these trends are filtering down into everyday financial advice software, there’s no reason why advice businesses like yours can’t be as sticky as Spotify, or as data-driven as Netflix. Check out these five ideas to get your clients and prospects better engaged in their finances.
1 - Be as engaging as YouTube
An incredible 1 billion hours of video are watched every day on YouTube. People of all ages love videos, but they are also proven to be a more effective way of communicating - viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.
So if you’re still using print-outs of graphs and spreadsheets in your conversations with clients, it’s time to move on to more memorable and engaging methods.
The latest advice tools can bring your recommendations to life colourfully and vividly using pictures and videos to engage your client. For instance, digital statements of advice use cutting-edge graphics and animations while newer advice software uses visual elements to make explaining concepts like cashflow planning and financial modelling a doddle.
2 - Be as habitual as Instagram or Twitter
For most of us, checking our social media feeds or news apps is the first thing we do when we wake up and the last thing at night. But did you know it’s the same for our finances?
Our research shows an unexpectedly large number of clients log onto a financial portal for 80 seconds or less, just before bed, to check their retirement balance.
Are you making it easy for clients to access information about their finances? If not, you should consider introducing a client portal. It’s more secure than email and satisfies people's need for peace of mind 24/7 without you having to lift a finger.
3 - Make understanding finance as easy as Duolingo
Even if you didn’t quite finish that beginners’ Spanish course you started during lockdown, chances are you've explored one of the many online learning platforms that have popped up. With the opportunity to broaden skills affordably and conveniently, e-learning is a welcome trend for improving financial literacy too.
There is a vast range of super cool financial resources including articles, infographics and videos available out there to instantly plug into your e-newsletters, social media and other digital channels. It’s a quick way to provide content and add value while making financial education easier and more fun.
4 - Be as data-driven as Netflix
How has Netflix become the most valued media company in the world? Their use of big data and analytics help them make the right decisions and identify what people want.
If you still see data management as a necessary evil in your business, it’s time to start doing more exciting things with it, just as Netflix does.
It might not sound terribly exciting, but the latest data analytics software can alert compliance teams to issues and risks before they happen and provide vital business intelligence insights to drive productivity and profitability that might not have been possible before.
And just as Netflix uses machine learning to test what we’ll click and watch, machine learning in modern adviser software is continuously informing and improving the advice process. There are bots that can track adviser behaviours and tell us humans the best opportunities to take, much like Netflix suggests the box-set we’ll want to binge next.
5 - Bring it all together like Spotify
Just as Spotify has given us an innovative way to listen to music we love by streaming it digitally, Open Banking is creating new ways to access financial products and services.
The opportunity to provide an accurate picture of a client’s financial position is enormous. Like Spotify uses data to understand and predict our listening habits, once data sets are brought together Open Banking will bring similar potential for advisers to better understand and predict a client’s financial habits and behaviour.
It is also opening up a raft of new integrations and applications enabling businesses to put an advice software system like Xplan at the centre and plug in what they need from the vast choice available. Such a set-up could create a customer experience to rival that of any tech company; eliminating friction, providing a single source of truth and harmonious automation of processes and workflows. Now that is music to our ears.
So there you have it. Five tricks influenced by the biggest tech brands that you can start doing today for better client engagement and loyalty.
