How technology can help you win clients and influence people

By AdviceBridge

Research from Lloyds Bank reports that 88% of senior decision makers in the UK financial services sector expect to make technology investment a top strategic priority this year. 62% expect to increase their spending in this area over the next 12 months.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated technology adoption amongst financial services providers across the UK. While many wealth management firms had already started experimenting with technology applications, the speed of adoption and adaptation to video conferencing and digital advice portals has surprised market watchers.

What happens next in the evolution of how the profession uses technology could transform how financial planning and advice is delivered.

There is speculation that augmented and virtual reality could help drive investment behaviour. If it becomes a reality, it’s believed the tech enhancement could increase new customer acquisition, especially among the younger demographic and millennials.

Adopt a digital approach before you get left behind

If you don’t already have a handle on tech which serves your client while also aiding your profitability, you may need to catch up before you lose out to more forward-thinking financial planners.

You’re almost certainly already using video conferencing tools, such as Zoom or MS Teams, to keep in touch with clients, but if you’re going to continue attracting new clients, you’ll need to go further. Otherwise, you could risk losing out altogether to those using technology that outpaces your service offering.

Across the board, clients now expect improved engagement tools which allow you to serve them more efficiently.

The right technology can help you build a stronger business

Opportunities for digitisation cover all segments of financial services. You can find an array of back-office tech stacks, portal providers, and planning and cashflow tools to provide a better, more intuitive service for clients across every life stage.

Implement the right digitisation in your business and you can save time and money by serving more clients more efficiently.

When it comes to administration and compliance and regulatory processes, improving time management will lead to better client outcomes. The time saved will mean you have more availability to focus on new client relationships.

Use technology to build trust with clients

Using client portals to provide a transparent, always-on service, which allows client access 24/7, will increase your customer’s understanding of their financial situation. The ready ability to access their financial information, as and when they want to, will help increase engagement and trust.

These days, especially when signing up new, younger clients, you’re competing with apps which allow investment without advice. Such apps give their customers immediate access to investments from their ever-present smartphones. They can make and act on decisions within moments with no hassle and low fees.

Faced with this type of competition, investing in software tools which allow your customers increased ownership over their financial lives is almost mandatory if you want to survive. It’s essential if you want your business to thrive.

Technology has enabled us all to access instant information and services. The increasingly tech-savvy population will inevitably be more demanding than previous generations.

Compared to some industries, financial services are behind in this digital transformation.

Time-consuming regulation and greater client expectations increase the pressure on advisers. That’s why applying new technology that makes advice more affordable and more accessible is essential.

How AdviceBridge can help you serve clients

The leading automated digital retirement advice and guidance firm for financial planners, AdviceBridge has created a platform enabling you to deliver financial plans to a much wider range of clients effortlessly and profitably.

The white label platform digitises many of the manual, time-consuming processes, integrating your current software, providing you with more time to focus on the relationship rather than admin, research or reports.

AdviceBridge helps gather information, analyse what is held and how it should be structured before producing a recommendation report that’s ready to present to your client.

Whether you want to spend valuable time with your clients, make your business more cost-efficient or get automated alerts for potential advice opportunities, the platform is a great way of maximising profits.

Get in touch

If you want to find out how AdviceBridge can benefit your business and your clients, please get in touch. Email hello@advicebridge.com or call us on 020 3925 3850.