The three steps to a successful digital transformation in FS

By Winnie Palmer, EMEA Head of Marketing, Seismic

Today’s financial services (FS) market landscape is extremely competitive. Financial advisors, lenders and money managers have seen the spread that they command decrease over the past 20 years, putting increasing pressure on revenues.

What’s more, modern clients demand a more personalised experience that includes access to bespoke information available to them at any time through digital channels. A recent study from McKinsey found that more than two-in-three buyers now prefer remote interactions with sellers as well as digital self-service throughout every stage of the sales journey.

As a result of these market factors, FS firms are under pressure to commit more resources towards growing digitally driven business offerings. The last few years have seen many FS firms accelerate their digital transformation projects, implementing new technologies and datasets to greatly enhance their operational efficiency. Those that have gone the extra mile by modernising their go-to-market processes and tools have gained the most ground on their competitors.

Now, as we look to what the future holds, how will FS firms adapt to the new trends shaping the market landscape? What are the key steps they need to take?

Efficient operations at scale

A digital transformation project that focuses on modernising data processes and automation can help FS firms increase their productivity, cut costs, and reduce their compliance risk. Centralising these crucial data processes allows FS firms to quickly modify information as and when necessary – all in a compliant manner.

For example, FS professionals require a wide array of assets such as quarterly reports, fact sheets, and client follow up meetings. Centralising the creation of these assets from a single source of truth streamlines the process and speeds up approvals. Meanwhile, integrating these systems across sales content training coaching and CRM tools allows for a frictionless user experience, helping financial advisors become more productive and focus on what really matters.

As well as improving the efficiency of these operations, FS pros can also tap into the key data insights that an integrated platform can provide. Artificial intelligence and machine learning functionalities are giving FS firms the ability to identify patterns, behaviours, and new revenue opportunities from sets of data that are simply too large to process manually.

One example is content engagement analytics. This can give FS firms tangible insights into the effectiveness of every piece of content shared with a client – enabling them to see exactly what is or isn’t working, as well as where clients are spending the most time and what content resonates with particular client profiles at specific points of the buying cycle. Armed with engagement analytics, FS firms can understand the impact of every bit of content and adjust their approach accordingly.

Creating a powerful customer experience

Younger generations are seeking to engage with their financial advisors in new and modern ways. These more technologically savvy millennials and Gen Z’s desire more dynamic interactions, personal experiences, and digital communications. So, as FS firms engage with younger clients, improving the digital client experience is vital to meeting their needs and expectations.

Again, content engagement data has a vital role to play. By gaining an insight into exactly how, when and where customers are interacting with specific pieces of content, financial advisors can provide a more agile and responsive service. This allows them to shape every interaction and create a more personalised omnichannel experience across email, digital sales rooms, social media, in-person meetings, or a combination of these.

The power of digital platforms to provide money managers with the insights and recommendations needed to build meaningful relationships even in remote environments is extremely valuable. With face-to-face interactions happening less and less, these platforms can help build trust with prospective clients. Financial advisors can position themselves as experts who fully understand their clients’ needs – with the ability to engage clients in the right online spaces at the right time with content that is specifically tailored to their situation.

Building long term relationships with these younger, more digitally native, generations will be vital in the years ahead as they begin to inherit their parents’ wealth. Through the power of intelligent automation, the time constraints and risk of non-compliance that have traditionally hindered the personalisation process can be removed, allowing financial advisors to focus on revenue driving activities.

Setting teams up for success

Finally, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development is important to any digital transformation project. This is a key step to helping FS firms truly differentiate themselves and their advisors from the competition in the market.

Improving learning speed and knowledge retention requires digital platforms that make coaching and training readily available whenever they are needed. By delivering timely and data informed in-the-moment coaching and training, financial advisors will be able to craft and deliver content that is engaging and completely differentiated for each client.

Such training could include interactive lessons with embedded practice sessions and playbooks based on real world scenarios and past client interactions. Digital platforms can also provide ongoing guidance that is personalised to previous performance and optimised through data analytics. These data-backed recommendations will tell advisors what to say, do, and show at certain stages of the engagement cycle, helping them ensure that each interaction is as impactful as possible.

Today’s FS landscape today is extremely complex and competitive, so FS firms need to provide the support that could make a difference in client interactions. By building a culture that enables continuous learning, powered by a simple to use and knowledgeable training and coaching platform, advisors will be empowered to continuously build their skills no matter what stage of their career.

Any FS firm undertaking a digital transformation project must embrace this three-pronged approach of operational excellence, an impactful client experience, and continuous learning. The secret is to combine these into a holistic transformation strategy to provide new revenue generating opportunities. Understanding how these three pillars work together will enable FS firms to position themselves to compete to win in today’s dynamic FS environment.