With the pervasiveness of algorithmic interfaces across information, retail and social media platforms, younger generations increasingly value – and expect – personalized experiences. Research reveals that 71% of consumers expect companies to provide personalized interactions, and 76% report being frustrated when they are not offered personalization. Finance is no exception to these expectations, with 70% of consumers looking to their banks to provide personalized financial advice.
At the same time, paradigm shifts in wealth are underway, especially for women in future generations. By 2030, it is estimated that women will control most of the accumulated wealth of the baby boom generation. Meanwhile, as they have continued to climb the workplace ladder and receive higher salaries, experts suggest that women executives may finally achieve equal representation and pay long into the mid-2030s. Whether through achievements their careers or inheritance, women are increasingly acquiring wealth and expanding their decision-making positions to include managing household finances.
The combination of these trends makes it clear that a traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to wealth management will not hold up in a competitive landscape. To keep pace, savvy wealth management executives, advisors and service providers will need to critically examine how the service they provide meets the needs of a new generation of clients.
A new model
Rather than seeking to be all things to all people, firms have an opportunity to draw on specialized expertise, empowering advisors to become intimately familiar with the unique dynamics of specific client groups to strengthen the quality of their guidance. .
In practice, helping a small business owner client plan for retirement looks significantly different than helping a corporate employee with a 401(k) and an IRA, as do the day-to-day and long-term pressures that come with having a related concentration of wealth. into a single, illiquid asset that has personal meaning.
An effective reimagining of the advisory service model will create a purpose-built experience from the ground up based on clients' unique circumstances. At SignatureFD, this model comes to life in our approach to customer communities.
The WOMEN signature, the first of our communities, was born after identifying a growing subset of women who found themselves in an independent position or newly in charge of their family's finances. To meet the needs of this group, we created a community of advisors who felt passionate about helping women thrive in their financial lives.
The ethos of the SignatureWOMEN community led to a reevaluation of client service teams across the firm. We saw the value in pairing incoming clients with advisors based on skills, commonalities, and shared experience—and saw tremendous impact on client outcomes.
Today, we have expanded our specialized service to include specific professional communities, from small business owners to professional athletes to corporate executives. Since their inception, these communities have provided guidance and financial resources tailored to help clients navigate life's inflection points while fulfilling their larger goals.
Forming deeper relationships
In a sea of optionality, a more comprehensive list of personalized offers may attract customers, but it's the depth of the relationship that will keep them. Empathy is the fundamental foundation of meaningful and long-term customer relationships. This is where having advisors with passion and experience for a client subset is most critical. Meeting customers where they are and understanding the lens through which individuals approach decision-making is essential to building trust.
For example, understanding the entrepreneurial drive that compels small business owners to take financial risks, or the unique pressures and isolation that female executives may face, is critical for advisors to provide guidance that not only aligns with the priorities of client's life, but can be communicated. effectively.
Common language plays a central role in instilling trust. Clients can quickly determine how well-versed advisors are in their lived experience by the language they use. Unnecessarily complex jargon and generic language are equally ineffective at instilling initial trust and maintaining customer engagement.
A re-envisioned approach translates the complexity of clients' circumstances into frameworks that reflect their life priorities and conveys them in a language by which they feel empowered. This formula structure, which we simplify into the four ways wealth can be activated—Grow, Protect, Give, and Live—not only creates common understanding and straightforward application, but also allows for flexibility as life's variables change in inevitable way.
Beyond the Horizon
The convergence of the Great Wealth Transfer, the turning tide of gender equality and the ubiquitous expectation for personalized experiences have raised critical questions about how well our service models are positioned to meet the needs of an evolving customer landscape.
While the business value of providing a personalized customer experience is clear, personalized service must go beyond a longer menu of offers to keep customers engaged.
We believe that firms that recognize the subtle value of an approach rooted in empathy are better equipped to create lasting relationships with clients and position the business for long-term success.
Heather Robertson Fortner is the CEO of SignatureFD.
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