Now, at this point in the process, as the client, I feel comfortable enough, but am I engaged? Is your information displayed clearly and in an experiential manner? Clients nowadays are accustomed to “stylized facts” — simplified presentation of empirical findings — and firms that don’t catch on to this will lose out by over-explaining. On the other hand, you have to be careful not to sacrifice comprehensibility on the altar of style.
I’m looking at you, Ikea. Imagine applying instructions cobbled together by Ikea to a concept like financial planning. Need we say more?
Don’t Sell, Educate
People engage financial advisors for security, not to be subjected to a barrage of sales pitches. Take that to heart. The world had no shortage of salespeople before the advent of internet and social-media advertising, and — with those things firmly in tow — it certainly has no shortage now. That’s evidenced by a barrage of marketing emails, white papers, blog posts, webinar sign-ups, etc., vying for our attention 24/7.
In this maelstrom nothing stands out like composure. Do you want to remind clients of your value to them? Then provide them with truly helpful information. This approach to marketing — if in fact you can call it that — provides recipients with truly new information, or looks at old problems from fresh angles. Even in small doses, firms that take this approach impress clients and prospects alike.
Mainstream advertisers are starting to see this too. They’ve shifted from “But, Buy, Buy” to “Hey, did you know?” and “Would you like to find out more? Then click this link for the full story.” Mind you, the usual aim of such forays is to nab your email address for future marketing campaigns, but in showing a bit of humility, advertisers definitely score points with consumers.
Keeping clients informed of changes at your firm can also make clients feel at ease. Staff changes, new initiatives, and market updates, reactions to Fed decisions, show that you run a firm that’s upfront, honest and unafraid to be frank.
Be Easy to Digest
Financial-advice firms can also do a better job conveying vital information, whether or not it’s mandated by compliance. For Curtis Wise of Riskalyze, a fintech company that helps advisors gauge investment risks, numbers are paramount — but they’re not always the best way to lead into a message to clients about portfolio performance. “When it matters, we use numbers,” he said in an online panel hosted by Chalice. But he added that advisors need to lose the habit of overwhelming clients with statistics and work on providing information in ways “where they can just get it.”
That’s where the “stylized facts” we mentioned earlier come in as an aid to effective communication. In this paradigm, generalizations are more useful than minute, numbers-laden particularities — always on the assumption the generalization in play actually reflects the client’s situation.
Profile by Behavior, Not Appearance
Discussions with clients along these can also arrive at an unvarnished view of your clients’ expectations and outlooks on investing. Contrary to popular opinion, Riskalyze’s internal data shows 52% of investors aged 20 to 29 aren’t “aggressive,” and investors aged 70 to 79 aren’t “conservative” — findings at odds with popular opinion. This contrariness suggests that finding out what your clients actually want in face-to-face conversations or phone calls, leavened by your genuine curiosity about their views, will improve client relations.
In short, you can know your client’s outcomes in detail and with perfect recall, but if you can’t communicate it effectively and respond in kind to their reactions, it’s all for nothing.