Hortz: We didn’t notice the Pathway Advantage as a first action in any of the disruption responses. Why is that?
Lewis: It’s really about prioritization. Incumbent firms are not generally faced with a revenue cliff early on in disruption, which, in itself, is an advantage. Further, it soon becomes vital to best leverage revenue streams from existing customers. Driving loyalty with existing customers as well as expanding these relationships can help cement long-term financial success and deliver better customer experiences. Companies can take advantage of their Pathway Advantage immediately through:
• Becoming a Trusted Partner – Change the provider nature of the financial services relations to be an active advisor
• Loyalty Programs – Revisit existing loyalty efforts to ensure they are driving the customer, and business, value prescribed
• Cross-Sell – Going back to the Perceptivity Advantage, activate customer insights and segmentation to create valuable baskets of offerings for customers
Hortz: Thank you for explaining and sharing this with us. Any closing thought or recommendations?
Lewis: We believe disruption threats will not wait for long-term innovation strategies to come online — especially for large firms facing many threats. Marketing and sales teams have a vital, superhero role to play to help the firm keep ahead of competitive pressures, so the organization can thrive while longer-term innovation is happening. Companies must act now, and our research validated the power of a front-line go-to-market response. Feel free to access our full report here.
The Institute for Innovation Development is an educational and business development catalyst for growth-oriented financial advisors and financial services firms determined to lead their businesses in an operating environment of accelerating business and cultural change. We position our members with the necessary ongoing innovation resources and best practices to drive and facilitate their next-generation growth, differentiation, and unique community engagement strategies. The institute was launched with the support and foresight of our founding sponsors — Pershing, Ultimus Fund Solutions, NASDAQ, Voya Financial, Fidelity, and Charter Financial Publishing (publisher of Financial magazine).