The media has been tireless in reporting on the new state of retail in the United States. Some call it a “retail apocalypse” others see it as an evolution of traditional brick and mortar. Whatever the hot take of the day is, one thing is for sure: retail is changing.

What does retail have to do with financial advising?

As an advisor, you should be focused on creating an engaging client experience. To that end, it’s good to ask yourself “what can I learn from the changing landscape of retail?” While retail and financial advisors work in very different segments, that doesn’t mean there’s no overlap. Retail successfully generates billions of dollars in sales every year and cements customer loyalty along the way. In the same way, building trust and loyalty with your clients is incredibly important.

The new push in the retail arena is “retail experience.” It’s no longer good enough to just set your wares out on a shelf and hope passing customers jump at the deals, they need to be invested in the shopping experience itself as soon as they set foot in the store.

The same thing rings true with your firm. What are you doing to make sure that your advisees have a great experience when talking about their financial future? You probably won’t be able to invest the same type of resources that a retail giant would, but you can scale appropriately.

Easy steps to building a great customer experience

Simple gestures like offering beverages or snacks to clients that sit down in your office go a long way. Likewise, taking clients out for lunch now and again (especially if they have sizeable investments with you) is a no-brainer. Even simply calling up and checking in on clients to see how they’re doing, allowing them to talk to you about their financial lives, can go a long way.

Allowing your clients to interact with you and their money in a way that they feel comfortable is a must. Whether that’s face-to-face, more or less digital, or somewhere in between, making sure that your clients feel heard and accommodated will build trust and give them the ultimate financial advising experience.

Try brainstorming some ideas to improve your customer experience, you’ll be happy you did and it might just be the investment you needed to take your firm to the next level.

Everyday, whether you actively acknowledge it or not, you’re fighting with every other firm out there to manage clients’ wealth. The question you should be asking yourself each day is what separates you from your competitors. Why would a client choose you? If you’re struggling to find ways to get a leg up on your competition, we’ve put together some solutions based on how Amazon thinks about their customers and what you could learn from them.

1. Be Obsessed With Your Customers and Listen to them 

Amazon, as you know, is in the business of selling physical things. There are some products that you can pass on to your customers, but largely you’re in the world of management. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn anything from your customers, however. Every little piece of feedback you get, you should be documenting and revisiting. Likewise, be proactive: ask your clients what you could be doing better or what would make their experience with your firm better. Maybe you don’t respond to emails promptly, or your desk is always messy, even small things like this can have a big impact on who stays with you and who jumps ship. 

2. Invest in Relationships

There’s an old adage that says “If you do something well, your customer will tell 10 people, do it poorly and they’ll tell 100.” This is true in every single market, but few more so than yours. In a relationship-based market, you need to make sure those clients think the world of you. We don’t need to tell you that a lot of wealth management work comes from referrals. Make sure you take this to heart and go above and beyond to keep these relationships strong and trusted.

3. Deliver More Value Than Your Customers Expect

Speaking of above and beyond… Hopefully, we don’t need to tell you that underpromise and over-deliver are hallmarks of any good business, but just in case, here it is. If you have the opportunity to deliver more value to your customers, do it. This one rule encompasses the prior two points as well. You can strengthen your relationships by doing 110% and it’s a great way to show that you’re obsessed with customers. This can be as simple as showing them a better account to invest in or showing them extra options for a retirement fund. Any way you want to deliver this value, figure out what your client wants and then exceed it.  This is not an overnight fix, but if you start thinking like a world-class customer experience business, then you can increase your book of business and provide greater value to your clients.

Technology is a little bit like the story of goldilocks. Every firm has their own preference in how much technology they’d like to use. Some firms might prefer to be on the cutting edge, constantly examining how they could use more tech to benefit their customers. While others might prefer more paper and hardcopies so they know their data can’t be compromised.

Technology is no longer just a nice-to-have

Whatever you think the role of technology in your practice will be, one thing is for sure, it’s here to stay. For the tech-averse firms out there, the time is coming that you will have to implement more software into your practice to be able to stay competitive. There are too many options and too much information out there that simply can’t be parsed by human minds in an efficient manner. Onboarding new technology to help you with this simply is a must. But that’s not to say that all financial technology is right for you or your clients’ needs. 

Change certainly is difficult, but if a firm wants to have any chance of moving forward and staying competitive in today’s marketplace, the adoption of more, not less technology, is critical.

Know before you adopt

Firms that go “all in” on tech should take heed, however. Advisors that try to stay on the up and up with technology might quickly find themselves isolating clients who are less trusting of our technological world and prefer things a bit old fashioned.

Likewise, certain clients may simply not understand or not care to understand how to use software and computer related financial management systems. Forcing them to adopt something out of their comfort zones may push them to find a different advisor who is more accommodating of their preferences. 

Whatever you view the role of technology in your firm as, there’s no escaping it. The financial planning industry, like every other, is becoming increasingly automated and tech-oriented. You may find yourself adopting more technology than you ever thought you would, or this fundamental shift might be a dream come true. However you view the role of technology in your practice, make sure of one thing: that it benefits the client and helps secure the future they’ve been dreaming of.