New Report: Changing the Landscape of Customer Experience with Advanced Analytics

Today’s financial consumer enjoys unprecedented information and choice, both in terms of channels and access to third party or crowdsourced opinion. Higher expectations support (and in part reflect) the skepticism that to a large degree defines the Millennial generation. These expectations underscore a fundamental shift in the power balance between the client and wealth manager, one reinforced by regulation such as the US Department of Labor conflict of interest rule.

The ascendance of the client should be a call to action for wealth managers. As I discuss in a new report authored with my Celent colleagues Dan Latimore and Karlyn Carnahan, wealth management firms need to operationalize insights from new data sources, and bring servicing models up to date with their more sophisticated understanding of the client.

Campaigns and next best sales approaches that have worked in the past (or at least well enough to encourage firms to invest man hours in their design and execution) must be brought into the digital age. Too often these campaigns are a blunt hammer: they are built to sell product and ignore the evolving needs of the individual client, as well as the multiplicity of digital touch points useful to reach him or her. It is hardly surprising that the client reacts negatively to the presumption inherent in these offers.