Personalisation has become a hot topic. Many of the companies we interact with in different areas of our lives are using our data to better understand our individual needs, preferences and interests.
From your local restaurant sending you a money-off voucher on your birthday, to Spotify providing tailored song recommendations and Alexa giving different information depending on who it is talking to, the data companies' hold on us can help deliver a more personalised and engaged experience, which in turn encourages greater customer loyalty.
Although using personal data has long been central to delivering suitable advice to clients, many firms are not yet making full use of the first-person data they hold to deliver a broader personalised experience for clients.
Collecting the data
Part of the problem is that data is often recorded and held in different systems, so extracting it to use in a meaningful way can be a challenge.
Firms also worry that their data may not be entirely accurate, so do not want to rely on it to provide more detailed insight into their client base.
Having a practice management solution that allows information to be recorded once and then stored centrally as a ‘universal source of truth’ that flows through other integrated systems is crucial.
However, for many firms cleaning existing data will also be vital to fully unlock the value of your data.
This is well worth doing to ensure you are only keeping data you have a legitimate reason to retain – important from both a cost and a regulatory standpoint – and to deliver efficiencies within the advice process, where sharing information between systems requires accuracy and consistency.
Technology can help with the clean-up operation, by highlighting client records that have key information missing and allowing corrections or updates in bulk as well as individually.
With data transparency becoming the norm in other sectors, including in DIY investing where self-directed customers already have ready access to current and historical valuations, performance, asset allocation and holdings and more, advised clients increasingly expect their adviser and providers to offer the same access.
This is easy to do via a secure online portal, which also allows clients to respond to requests and sign documentation at a time that suits them, speeding up transactions and saving time on administration and dealing with simple queries.
Greater client access
People are becoming much more aware of how their data is being used and stored, so the secure nature of a portal, which requires a login to view information rather than it being exchanged by post or email, provides reassurance that only those who justifiably need access have access.
Offering clients access to their personal details via a portal can also support the data-gathering process.
Allowing clients to update certain parts of their records – with a complete audit trail – helps ensure the information is accurate and up to date, and can also encourage greater information sharing.
