Standing out in a sea of many

May 16, 2017 by Brandin Arndt

A financial advisor assesses his firm's client experience

About the author

Brandin Arndt

Business development representative

Brandin assists the sales team in the development and expansion of the Advicent enterprise market. He is passionate about sharing the value Advicent brings to companies throughout the financial industry.

One of the biggest sales challenges that financial services firms face today is a way to differentiate themselves in a crowd of hundreds of other firms that offer a very similar service. However, many firms would argue that it is not the service that differentiates you, but the way that you deliver the service. Customer expectations are changing rapidly, and the financial services industry is simply not keeping pace with these changes.

The problem lies in the fact that there are two types of customers: those with traditional behaviors and those that have already changed. Those with traditional behaviors are still the source for the most revenue. True customization at the enterprise level begins with owning your client experience and exceeding the expectations of all of your customers – traditional or not.

True customization at the enterprise level

Cliché as it may sound, the time is now for enterprise firms to start investing in their digital strategy. Any good digital strategy should have the client in mind, the difficulty lies in the fact that large firms have all kinds of clients with all kinds of needs. Finding a way to better engage and service all of these clients can be difficult. In my experience working with and speaking to hundreds of advisors, themes start to emerge. One of the most impactful themes that I see repeatedly is the desire for simplicity. Both advisors and clients want simplicity. The irony is that creating a simple process for advisors and their clients is not always so simple to do; that is where API technology comes into play.

By utilizing APIs, firms can build bridges between different silos throughout the organization. When these silos are connected, firms can easily share information across platforms. This seamless digital experience for both advisors and clients creates countless opportunities to engage more clients in more services. It also gives firms the ability to create custom processes that are simpler for the advisors and the client, ‘swim lanes’ as we at Advicent like to call them.

APIs are allowing financial services firms to develop their own applications against some of the most comprehensive and trusted financial planning data models in the industry. These are custom applications designed to align with your digital strategy. When all of your technology vendors within your digital ecosystem provide data you can create a more impactful experience for your clients and a more productive process for your advisors. This is how you deliver the software that both meets the expectations of your home office and the expectations of your clients and advisors. That is what true customization at the enterprise level looks like.

How Advicent can help

Advicent can deliver enterprise software because we have the experience to embed ourselves in your technology ecosystem and to evolve with your organization. Open APIs allow firms to interact with the entirety of Advicent Financial Planning platform (Client Portals, Advisor dashboards, PFM tools, and calculation engines). By utilizing technology tools from Advicent, financial service firms can own their own customer experience, while telling their story in their style. 

 Download our whitepaper to learn how utilizing APIs can improve your client experience and increase your firm's revenue.