As client expectations evolve, the most attractive option for advisors is to expand their reliance on the tools they already have in place as they improve their practice. Over the next two years, firms indicate that their two highest priorities for technology investment are front-end digital tools and customer onboarding experience.
These customer-centric priorities are a natural extension of an area in which almost all firms have made significant investments already: Customer relationship management (CRM) software. “To many firms, the CRM has become the heartbeat of the tech stack and a prominent accelerator of digital transformation efforts,” says Feinstein. “They are relying upon the platform to drive automation and optimize efficiency in the areas of onboarding, business process management, data management, and document management efforts.”
Firms that turn their attention to enhancing their CRM systems to address some of these underserved areas stand to benefit from productivity gains in a busy and volatile new year. The value of advisor onboarding, in particular, can be remarkably high. The sooner new advisors come on board, the sooner the firm can benefit from their service, along with the clients whose assets they bring under management. Adding these types of capabilities to existing mission-critical technologies like a firm’s CRM platform can be a particularly efficient approach. Building on an existing CRM platform eliminates the possibility that a new technology solution will limit the utility of a key part of the business – or worse, render it incompatible.