At a network event the other day, I heard that 86% of over-55s are now online. Even for older clients, there’s a lot of talk about how advisers should use technology to develop their business.
From what I’ve picked up talking to advisers, the general consensus seems to be that improving your web presence, for example, can help attract and service clients – but it only works as a response to your clients’ needs. So whether you’re tech-shy or tech-savvy, understanding and responding to clients continues to be a priority for advisers.
Surprising statistics
Making assumptions about what clients want or need from you is a shortcut. It can pay off for transactional business when brevity is the order of the day but, depending on their chosen business model, most advisers employ a mix of transactional and relationship business.
You can’t rely on assumptions, or broad demographic stereotyping, to nurture profitable longer-term relationships.
And you might be surprised when you get under a client’s skin, like I was when I learned how older people use Aviva’s retirement centre (an information-only website about retirement). Just short of 6% use a mobile phone to access the site, and nearly a quarter of people use a tablet. It’s not so much the numbers that surprise me, but the speed of adoption – mobile users have doubled inside a year, and tablet users have increased four-fold!
And yet while potential clients are fast adopting new ways to compare annuities online, many advisers are still relying on email for annuity quotes. How long are clients going to hang around for that? How long before they take their business to a competitor, or worse, self-serve?
A golden opportunity
You can get instant annuity quotes from online portals, and more and more providers are listing on the portals so you can kill a brace of birds with just one stone. Even better, over 90% of Aviva’s instant quotes are guaranteed, as long as you provide full information about your clients. Manual underwriting is only necessary to secure the best possible rate for clients with certain medical conditions.
Online quotes are quicker, yes, but completing the quote request itself can take more time for advisers because you can’t just leave a paper copy with clients to fill out. You have to do it for them or, ideally, with them. I say ideally because when you chase clients for a living, an opportunity to get them to stop awhile and talk is golden. It’s all you need to start a relationship, to explain how you can help, to demonstrate your value, to inspire loyalty, to find out everything you need to know about clients to offer them the best personalised annuity rate you can.
Knowledge is power
On the subject of knowing your clients, it’s arguably more important post-RDR than it’s ever been. Especially when it comes to client segmentation, which can help an adviser’s business far beyond securing better annuity rates.
Many advisers segment their clients based on asset size, value of business or growth potential to identify profitable clients. Some advisers also use preference-based segmentation to help them satisfy those clients by, say, finding out whether they prefer a high-tech or low-tech approach to financial advice.
Tech-shy 0, tech-savvy 1
How and where you request annuity quotes depends, as always, on your clients and your business. But getting instant quotes at the portals is definitely worth considering. It’s one way tech can help you to meet your clients’ needs and, ultimately, help you to develop your business.
