Premier Mortgage Services (PMS) Mortgage Club is urging advisers to continually improve their digital presence and capabilities or risk losing out to tech start-ups when it comes to attracting new customers.
According to PMS, a threat is posed by tech start-up firms who are spending millions of pounds to build direct-to-consumer brands, while also compiling richer consumer data that they can increasingly leverage through online propositions.
To prevent this, the organisation said firms need to be visible in the same place as their customers, which increasingly is in a digital environment. This will ensure they keep pace with their customers’ needs.
Lauren Bagley, marketing manager at PMS, said a website will often be first step in a customer’s advice journey.
As a result, the challenge for advisers is to make the right first impression and then convert this contact into new enquiries and business.
Ms Bagley said: “Advisory firms need to be thinking about digitising their service to customers, enabling consumers to interact and communicate in multiple ways and at various points of the advice journey online.
“With more than 80 per cent of consumers undertaking research online before they make a purchase decision, having an effective digital presence is something you simply can’t ignore.”
Kevin Dunn, chartered financial planner from Furnley House, said that he values the use of technology, as the company recently underwent a website revamp, but he still finds that the stickier clients are those who have been introduced to the company by word of mouth.
Mr Dunn said: “The best clients are the ones that come to us via referrals from accountants, solicitors, friends and family. People looking for Furnley House tend to use the website more for information and a place to verify that we are a decent firm.”
To help support firms PMS has launched a new web solutions service, which it said can enable advisers to create their own website with the support of PMS’s in-house marketing team. This will include creating marketing content for clients, offering a range of designs and layouts for websites and comparison tools to engage with potential advice customers.
Ms Bagley said: “Our vision is to combine the best of both worlds by utilising intuitive technology to create an efficient end-to-end customer journey, while at all times ensuring the personal service and expertise, which only a professional adviser can provide, is placed front and centre.”
