How Can Financial Services Firms Forge The Right Human-Digital Mix In A Post-Pandemic World?

CEO of Hearsay Systems, the trusted leader in compliant last-mile digital communications solutions for the financial services industry.

Ezra Bailey

As transformational as the past year has been, we know that some changes are only temporary. Masks won’t be here forever, and the world seems to have enough sourdough. But there have been fundamental shifts in markets, and we need to acknowledge these challenges and build resilient plans to adapt. 

To help financial services professionals get there, we spoke with key leaders in financial services about three key challenges across the industry. Together, we worked to determine the right strategies for today and in the future.

Establishing Trust and Showcasing Principles

The first challenge financial advisors and firms must tackle is trust. According to recent EY and McKinsey research, only 17% of people say they trust financial institutions in a time of crisis. At the same time, 75% of customers tried new shopping behaviors as a result of the pandemic. With this record-low level of trust and record-high level of shopping experimentation, financial services companies need to understand the drivers of change and respond in ways that forge or reestablish trust.

Some shifts in customer behavior and attitudes can be attributed to evolving decision criteria. Consumers are now considering more than just service and price; they demand corporate alignment to their personal values. If financial professionals and the organizations they represent hope to ignite a deeper connection in this new environment, they must embrace a point of view beyond financial advice. For example, do you facilitate diversity and inclusion or speak to societal and personal challenges with empathy? Do you have robust environmental, social and corporate governance investment options? 

It’s important to recognize that the brand alone can’t address these trends. Advisors and agents have a closer connection to clients and can deliver this content in a more targeted, personal manner. The trick is empowering them to personalize corporate value messages in an authentic, consistent way. 

EY uncovered another opportunity to build stronger trust. Nalika Nanayakkara, EY Americas wealth and asset management consulting leader, shared her firm’s recent research: Millennials are willing to disclose more personal information with their financial advisor than with their doctor. This may seem antithetical to the “lack of trust” argument, but in reality, millennials are far less sensitive to sharing their financial information than previous generations.

Advisors have the opportunity to not only serve as trusted stewards of personal data but to combine it with a deep understanding of client motivation — whether it’s saving for a down payment or focusing on ESG investments — in order to better frame planning conversations and inform decisions. These are all excellent activities for forging trust early in the relationship. 

Using Social To Your Advantage

The second challenge we discussed with financial firm leaders was around the dramatic spike in activity associated with leveraging social networks and collaboration hubs for financial advice — in particular for younger participants. Indeed, financial decisions — selecting a mortgage, picking a stock, purchasing an insurance policy — seemed downright crowd-sourced. But the prevalence and accessibility of crowdsourced advice on trading platforms or online communities is not just empowering; it can also be overwhelming.

To successfully address social challenges, advisors and firms have to make online connections in more places while demonstrating social and financial savvy in a compliant manner. This is no small task. To overcome it, video has emerged as an important tactic used by financial representatives to showcase who they are and what it’s like to work with them. Besides being sticky and shareable, video helps break down walls by highlighting human faces and emotions. 

Another key to building social connections involves corporate responsibility and societal impact. In our latest Social Selling Content Study, we found that content focused on societal impact had extremely high engagement rates, in spite of very low production or publication rates. Personal efforts related to community involvement resonated even more. This signals that organizations need to prioritize content around corporate responsibility and societal impact and make it easier for advisors to post compliant and personalized content of this nature.

But beyond merely posting, financial representatives need to engage in other critical ways to be effective, for example, by making new connections, responding to comments and asking for introductions. Particularly when reaching out to millennials, it’s critical to meet them where they want to interact, whether that is over text, on social media, via video or in person.

Mixing Human + Digital

The third challenge we discussed with advisors and firms is finding the artful mix of human and digital. The pandemic debunked some preconceived notions regarding client engagement. Perhaps advisors don’t need to travel as often for client meetings. Maybe clients prefer a simple text versus a call. Maybe lunch becomes a Zoom meeting. Looking ahead, igniting connections will require both old techniques and new — a mix of human and digital approaches.

For example, we’ve seen enthusiasm around the use of robo advisor products, but these must be paired with human help. In fact, client satisfaction doubles when both digital and human interaction are used. When a big decision — such as a home purchase — arises, consumers want to talk to someone with knowledge. Mastering the omnichannel customer experience will be critical for all firms. In addition to ensuring that digital table stakes are in place, they need to prioritize a short list of areas to differentiate on, aligned with their strengths.

Another exciting opportunity we see in combining human and digital is making the man-machine link. What does this look like? Firms must leverage the intelligence and data from their CRM and Next Best Action engines, then layer personal messaging on top of those insights and triggers. That powerful combination delivers the right offer at the right time on the right channel, with a personalized touch that drives significantly higher engagement.

Through newer digital tools — combined artfully with solid sales and servicing DNA — the financial services industry can build trust in new ways, via new channels, and strike the right balance of human and digital interactions to create a higher quality and more efficient level of service to clients.

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