Last Updated on February 23, 2021 by Connor Prendergast
Asking new clients for their preferred method of communication has been part of the initial discovery process since the invention of the telephone. We’re all taught to do it when we intern on our first summer job. The responses vary, but the question has never changed.
As we progress through our professional journey, most of us learn to suggest answers that are better for both parties. Guiding a client to use email instead of phone calls for service issues is a scenario that comes to mind. Service providers have perfected that in recent years.
Today, video conferencing is better for most clients. In-person meetings are less convenient and more time consuming. Phone calls are old-fashioned. Email is okay, but not for everything. The ubiquity of the video call has permanently changed wealth management and brought us into a new digital age for financial advisors.
Adapt to New Client Behaviors by Using Video Conferencing with Blueleaf
Clients are not scheduling appointments to come into the office. They want to meet online, where it’s safe. That’s the mindset that developed during the pandemic. However, despite their initial reasons for adopting video clients have noticed it’s more convenient.
The most successful advisors on our platform are those who adapted to doing business online before the pandemic started. You no longer have to be physically present to manage your clients. Meeting via video conferencing and using Blueleaf as your visual aid gives you the ability to run your practice remotely. You can review reports or change the presenter and have clients show you where their issues are.
Jason Park, a long-time Blueleaf customer, summed it up perfectly in a recent interview we did with him. “Even if a vaccine totally eliminates Covid-19, I think the awareness of cleanliness and germs is going to stay with us. Most of my clients are seniors and I imagine they would just prefer to have less physical contact with people outside their household.”
Even if not because of concerns, the convenience of video has changed client behavior forever. There may be a few folks who want to go back to luncheons and conference rooms, but we’re finding that most clients prefer web conferencing. They don’t have to travel for them, and no one has to get dressed up.
Check out a blog post we wrote:
Virtually Unbreakable: Building the Wealth Management Firm of the Future
Blueleaf and Video Conferencing are Both Simple to Use
The best way to overcome digital disorientation is to provide your advisors and clients with simple software. Video conferencing is a preferred mode of communication because of its user experience. It’s not complicated. Neither is Blueleaf.
Believe it or not, there are still advisory firms struggling with digital disorientation. It’s not because the software is difficult to use. The block is behavioral. FAs have become accustomed to doing business a certain way. Those who’ve done that the longest struggle the most.
Combining Blueleaf and video conferencing for client meetings is one of the more seamless approaches to solving digital disorientation. Using our document vault and automated email features make client engagement a simple, painless task that anyone in the firm can handle.
Overcoming Challenges of Remote Client Service
The digital era isn’t just beginning. We’ve been living in it for over a decade now. So why are so many FAs still technologically challenged for remote client service? The block used to be regulatory. Online engagement was considered a compliance issue. That’s no longer the case.
If you get past digital disorientation and still have issues with technology, the problem is cultural. That’s where the change needs to happen. In 2020, many advisory firms were forced to evolve their culture to adapt to client behavior. Those changes are for the better.
“This Covid period has made stay-at-home and remote work normal,” Jason Park told us. “To a remote firm like ours, it’s just more validation that this is how we should be working together. We’ve taken advantage of that and benefited from it.”
Jason is not alone. We speak to advisors on our platform every day who are telling us similar stories. Your clients want remote engagement. Blueleaf is the tool that can help you provide it.
Solving the Franken-Product Legacy System Problem
Some firms feel that they have the proper technology, yet still struggle with remote client service. The problem may very well be your software. We’ve written often about the rise of the franken-product and how those all-in-one systems do more harm than good because they do nothing particularly well.
Many prospects have asked us if we are ever going to add a financial planning component to Blueleaf. We would rather give you the best options in the market. We’ve built integrations with Right Capital and Money Guide Pro, two of the best in the business in that area. And the systems work seamlessly together.
That’s the Blueleaf way. Our system is your client engagement, reporting, and communication platform. We offer seamless and secure data aggregation so you can holistically view your client’s assets and liabilities. Planning and CRM? That’s best left to specialists.
You can focus on what you do well and be the best or try to do everything and have a sub-par offering. We prefer to stick with what we know. That’s why we’re the leading client portal provider in the RIA space. Try using our system in a video conferencing meeting and you’ll understand why.
An Experience Your Clients Will Love.
Clients will love the service and simplicity you deliver with Blueleaf’s superior client experience.
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