If client assets are the heart of an advisory firm, client service management is the nerve center.
“Advisors need client service to be as efficient as possible, and in the digital age they have the tools to do that,” says Mike Byrnes, owner of Byrnes Consulting and a featured speaker on practice management at RIA conferences.
When it comes to interacting with clients, no tool is more important than Client Relationship Management (CRM) software. When used properly, CRMs help RIAs efficiently scale such critical tasks as inputting and analyzing client data, onboarding, managing client communications and scheduling client meetings and portfolio reviews.
Advisors should take advantage of their CRM’s workflow templates to help unclutter client management, says Patrick Arnold, AdvisorEngine’s product head. The AdvisorEngine CRM, for example, features a “service monitor” function that helps advisors perform and complete tasks efficiently, step-by-step, providing key information along the way.
“The service monitor automates each touch point and keeps track of recurring workflows,” Arnold explains. “The software can create alerts for services such as financial plan reviews and make sure advisors are aware of a client’s specific needs, such as when to take an RMD (Required Minimum Distribution).”
Advisors should also use CRM software to look for bottlenecks in client service, Brynes says. “You can identify where work flows are getting stuck and change responsibilities accordingly.”
Custodians provide another indispensable client management hub.
“The custodian platform is where everything happens,” says Nicholas Zaccour, director of family office services for Coastal Bridge Advisors in Westport, Connecticut. “That’s where the data is and that’s where bottlenecks can happen. You’re only as good as the efficiency of your custodian.”
When evaluating which custodian to use, focus on the service team, Zaccour says. “They should be responsive, knowledgeable and able to teach you how to do stuff so you won't have to bug them. For peak efficiency, the less you have to call them the better.”
Surveys can also improve client service proficiency.
“We make sure to survey all our clients after client meetings,” says Eric Swensen, chief practice officer for San Francisco Bay Area-based Adero Partners. “We ask them about the meeting, how they would like to meet and how often they want to meet. We are also constantly asking our advisors what their hassles and frustrations are when interacting with clients so we can identify and solve problems.”
For scheduling and preparing for client meetings, the Calendly app has become extremely popular.
“The client is able to schedule the meeting at their convenience and we’re able to have a process where we can prepare for the meetings ten days before,” Swensen says.
Many wealth management CRM providers, including AdvisorEngine, are integrating Calendly into their software, Arnold says. “The workflow starts once the meeting is scheduled, and everything that needs to be done is automated and accounted for.”
Creating client service calendars also makes scheduling more efficient and transparent while also demonstrating ongoing advisor value. These calendars provide advisors more flexibility in determining what services to list and when to complete them, while also helping to manage client expectations.
Another time-saving client management tool taking the financial advisory industry by storm are note-taking/action item apps powered by artificial intelligence.
Software in these apps transcribe and summarize meeting notes with clients and then feed action items into CRM applications for implementation.
“It’s a massive scaling proposition,” Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholz Wealth Management, said at a panel discussion on AI earlier this summer at the Museum of American Finance.
Note-taking/action item apps from companies like Jump, Zocks, Grain and Finmate AI have become the most popular “use case” in artificial intelligence among financial advisors to date, according to Brown.
When AI note-taking/action item apps are integrated into CRMs, “the service game will change dramatically,” Zaccour says. That day is not far off, according to Arnold, who says AdvisorEngine is currently in discussions with third-party note-taking app vendors.
More prosaically, Swenson recommends giving clients an email address for the team they’re working with instead of an individual advisor. “It really helps prevent action items from falling through the cracks if one advisor happens to miss an email,” he says.
On the other hand, advisors shouldn’t forget about the benefits of personalized customer service.
Byrnes recommends sending personal video emails as a way to make sure clients remember upcoming meetings and to humanize the advisor.
“You’re showing interest in the client personally, exhibiting empathy – and getting their attention,” he says. “Whatever you’re trying to communicate, it increases your chances of success.”