No industry is untouched by the evolving trends as the markets and customer behaviours have changed over time and this change will remain constant for the foreseeable future. With the digital expansion, the opportunity for distribution reach via agents, distributors and more has also grown. 

“Within the financial services realm, organizations anticipate that 65% of their organization’s customer engagement will be digital by 2025.” (Source: Twilio)

But this evolution and digital disruption has also highlighted some of the challenges where relying on traditional methods can result in catastrophe for the financial services industry. 

Some of these challenges are:
1. Lead Generation- One of the major challenges agents, distributors or any other channel faces is lead generation. Any type of investment and planning comes with a lot of research and so many questions hence, convincing prospects/leads requires a better understanding of the market and products. This is why leveraging digital can be a way to help agents, distributors and advisors by enabling them with tools and solutions to stay informed and engage their customers effectively. For example, if your teams don’t have a centralised repository to access relevant content and information, a solution like DAM can be a suitable implementation to help them become content enabled and engage customers better.

2. Lack of Training- An empowered agent/distributor is the one with the empowered training. But sometimes organisations do not have the right tools to provide that training and they struggle. Training helps them with relevant insights to pitch effectively and drive meaningful value for customers. For training, courses are not the hurdle but the digital approach to it, such as leveraging tools that can make it easier to learn from anywhere instead of a classroom training model. Hence, the FSI industry must invest in software and technologies that can help them execute the training effortlessly.

3. Consistency with Communication- Relationship in business stays solid when you are consistently in touch with your potential and existing customers. The same goes for the agents and distributors but they usually fail to do so due to a lack of content, the right tools and enablement. This is where digital enablement can be a very reliable implementation helping ease the concern of consistent communication. Companies can provide support by implementing software and tools to empower their agents, advisors, agents or any other sales channel that drive their revenue.

4. Building Personal Brand- The world is competitive and to call yourself a competent financial advisor, you need to offer uniqueness and credibility to your customers online. Since most of the information can be easily found online, agents and advisors should also prioritise their online presence with a well-designed personal website, fluency with knowledge of products, actively sharing relevant information on social media channels, nurturing customers with valuable marketing content and campaigns and more. Create a presence where your customers can trust you with their problems and how you can help resolve them.

5. Customer Retention- For financial services companies that are still relying on traditional approaches, it’s harder for them to get their customers retained. Loyal customers/clients are one of the biggest assets for any organisation, hence they need a digital strategy to keep them engaged and happy. With the help of necessary digital enablement – agents, advisors or distributors can keep their existing customers involved and informed. They can be in constant touch with emails, WhatsApp, social media, calls etc. to understand their needs and offers relevant solutions. Digital touchpoints can help keep the relationship warm and eventually result in upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

How digital transformation can help the financial services industry?
1. Customer Experience- When referring to customer experience, it is more than just customer service where you respond to the requests of customers. Whereas, customer experience refers to engaging with customers at different touchpoints based on their interests and behaviours. For instance, if a customer needs information about an insurance policy or a mutual fund plan, they should be able to find information easily or connect with relevant agents/distributors to get advice. Customer wants a personalised experience which means a solution for their pain point, which can be discovered by continuously engaging with customers. Customers value transparency and efficiency hence being consistently informed about new products based on short or long-term financial goals can help build a stronger relationship.

2. Employee Experience- To establish a smooth customer experience a strong employee culture and experience are also essential. This is where digital transformation can help financial services companies change the way they work where digital capabilities can be an asset to engage end users, and employees and eventually contribute to business development. It shouldn’t be just about the capabilities but also about the willingness to adopt them where they believe in organisations’ innovative visions and strategies. 

3. Compliance and Control- Digital initiatives can provide visibility and control to financial services companies on agents, distributors and other channels level for better management and decision-making. It can be an effective tool for bringing in communication and proper management while maintaining the necessary compliance and control.

4. Operational Efficiency and Cost Saving- With digital initiatives taking pace organisations also improve their processes and workflow. A lot of tasks can be automated, remembered and can be executed with ease. Having streamlined processes and work also mean effective cost and time-saving. 

Digital transformation can bring much more value than imagined. Any organisation that opts for a digitally robust culture, can bring in a lot more business value while empowering different teams in the organisation. One such initiative is SalesPanda Digital Office for agents, distributors and sales teams that enables and empowers them with digital automation to sell more and grow their business. The platform helps principal companies leverage the vast customer reach of their agents, distributors and sales teams with centrally operated digital campaigns for better reach, prospect nurturing and customer engagement while maintaining strict regulatory compliance.