A new breed of client is rapidly growing with the rise of the digital revolution. Young, wealthy professionals and entrepreneurs have more ways to accumulate wealth now than ever, and this expanding demographic segment of the population is forcing advisors who want to land them as clients to find new ways to attract and retain them for the long term.

Here are some big-picture strategies to employ if you wish to focus on this segment of the population for your client base. (For more, see: Tips for Wooing Wealthy Clients.)

  • Woo them with technology and personalization: Custom design a client experience that allows them to seamlessly access their accounts from any type of device, anywhere at any time. The client portal needs to be relevant, consistent, convenient and individualized and provide value directly to clients with every use. Young, high-net worth clients are used to having everything being customized to their tastes, and their wealth management should be no exception. They want to be able to shift from one technological medium and platform to another and be able to pick up where they left off without interruption. The overall platform needs to be flexible and able to be scaled as well, so that all changes and upgrades are automatically transmitted across all channels. (For related reading, see: Find Your Niche Market.)
  • Deploy your understanding of your customers: If your clients want to be able to instantly see all of their assets at a glance, then create a user-friendly dashboard page that has this information broken down in several different ways. The tools, services and benefits that you and your firm can provide need to match the wants and needs of your customers, and you can use page views and other analytic data to adjust the number of clicks or portal pages that are needed to get clients where they want to go the fastest.
  • Know the requirements for maintaining client portals: If you are not technologically savvy, then hire a professional who can tell you exactly what you will need in order to keep your portal running smoothly. Be sure to have a contingency plan in place so that your clients will have an alternate method of managing their accounts if your portal goes down. (For more, see: Technology Trends Advisors Must Stay Ahead of.)
  • Sync your design and developmental processes: This will help your firm to provide a cohesive level of customer service to your clients that effectively integrates their needs with your procedures. All phases of your business need to be tested for intelligence and resiliency, and your procedures and plans need to be able to be changed quickly and efficiently if necessary.
  • Let customer needs drive every decision: You may need to make some major shifts in your firm’s culture, environment and procedures in order to accomplish this. But a customer-centric firm will usually be a successful firm, and this is vitally important when you are catering to young high-net worth clients. You may also find that your bottom line will increase when you do this, because putting your clients first will generate loyalty and retention.

The Bottom Line

Landing young, affluent customers in today’s marketplace will require a new, innovative approach for most advisory firms. Advisors who are able to stay abreast of technological changes and meet the expectation of this demographic will have a much better chance of success. (For related reading, see: High-Net Worth Client Tips for Financial Advisors.)

Read more: Top 5 Strategies to Land Wealthy, Young Clients | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-advisors/032516/top-5-strategies-land-wealthy-young-clients.asp#ixzz4ARykmkm2
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