Customer segmentation vital to future success
Flexibility and effectiveness in segmenting customer needs is vital to maximising both business performance and client service for fund managers, a whitepaper by SS&C Advent has found.
The whitepaper highlighted the need to effectively segment customer needs to provide more accurate and efficient services to clients. Doing so would allow firms to consider how clients’ demographics, risk profile, tax status, career status, communication preferences and preferred fee models could be best served by their services.
“By identifying more specific and relevant client groups, you can better customise your service offering to their requirements to create the personalised experience they seek,” the whitepaper found.
The whitepaper also pointed to business performance as a key area in which segmentation can provide greater insight and results for advisers.
“It will help you determine the true profitability of your clients, and where to target your product marketing and service delivery efforts, both to optimise your internal efficiencies and achieve the greatest revenue results,” it said.
It contended that in an increasingly globalised and competitive wealth management industry, customer segmentation would assist firms maximise their competitive advantages by allowed them to identify the client types and asset classes that they would be best equipped to support.
Effective utilisation of technology would be imperative to effective customer segmentation, the whitepaper found. It suggested that data hubs, client relationship management systems and performance and risk analysis tools could all assist firms in segmenting client needs.
“Tried and tested solutions exist. The challenge lies in aligning your technology with your business strategy, and making the necessary systems changes and investments where gaps occur,” the whitepaper said.
Recommended for you
There is one specific risk that is a significantly higher concern for financial services directors compared to companies overall and is impacting their risk appetite, according to the AICD.
Global fund managers are shunning bonds, with the asset class seeing the largest drop in allocations in more than 20 years.
Australian Ethical has seen its funds under management reach $10 billion, driven by organic customer growth and superannuation contributions.
Financial advisers will have access to private equity investments run by WTW for the first time as it launches a pooled fund to provide savers with access to traditionally institutional assets.