Qn 1: What’s the number one thing that your customers want and what matters to them most? 

Answer: Hyper-personalisation. The old-fashioned one size fits all model no longer applies as everybody now wants a planned experience related to them. It is important to consider individual clients as a unique interest group and not to assume that clients in the same segment want the same offerings.

Qn 2: What strategies have you used to address the digital gap?

Answer: There is no silver bullet in digital as the word ‘digital’ itself is broad and can refer to many things. Digital is also not static, and it is not just a one and done adoption of digital platforms – adaptation is key. 

Wealth managers and financial institutions are often fixated on the Return on Investment for adopting digital. However, another way of looking at it is through ‘Return on Inertia’. What is the cost of standing still and not embracing digital? This portrays investments in technology as a revenue generator rather than an expense item.

Qn 3: Which solutions do you currently, or have tried to, use to address the digital gap? 

Answer: Looking outside the industry is a great place to find inspiration and solid cases for hyper-personalisation. Take the luxury brand market, for instance. They are all about the client experience, and they’ve been offering hyper-personalised services for a long time. Compared to this, private banks are inward-facing and insular, concerned more about their own business than how clients perceive them. Hence, it is essential to look beyond our industry which has long been perceived as cold and unchanging.