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

Answer: There are two main things. For customers who know what they want, they simply want to have it at a cheaper price. For those who are less certain, they would like someone to help them make that decision. 

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

Answer: The first step is realising that what financial advice means to institutions is drastically different from what it means to the typical person on the street. From there, institutions need to be aware that the digital gap is huge and it’s impossible to address it all at once. To effectively make a difference, we need to break the digital gap into smaller components and realise which parts you can help build a bridge over.

Another thing that institutions need to consider is their own digital capabilities and maturity. The client believes that their institution understands them and the firm has to respect that when introducing new digital solutions. When onboarding clients to a new platform, asking them for their basic information when they’ve been your client for many years can be an incongruous experience. 

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

Answer: Thinking that you have an answer and immediately building towards that will not work. It’s better to have a hypothesis and take incremental steps towards that using existing or new technology. By taking this model and being flexible, you can start to get to your answer quickly. But it will never be a single jump.