Advisers Prefer Face-to-Face Meetings with Clients

Despite more frequent client communication through digital pathways, 73% of advisers strongly prefer face-to-face meetings with clients, Hartford Funds learned in a survey. By comparison, only 12% of advisers regularly use video options, such as Skype and FaceTime.

Considering digital platforms to reach clients and prospects, 74% of advisers use LinkedIn, 45% use Twitter and 43% use Skype.

Sixty-four percent of advisers communicate with their clients at least on a weekly basis to discuss investment strategy or just to touch base. Ninety-six percent say that this frequency of communication should continue in the next five to 10 years.

Fifty-three percent of advisers hold group  informational sessions to discuss investing, market updates, technology and other subjects, and 75% do so annually.

“Effective, consistent communication is the bedrock of the adviser-client relationship and a strategic imperative in human-centric advising,” says Julie Genjac, managing director, strategic markets at Hartford Funds. “As advisers thread the needle and both communicate more frequently and meet in person, it’s essential that they embrace firm-approved digital alternatives, like video chat, that allow for more regular face-to-face interactions.”

John Diehl senior vice president of strategic markets at Hartford Funds, adds: “Value-add content is a critical way for advisers to guide their clients on issues related and unrelated to their finances. Considering their widespread preference for face-to-face interaction, advisers must leverage workshops and group informational sessions to provide valuable insight in person on important issues, and thereby ensure that their client relationships are more fruitful and rewarding.”