Personalised and customised customer communications are
increasingly important to maintain and grow relationships in the
financial services sector.
EMC commissioned research from independent financial services
analyst firm Aite Group, which questioned 500 investors and
technology executives about the service provided by financial
firms.
A lack of service was the top reason customers decided to change
firms, and 50% of investors rated the ability to understand
communication between themselves and their firms at or below
average.
"One of the challenges financial services firms face is figuring
out how to differentiate themselves from one another," said Adam
Honoré, an analyst at Aite Group.
"The way customers are currently being marketed to does not
necessarily capture the relationship aspect of the financial
advisor to the customer.
"You have to figure out a different way to reach your customers
and capture their attention. Our research indicates that customised
correspondence is increasingly viewed as an effective
differentiator," he said.
The independent study consisted of more than 500 individuals in
two survey groups. The first was made up of investors in the US
within five years of pre- or post-retirement. The second included
technology executives at financial services firms.
More than half of investors surveyed rated their ability to
understand communication between themselves and their firms at or
below average.
One-third of the technology executives surveyed, including CIOs,
rated document solutions as one of their top five priorities.
Nearly three-quarters considered personalisation and customisation
as important or essential, while one-half indicated speed of
document generation as important or essential.