One of the major challenges facing wealth managers centres on finding a commercially viable way to bridge the gap between the traditional ‘analogue’ relationship, where advisers dedicate time nurturing long-lasting relationships, and technology that may require the adviser to relinquish some control over how the relationship is managed.
But other high-touch industries servicing HNW clients face comparable challenges, for example in hospitality. In the luxury hotel industry, the ‘high-touch’ experience is evolving so each client journey optimises a mix of human and digital contact clients themselves select.
“What we’re trying to achieve with luxury hospitality is a unique and personalised experience for every guest,” explains Till Westheuser, general manager at the Hyatt House Düsseldorf, Germany. “Recognising the guest as an individual and responding to their specific preferences prior to, during and after the stay is what it’s all about.”
According to Mr Westheuser, the business understands that to deliver great customer experience, it needs to empower staff with the right tools and technology. Without them, colleagues are unable to service guests at scale without losing the personal touch.
For most guests, the experience begins pre-arrival via the website, telephone or app. Hyatt has an award-winning World of Hyatt loyalty programme offering members a tailored experience. Through the app, guests provide their personal information and preferences, which allows the hotel to provide offers and services that are truly relevant to them.
“Customers can check-in through their app and use it as their key-card. They also don’t have to tell reception or the concierge team at check-in about preferred pillows, size of bed, allergies and so on; they simply type it into the app,” says Mr Westheuser. “There is a risk digitalisation may minimise personal service touch-points. But if that’s what guests want, we have to offer credible alternative pathways.”
In financial services, as in hospitality, differentiation and delivering a first-class client experience must be more than just an aspiration; it must be an integral part of a firms’ strategy that helps drive acquisitions and new assets.
While service models cannot be directly applied from one industry to another, Hyatt’s example offers two useful lessons. The first centres on smarter data capture so firms can continue to innovate and deliver a more targeted client experience. The other is about understanding how and why clients are increasingly choosing to interact with the business via digital touch points.
Less is more
CitizenM is a nascent hotel group challenging established players with its affordable luxury concept and an emphasis on appealing to the mobile, connected and frequent traveller. The customers know how to use technology so citizenM uses it to its advantage to innovate, streamline and scale operations.
“We are one of the few hotel companies that do not believe in gut feelings,” says Michael Levie, citizenM’s chief operating officer. “We believe in data, we like to measure and take full advantage of all the tech opportunities that are out there .”
To deliver luxury at affordable prices and at scale, citizenM is upending the traditional customer service delivery model, which tends to be top-down and hierarchical, and investing heavily in talent. For example, instead of a concierge or front desk services, each hotel has several ambassadors – many of whom come from drama instead of traditional hospitality schools. The group looks for candidates with the right attitude rather than specific skill set.
CitizenM also has no room service and no minibars. Instead, rooms come with ‘superpowers’ that include essentials such as free bottled water, a super-size bed, jetlag-busting power shower, super-speedy unlimited Wi-Fi and a MoodPad for full room ambience control and at no extra cost.
“People who spend over a hundred days a year on the road know exactly what they need out of a hotel. We threw away everything we didn’t like about hotels, took a blank piece of paper and looked at everything afresh focusing on only what’s relevant for the customer,” says Mr Levie.
Research into the hearts and minds of HNWIs and mass affluent investors indicates that a significant portion of them seek comparable innovation from their wealth managers.
As client behaviours continue to evolve and become more digital, wealth managers need to understand exactly where, how and why clients want to experience change. This will help firms prioritise internal investment opportunities, offer different pathway options for clients and elevate their experience.
Jenny Kvaskova is manager at Aon and Arndt Mielisch marketing manager at Appway
