Paint by numbers: the data that creates the full picture

Did you know that the human race creates approximately 328.77 million terabytes of data every day? In fact, in 2023 we’re projected to create an astounding 120 zettabytes of data. This translates to 231.4 million emails, 90.2 million cryptos purchased, 5.9 million google searches, 1.1 million swipes on Tinder, 1 million hours steamed, and 104,600 hours spent on Zoom every minute. The Financial Services sector is drowning in data, but this blog explores the key data points that are essential to understanding customer engagement.

At Appointedd, we know what data is important to track, when it’s important to have it, and how to use it to keep up with changing trends in Financial Services. Read on to learn what engagement data would be useful for you to be monitoring, and the ROI of acquiring that data. Appointedd regularly delivers that value for others, so follow along to see what Appointedd offers to you.

The importance of engagement metrics

The way in which Financial Services engage with their clients is under continuous development. Currently, the industry needs to react to the shift in wealth transferring from baby boomers to millennials, the recent Consumer Duty regulation update, and changing trends in which platforms customers use to communicate and learn. It’s crucial for your business to understand when change is needed, and how to qualify change as positive or negative.

Recent quote from the Financial Times states that “only one in two people are satisfied with the touch points their wealth management offers, such as face to face meetings, mobile app or website.” In an industry like financial advisory, where competition is rife and regulation is vast, competitive advantage comes from the service offering the business is willing to provide. If a company is only only satisfying the needs of 50% of customers, it risks losing its customer base to the competition.

Unlike industries like tech, or retail, or healthcare, Financial Services is in the unique position that all of the propositions and solutions which allow them to compete are here ready for them to start procuring.

Engagement metrics that are essential for Financial Services

Imagine you could have the answers to the following questions at any time:

• How much time is wasted spent on manual back and forth to schedule meetings”?
• How many meetings has a Financial Advisor had this year compared to last year?
• Of all the initial consultations booked with a Financial Advisor, how many of them have resulted in a client relationship?
• How many visitors are on your website looking for a consultation, with no clear call to action on how to convert?
• Of all the time Financial Advisors are available for meetings, how much of that time is booked?
• What time of the day, week, month are people requesting an initial consultation, or an existing client meeting?
• Across all of our services, what customers have booked what, and where is the opportunity to upsell, cross sell?

Each and every one of these metrics can be crucial to building customer journeys that convert. In order to gain loyal customers and ensure new prospects choose you instead of the competition, you need to be analysing these data points.

This data can help you better understand supply and demand; look at utilisation of your services and staff accordingly to save valuable money. For example, Appointedd has recently released an annual data report which shares the findings or a year worth of engagement data across multiple industries and timezones. Within Financial Services, the most popular time to book a meeting or an appointment is between 9am and 11am, and the most popular day is a Tuesday. If businesses knew what the exact time was for their services, they could be sure to give potential customers what they want, when they want it.

Focus on your customer centric value is to the customer

I recently heard a quote on a podcast: “selling is a notion, and in fact what you are really doing is trying to find the buyers.” This is an incredibly valuable concept that only data can unlock. Regulation dictates that you can’t really sell the idea of being financial managed, but you can be the preferred business a person chooses once they decide they need financial advice.

A webform that takes effort to fill out, leaving the prospect or customer unsure when they are going to receive contact back from you. Increasingly, convenience is a higher priority to customers than a more traditional experience. Younger customers in particular expect to be able to go online and book an appointment. If millennial customers are faced with a webform, or worse, a phone number to call, they’re much more inclined to book with a competitor who offers online booking — which converts 9x as many customers as a webform does.

Knowing how quickly people are converting on your website depending on the journey that brought them there allows you to optimise your customer journey for the highest conversion rates. With Appointedd, bookings are made in as little as 7 seconds.

The most important data point to consider

Data is only useful if you have access to it at the right time. With so many systems, and so many stakeholders, what should be simple is in fact still a challenge. Good data is live, self-serving, and automated. When possible, companies must automate data, to ensure employees are doing the highest value work and remove a margin of human error. This way, your company is freed up time to become more agile and invest more time into thinking about how you can better adapt to the rapid change around you.

Learn more about data trends in the Financial Services industry with Appointedd’s Annual Data Report. Read it now, no email address required.