The primary goal of digital wealth tools should be ROI

A premium UX and innovation are important, but a successful digital strategy should be aligned with commercial goals, suggests John Ennis, Managing Director at CREALOGIX for Northern Europe, APAC and MME.

Digital and hybrid wealth services are a must-have for modern wealth management firms. There is a lot of potential in digital technology to deliver a premium, personalised experience but before firms get swept away by the bells and whistles, the most important goal has to be ROI. The digital strategy should be closely aligned with the commercial strategy to deliver these returns.

Assemble the right team to avoid delays

Implementation delays can add significantly to the cost of a project. This is often due to the late inclusion of further requirements and, to avoid this, it’s important to get all the key stakeholders involved before the supplier is selected. The IT team may be driving the project, but operations, compliance, finance, marketing and the client management teams should all be involved in setting the requirements. A cross-functional project team will not only make the business case stronger and help to gain support from the C-Suite but will also ensure that the project adds value to the business and supports the firm’s strategic goals.

Clear goals at the outset puts ROI in the spotlight

A digitalisation project should have both long-term and short-term goals that relate to the firm’s strategic priorities relating to cost savings, improved efficiency, customer service and commercial growth. These goals may include modernisation of technology to reduce friction and increase efficiency, cutting paper use to reduce administrative costs and attracting more clients. The goals should relate directly to commercial aims, such as growing assets under management or increasing the Customer Lifetime Value.

Quick win KPIs in digital projects

Many of the success factors in digitalisation will have a long-term effect, but to build support for continual investment and improvement in the solution, some quick wins will support the case for further innovation. While factors such as client loyalty and lifetime value are longer term aims, some short-term measures can help to build confidence and consensus within the organisation. This can be measured by considering the digitally addressable customer base, monitoring digital satisfaction or NPS scores and the cost savings that come from the proportion of clients that opt to go for paperless services.

Measurable success metrics

While qualitative data on the project are valuable, it’s important to put some numbers behind the project to show ROI. Examples of relevant metrics include measurement of the volume and handling of customer support enquiries; recency of suitability and fact find data and the conversion rate or duration of newly onboarded clients. Firms that achieve measurable and commercially impactful wins at an early stage will make it easier to align leadership and all stakeholders around future innovation.

Learn more about how to deliver demonstrable ROI from your digital projects in our free e-book.