I spent a great couple of days in San Francisco this week hearing from 72 FinTech companies at Finovate, stay tuned for my unique recap and thoughts from the largest Finovate ever. As usual, there were several companies focused on improving access and service to the so-called underbanked– those who are priced out of traditional […]
Practice Management
A Moneyball Approach to Wealth Management
Smaller and midsized banks can play in the wealth management big leagues, but they have to use some Moneyball type tactics to compete and win against the big budget competition. Before the financial crisis, a “Field of Dreams” approach worked– if you built it, they would come. An environment of deregulation, falling interest rates, a rising stock market […]
Reimagining Bank Product Design in the Experience Economy
When B. Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore wrote a book called “The Experience Economy,” they built on the work of Alvin Toffler (“Future Shock”) and others on the value of creating experiences. They cited Disney, Starbucks, Nordstrom and other leading brands as examples. Pine and Gilmore argue– and I agree– that our economy has […]
Clients Do Not Want Help. Until They Do.
(This was originally published as a guest post for my friends at the management consulting and strategic communications firm Beyond the Arc: Understanding how customers really want help.) On the same day I published a post about the sometimes disappointing allure of technology (Technology is Not a Silver Bullet), the always insightful Discerning Technologist Brad […]
Five Shifts that Define the New Era for Wealth Management
Five massive foundational shifts are impacting financial service providers of all types, and they are impacting those that serve affluent clients in especially unique ways. Many of the strategies, skills and behaviors that enabled success in the past are now at best ineffective, and completely irrelevant in some cases. Advisors and firms serving affluent clients must adapt […]
Improving Client Engagement with Technology
Readers of this blog know that my primary focus is the convergence of high-tech and high-touch that I believe IS the future of wealth management. I think Balance Financial gets this better than most fintech firms, and that is why I am proud to serve on their Advisory Board. Read on…
Learning from Customers in Social Media
I was recently interviewed by BAI Banking Strategies on the evolving use of social media in banking and wealth management. Here is an excerpt from the article, which was published yesterday: Nicols, a former executive with Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, agrees that social media can warn financial institutions of potential problems. “You ought to be happy […]
Demystifying Social Media: It’s All About Business Strategy
(I originally wrote this as a guest post for the management consulting and strategic communications firm Beyond the Arc. You should check them out for a lot of great information on customer experience, strategy, analytics and social business. I will be speaking on a panel on How to Monetize Social Media with their CEO Steve Ramirez, […]