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Creating a world of value

01 February 2009 Freda du Toit, SDT

As financial services become commoditised, technology offers brokers an opportunity to get closer to their clients and to enhance service.

The relationship between a broker and a client should be a personal one. As a broker, you should be aware of what is important in your client's life. This requires rapid access to key client data such as birth dates, marital status, number of children, and more. To stay close to your clients, you also need information about the landmark events that make up the life of an insurance consumer: the birth of a child, death of a relative, a child reaching school-going age, acquisition of a new car, marriage and divorce, to name but a few.

This is difficult to achieve since all this information is dispersed across the information systems of the many service providers in the financial services value chain, including the insurer, clinics, doctors, travel agencies, car dealerships, plumbers, electricians and many more.

High-tech solutions

However, the right technology can collate this information and interpret it in terms of life needs. For example, partnerships with service providers require that these partners make the information available on the Internet and that brokers have effective tools to use the information sensibly.

Technology creates an opportunity to create a whole new "ecosystem" in which brokers' processes and systems can serve their clients in ways that will add value and simplify their lives, making the broker indispensable.

Far-reaching benefits

The benefits of such an approach are profound and far-reaching, on different levels.

* Integration between the broker and the insurer is taken to a new level, by providing a seamless communication layer facilitating integration from a financial needs analysis tool through business origination to the back office. In addition, the insurer can now conduct all broker interaction electronically. This allows information such as commission statements and follow-up requirements to be published immediately.
* The broker can facilitate the interaction between the client and service providers outside of financial services, such as panel beaters or plumbers.
* The emotional value you can add to a client's life by always knowing what is important to them transforms your role from intermediary to trusted advisor.

Communities of value

Communities of value have been responsible for much of the growth of the Internet, as they bring people with similar or connected interests together. Using the Internet, a broker can build a community of value in which the community members support each other.

Such a community must be technology-enabled, and should be designed and delivered by a specialist in IT services, who understands financial services products and the financial industry.

Community systems are not administration systems, but rather front-ends linking existing administration systems to create seamless connections for brokers. Client data is more accurate and discrepancies are resolved sooner. The different channels through which the industry serves customers are integrated and therefore customer-oriented.

Competitive advantage

A broker can, for example, tap into the interaction between a provider's call centre and his client to make the service personal and thereby strengthen the relationship. Through such an approach, even the smallest of brokerages can gain a competitive edge, and deliver enduring, sustainable value to all those in its orbit.

The use of Internet technology can bring customers, brokers and third parties together, creating a framework to enable communities of value.

Quick Polls

QUESTION

The Magnificent Seven technology shares are reshaping global equity markets, and making for some tough adviser-client discussions. How are you managing your clients’ return expectations during this tech age?

ANSWER

Diversifying beyond tech giants
Focus on long-term value investing
Increasing tech exposure in portfolios
Reinforcing realistic expectations
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