One-to-Many Communication Preferences for Advice Client Generations

Not surprisingly, the three generations of clients – Gen Y, Gen X and the Baby Boomers – each have quite different preferences for how they want their adviser to communicate with them. Each generation has preferred methods that are seemingly in line with their lifestyles and age brackets. The graph below shows, for each generation, the percentage of clients that most prefer each of the five one-to-many communication channels.

First and foremost, electronic newsletters are most preferred by Gen X and Baby Boomer clients (most preferred for 34% and 35% of these client groups respectively), quite possibly as a result of familiarity given that electronic newsletters are a key communication channel used by many leading financial advice practices. However, it is worth noting that digital and social media communication channels come a close second, with 25% of Gen X clients and 21% of Baby Boomer clients rating this as their most preferred mass communication channel. From new research set for release in April 2015, we know that ownership of mobile devices is higher among financial advice clients and that Baby Boomer clients are using mobile devices more commonly than members of the general public. Given this, all advisers should be monitoring and evaluating their ‘older’ generation clients’ appetite for digital communication.

In contrast, Gen Y clients prefer to interact via digital and social media channels much more than receiving electronic newsletters, with this being the most preferred mass communication channel for 44% of Gen Y clients. The chart below provides a breakdown of the digital and social media communication preferences. This highlights that Gen Y clients are specifically interested in receiving communication from their financial adviser via apps.

Next in terms of their preferred method of mass communication (but significantly lower in preference to digital and social media channels) are e-newsletters, most preferred by 26% of Gen Y clients. Printed materials and webinars were their least preferred channels of communication.

A key take out from this research is that digital methods of communication seem to be strongly desired among all three generations, most likely because this is a fast and efficient means of getting the information that they want from their advisers, and because this is aligned with how consumers are interacting with other product and service providers. This is a trend that is likely to continue and financial advisers need to think about tailoring their communication strategy to suit the evolving needs of their clients.

Connecting with Clients delivers insights into how consumers interact with advice professionals, and what the best advice practices are doing to set themselves apart. The series is based on the Association of Financial Advisers’ industry white paper research, ‘Connecting with Clients’, conducted by Beddoes Institute and sponsored by Zurich, which measured the most preferred communication channels across more than 500 financial advice clients.

Dr Rebecca Sheils is Director and co-founder of the Beddoes Institute, which specialises in delivering research and consulting services to the financial services sector.

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