• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, January 17, 2023

Financial advisors should heed this advice from the marketing side. 

Communicate with clients via email — that’s what they want, according to 4 Steps to Fill Your Pipeline with Quality Opportunities, a study from YCharts conducted by SurveyMonkey. 

Clients prefer that their advisors engage them in these ways:

• Email — 72.6%
• Phone Call — 45%
• Text Message — 35.3%
• Mail — 21.8%
• Newsletter — 7.4% 
• Blog or Website — 4.7% 
• Twitter — 4.4%
• YouTube Video — 3.6%
• Facebook Instagram — 3%
• LinkedIn — 2.6%
• Webinars — 2.3%
• (I’m not interested in receiving my advisor’s perspectives) — 1%

Note: Email has jumped up from 66% in the 2019 survey, while text has risen from 31%.

In addition, clients want frequent input. Those who do not hear often from their advisors are more than twice as likely to use social media or other sources to answer their questions. 

Frequent communication also helps clients understand things — 73.3% have a clearer grasp vs. 63.9% of those who hear from their advisors less often.  

Not clear is whether these wanted messages from advisors include both personal and generic advice.  

Meanwhile, financial advisors are meeting more with clients virtually than they did prior to the pandemic. When reporting on a client’s financial plan, they are meeting: 

- Virtually and in person — 51.7% 

- Only in-person — 28% 

- Only virtually — 20.3%

In 2019, the numbers were:

- Virtually and in-person — 36.2%

- Only in-person — 49.3% 

- Only virtually — 12.5%

But here are some disconcerting general findings for advisors:  21.8% have switched advisors and 25% have considered doing so since the start of the pandemic. And clients with higher net-worths were more likely to jump. 

The main criteria for staying or leaving are: 

1. Portfolio performance 
2. Accessibility or availability to me 
3. Deep understanding of me and my goals

Among the clients polled, 88.2% would consider an advisor’s frequency and style of communication when deciding whether to use that person. And that figure rises to 92.4% for respondents with more than $500,000 under management.

Frequency and style also play a role in referrals — 89.7% will recommend an advisor based on these factors, as will 90.2% of those with more than $500,000 being managed. 

Of all clients, 22.4% wish their advisor contacted them more often. That figure rose to 29.5% for clients with $500,000 on account and 27.9% among those under the age of 60.

SurveyMonkey surveyed 671 individuals who work with a professional financial advisor.