As a leading global wealth manager, our client has found success by focusing on people — connecting experts and investors for lasting partnerships. They know digital can be a powerful tool, most decidedly when it helps forge connections and trust between advisors and clients.

With that in mind, EPAM Continuum — the integrated business, experience, technology and data consulting practice of EPAM — was engaged to reimagine the prospect journey. The overarching goal was for prospects to have the best possible introduction to what our client and their skilled financial advisors could do for them. Simultaneously, our client wanted to gain better visibility into what drives trust and conversions so they could innovate and continually improve their services, better engaging and retaining clients. Importantly, financial advisors wanted to focus more on prospecting, but they needed tools and workflows that could make the endeavor more efficient.

Imagining the Future of Prospect Engagement

EPAM Continuum analyzed the full end-to-end experience that connects prospective clients with financial advisors, including what they discuss during initial phone calls, what digital marketing or other tools are used, and how advisors network to find prospects. As part of that analysis, we also evaluated internal workflows and data documentation.

Then, our design thinkers, user experience specialists, business consultants and technology experts partnered with our client to map out each stage of the advisor and prospect experience.  Interactions at each stage served as the foundation for creating a comprehensive lighthouse vision, which included:

How the Magic Happens

Using our human-centered design approach, EPAM Continuum conducted interviews and workshops with financial advisors, prospects and other client stakeholders; performed competitor analysis and reviewed all relevant technical architecture. We also created a user journey and process map, identifying pain points and digital enablement opportunities.

With these insights, we identified nine “Moments That Matter” within the prospect journey. Additional review and analysis narrowed these to five.

Finally, we validated these moments to refine the vision by using a vignette storyline approach and prototype designs during advisor usability interviews. Based on direct feedback from our client’s financial advisors, we uncovered the single most important need:  The Prospect Workspace.

The Power of Digital Transformation

Many of our client’s prospects and clients are high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) investors, who have traditionally expected in-person, white-glove treatment. But our research showed times are changing: not only are wealthy prospects open to digital interaction, they are often more willing to exchange data digitally versus in person. That presented the opportunity to use digital collaboration as data intelligence to build and validate a comprehensive view of each individual. Having key information in one place results in a living, breathing prospect profile that updates seamlessly in real time.  

The benefit for prospects is immediate connection and validation — to feel known and understood via a low friction experience. The enhanced Prospect Workspace is a user-friendly digital portal to enable streamlined meeting scheduling and the ability to share relevant ideas and educational content, while offering an intuitive way to upload important documentation — all in the service of building financial confidence through a connection with a financial advisor.

REDESIGNING THE PROSPECT WEB EXPERIENCE

We designed a visual baseline and key screens associated with three specific moments in the prospect journey:

Our MVP/prototype and corresponding roadmap focused on the entire digital website experience. We identified improvements that could be made in the short term, while the roadmap defined how to get to the ideal state over the longer term. 

Personalize, Measure, Improve, Repeat

Building for the Future