Financial planners who have invested in client portal technology know that driving adoption is critical to making that investment pay off—for their business and their clients. We know that clients expect to have on-demand access to their financial information and our research shows that financial planning clients with access to a client portal have significantly better outcomes.¹

However, introducing new technology and ensuring client engagement can be daunting. Achieving widespread client portal adoption requires a strategic and personalized approach. It’s not just about rolling out a new tool; it’s about fostering a culture of engagement, transparency, and trust. By onboarding clients to your firm’s portal effectively, you can streamline processes, enhance collaboration, and ultimately deliver a superior client experience.

Personalize Your Approach

Driving client portal adoption hinges on understanding each client’s unique priorities, goals, and pain points. A one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t cut it in today’s world of personalized experiences. By taking the time to truly listen and tailor the onboarding process to their clients’ specific needs and timelines, financial planners can foster a sense of ownership and buy-in from the very beginning.

Involving clients in the process is key. Rather than dictating how they should use the portal, empower them to shape their own experience. Collaborate on setting up the features and functionality that align with their current objectives, whether that’s aggregating accounts, tracking spending, or creating a financial plan.

Clear communication is paramount. Establish expectations up front by conveying the value proposition and how the portal will streamline their financial life. Demonstrate the tangible benefits they can expect, such as a centralized view of their assets, streamlined document management, and seamless collaboration.

You can begin breaking down barriers to action by having clients bring the personal devices they’ll be using to access the site to your meetings. Whether it’s a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop, tailoring this convenience factor to their needs can significantly increase client engagement and usage.

To get them further on the path to adoption, there are two introductory paths financial planners can take to help their clients become engaged with their client portal. The first is the ability to see all their financial information in one place and the second is to facilitate financial planning.

Centralizing the Financial Picture

One of the key value propositions of a client portal is providing a centralized view of a client’s entire financial life. When it comes to introducing portal features, start with the basic features that enable this centralization.

To avoid overwhelming clients, I recommend initially giving access to the portal features that allow clients to organize their finances. With the introduction of the organizers—including a document vault—they’ll have a view of their home page that includes their net worth and the ability to see all of their spending in one place. Including the vault will enable them to organize and have access to their documents.

By leveraging the vault, you’ll also ensure they not only have a view of everything they want to upload and store but also everything that’s a part of the planner-client relationship. That’s all part of the value proposition—you are creating an archive of everything you’ve worked on together.

I also recommend being selective in getting them set up with account aggregation. Talk to them about which of their existing accounts they access on a regular basis. You’ll also include the accounts where they have the most money and anything you manage for them. This is a great place to start with connections and getting them in the habit of checking these accounts through your portal.

When it comes to encouraging clients to fully utilize the portal, share guides and checklists that walk them through the process of uploading important documents to the secure client vault. A client vault checklist, for example, can serve as a handy reference for the types of documents they should consider storing, such as tax returns, estate planning documents, and insurance policies.

To help break up the job of uploading documents, use alerts and tasks within the portal to remind clients to complete specific actions. Customize your vault checklist by emphasizing the most meaningful documents for each client.

Once they’ve mastered using tasks, use these reminders to prompt them to update their information, review their financial plan, or schedule a meeting with you. By keeping clients engaged and on track, you increase the likelihood of them adopting the portal as a central hub for their financial lives.

Facilitating Financial Planning

When it comes to leveraging the client portal to facilitate financial planning, it’s crucial to strike a balance between providing a comprehensive experience and avoiding overloading clients with too many features. The key is to prioritize gathering essential information and establishing a solid foundation before gradually introducing more advanced capabilities.

Start by turning on the goals and onboarding features, which will allow you to gather valuable insights into your clients’ financial priorities and aspirations. Guide them through the process of setting up their net worth and creating dollar-based goals, ensuring that their objectives are clearly defined and aligned with their overall financial plan.

Resist the temptation to enable all available features simultaneously, as this can lead to information overload and potentially deter clients from fully engaging with the portal. Instead, consider introducing more advanced features like reports and investments at a later stage, once clients have become more comfortable with the platform and have a solid understanding of their financial situation.

To keep clients on track and actively involved in the planning process, again, leverage the power of tasks. Assign specific action items that are tailored to their unique circumstances and aligned with their financial plan. This not only helps to ensure that necessary steps are taken but also fosters a sense of ownership and accountability for clients.

Seamless communication is essential for effective financial planning, and the client portal can facilitate this. Encourage clients to utilize your portal’s capabilities that promote direct communication and task tracking, enabling you to provide timely guidance and support throughout their journey.

Remember, just as financial planning is an ongoing process that must be revisited and modified, your clients’ use of the portal should be revisited to ensure their usage is in line with their current needs.

Managing Expectations and Providing Support

Setting clear expectations from the outset is crucial for driving successful client portal adoption. It’s important to emphasize that building a strong and engaged client relationship takes time and effort from both parties. You’ll likely have a long relationship with the client. Take time and use a thoughtful approach to client portal engagement.

To support clients throughout their journey, leverage the educational tools and resources provided by your platform provider. These may include guides, videos, and other materials that can help clients understand the portal’s features and how to effectively use them. Additionally, addressing security concerns by sharing information on the platform’s data protection measures can help alleviate any apprehensions clients may have about using the portal.

Encouraging clients to reach out with questions or feedback is also essential. This not only fosters open communication but also allows financial professionals to identify areas where additional support or guidance may be needed. By actively listening to client feedback, financial planners can make informed decisions about which features to prioritize, or which areas require further explanation.

Finally, establishing a consistent process for your financial planning team to follow within your firm can help streamline the client portal adoption process. This may involve creating standardized onboarding procedures, developing best practices for feature rollouts, or implementing regular check-ins to monitor client progress.

By aligning the firm’s approach, financial professionals can provide a cohesive and consistent experience for clients, ultimately driving greater engagement and adoption.

Sources:

1 eMoney, “Beyond the Plan” Research, July 2023

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.

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