Making It Personal: Improve Your Online Presence With Smart Data Usage

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In his 1970 bestseller “Future Shock,” the prescient author Alvin Toffler coined the phrase, “high tech/high touch.” He was suggesting — in 1970! — what we have come to take as an assumption today: that advances in technology typically require a parallel compensation in human interaction. We want the convenience, speed, and accuracy offered by technology, but we still require the “human connection.”

This is nowhere truer than in the delivery of information and services by those of us in the RIA industry. Clients know that the financial markets move at the speed of technology, and they expect their advisors to keep that pace. But at the same time, they want — need — to feel that they are known as individuals. Firms strive to operate in the “sweet spot” of technically driven efficiency combined with meaningful client interaction.

One of the best predictors of a firm’s ability to find that sweet spot is the quality and specificity of their client and prospect data. And in one sense, RIAs are in the perfect position to gather and use this data effectively: After all, how many other industries actually require such thorough knowledge of their consumers?

Knowing the client as thoroughly as possible is the bread and butter for most successful RIAs, and we’ve written previously about the utility of developing detailed client personas to help drive your firm’s marketing and branding. But to take the next step, RIAs need to integrate all that rich data with their technological solutions, giving equal attention to both halves of the “high tech/high touch” paradigm.

Data-driven?

But having the data and employing it efficiently are two different matters, it seems. In HubSpot’s 2025 State of Marketing Report, less than half of survey respondents said they had an understanding of such matters as to where their customers consumed their information, what their favorite pastimes were, or even certain basic demographic information. If the goal is to use technological platforms to customize and maximize the experience for your clients, it seems many of us still have a way to go.

But there are ways to personalize clients’ online interactions, and they all start with the quality of data and the way we use it. Here again, however, many marketers are operating behind the curve, with only 20% saying that their data is fully integrated across all systems. In other words, it seems there are still a lot of “information silos” out there, obstructing the path to the more seamless data integration experience that would allow greater personalization of the client experience.

Other challenges arise as clients express hesitancy about providing data or caution as to how their data will be used. For example, the use of website cookies to track user interaction on websites is coming under increasing scrutiny, to the point that most websites now preemptively ask users to accept or reject the use of cookies as they interact with the platform.

Personalization

All that said, the trend toward greater personalization of the user experience continues to evolve. Research clearly indicates that website users who perceive that they are valued and “seen” in their online interactions are more loyal and more likely to continue to use and place greater trust in the online resource.

In other words, companies that get personalization right are more likely to see increased revenues — by as much as 40% — than those that don’t. Especially since the pandemic-driven surge in online customer interaction, the expectation bar has gotten much higher, with 76% indicating that receiving personalized communication was a major factor in their consideration of a brand.

So, what can RIAs do to make their clients’ online experiences more personalized? By integrating the firm’s client knowledge with behavior tracking, location data, past actions, and browsing history, it is possible to deliver an online experience that meshes with client expectations, building trust and potentially driving referrals.

Personas

Interestingly, having client personas built into your firm’s branding and marketing strategies is an important place to start with personalization. It’s not hard to see why: Rather than building hundreds of individual service models for each client, using your two or three key personas allows you to create two or three “master templates” that can be used to guide the experiences of larger groups of clients with major commonalities.

Personas help you create “group snapshots” of your diverse clientele. Applying them across marketing campaigns, service launches, podcast promotions, or other marketing and branding efforts simplifies those endeavors significantly.

Location Information

We’re not talking about “Big Brother”-type tracking here. Instead, location information merely uses data pertinent to the client’s proximity to cell towers and Wi-Fi nodes to suggest geographically convenient alternatives. This might be especially useful for firms that operate in multiple locations.

Advisors should have a Google Business Profile for each physical office and placement in local searches/Google Maps for terms you’ve optimized for on your website. What one person sees on one IP address in a major metropolis is not going to reflect what another person in the same city sees — search results have become heavily personalized based on previous search activity, device type, internet connection, geographic presence, etc.

Devices

Personalization also extends to the type of device a client prefers using. Websites should be designed to deliver an optimal experience whether a client logs in on a smartphone, a tablet, or a desktop workstation.

Website usage

Time spent on a webpage is a key metric for any webmaster. Further, many clients will have usage patterns that are consistent over time. Personalizing the online experience could permit the client to navigate the website in the manner that seems most logical or intuitive to them, potentially leading to greater usage and confidence.

When was the last time you went into your favorite cafe or bar and found your “usual” order waiting for you when you arrived? Have you ever had a barista hand you your morning latte, prepared exactly as you wanted it, before you even asked for it? That type of service epitomizes the goal of personalized data use.

Advisors can deliver the online experience clients were looking for — but didn’t know how to ask for.. The goal should be an online experience that satisfies aspirations for a client relationship based on trust, understanding, and greater confidence.

Gretchen Halpin is the co-founder of Beyond AUM, which provides growth, client experience, and advisor experience support to financial advisors to drive business success. Over the course of her 25-year career, Gretchen has founded more than five businesses in addition to serving as the chief strategy officer for one of the financial services industry's leading wealth management firms. She has been featured in Advisor Perspectives, Financial Advisor Magazine, and Forbes for her insights and has served as a speaker at numerous industry conferences, including NAPFA, Financial Planning, and Invest in Women. She also serves as a facilitator in Financial Planning Association’s Women and Finance Knowledge Circle community.

Are you looking for help to boost your client’s experience and improve your firm’s marketing strategy? Contact our team today to start the conversation.