Across the industry, efficiency has become almost synonymous with progress.

When asked about experience, firms point to their CRM, automated workflows, and client portals designed to save time and reduce friction. Technology budgets and strategic plans are filled with the same goals: streamline, automate, integrate.

And it’s worked to a large extent. Efficiency has allowed advisory firms to scale more easily, delivering a more consistent and seamless experience.

But this focus on efficiency has also created a blind spot.

In pursuit of using technology to improve efficiency, it’s easy to overlook if or how it can be used to enhance engagement, the deeply human experience that truly differentiates one firm from another.

Tech Vs. Humans

Advisors have always known that strong relationships drive loyalty, referrals, and organic growth. And yet, when we examine how firms are actually using technology, most of the investment is still directed at ‘delivering better’ rather than ‘connecting better’. 

Efficiency, it seems, is the role of technology and connection the role of humans. We don’t believe that is the case.

The next frontier of the client experience isn’t about doing more in less time. It’s about using technology to deliver a more meaningful and connected experience.

The Experience Innovation Framework

To understand how firms need to evolve, we developed a framework that highlights three stages of evolution. The goal is to guide how firms invest their time and resources when it comes to experience.

• An EFFICIENT experience is consistent and frictionless. Clients can schedule meetings easily, sign forms electronically, and access their portfolios anytime. Efficiency creates satisfaction, but not engagement.‍
• An ENGAGING experience is personal. The experience that is delivered reflects clients as people, with unique needs and challenges, and those are reflected in every interaction. Engagement builds connection and differentiation.‍
• An ENDURING experience is cultural. Every team member is aligned around a shared vision and collaboration is encouraged. There is a clear accountability for client experience and defined metrics. Engagement is no longer a project, it’s part of the firm’s DNA.

We can break that framework down further to highlight a more nuanced evolution.

The framework highlights an uncomfortable truth. Most firms are still heavily anchored in efficiency. They consider engagement a purely ‘human’ exercise and are missing opportunities as a result.

The White Space Between Efficiency and Engagement

Technology that supports efficiency is essential, but it’s become the default goal. Firms implement note-takers, CRMs, and portals to make life easier for teams and for clients. Those are good investments, but they don’t necessarily make the experience more ‘human’.

Most firms leave engagement almost entirely to the advisor, assuming that the role of technology is purely to create more time for humans to engage. We believe that the real opportunity lies in leveraging technology to enhance the advisor’s ability to create personal, emotionally resonant experiences.

The ‘white space’ (read: the big opportunity) is where efficiency and engagement intersect, where technology supports empathy instead of replacing it.

Your Action Plan

In order to create THAT transformation we believe advisory firms need to take four, admittedly big, steps.

1. Refine – or extend - your technology vision

If you want to leverage technology to go beyond efficiency, then you need to set and communicate that as an intentional goal. If the goal of your technology spend includes engagement, that changes everything, from the data you collect to the tools you use.

• An efficiency-focused vision leads to investments in automation, online scheduling, and digital onboarding. These tools reduce friction, improve consistency, and free up time.
• An engagement-focused vision drives investment in interactive planning dashboards, personalized meeting flows, and tools that deepen understanding and strengthen connection with clients.

The best firms will always pursue both but the strategies need to be separately defined.

2. Fuel your vision with the right data

Technology alone doesn’t create engagement; data is the fuel.

Advisors already have access to demographic and financial data. What’s missing is the soft data: how clients feel, what they fear, what excites them, and what they value most.

That personal data (how they feel) can transform generic communications into personal connection. It allows firms to anticipate needs, personalize advice, and measure emotional engagement over time.

In short, data is what turns efficiency into empathy.

3. Ensure integration amplifies connection

When most firms talk about integration, they’re referring to APIs and data flows to eliminate duplicate data entry. But integration can (and should) mean more than that.

When it comes to engagement, integration is about layering technology in a way that amplifies connection. For example that may include:

• Engagement tools that capture feelings and needs in real time to personalize the agenda based on the needs of clients.
• Note-taking tools that enhance that agenda with details from past meetings.
• Marketing platforms that use those insights to deliver relevant meeting follow-ups and curated resources.

Each piece builds upon the last, creating a seamless ecosystem that helps advisors deliver a more human experience at scale.

4. Make a commitment

Real change requires leadership commitment. Without it, the gravitational pull of efficiency will always win.

Firms that are serious about engagement set clear priorities:

• They articulate what a “great experience” means across the organization.
• They establish – and enforce - adoption standards for the tools that support it.
• They measure both outcomes (client satisfaction, retention, referrals) and inputs (team participation, use of engagement tools).
• They say ‘no’ to an experience that is entirely unique to each advisor rather than to the firm.

What Does It All Mean?

We believe that the winners, when it comes to technology, will be those firms that think beyond efficiency and actively focus on using technology to deliver a more engaging experience. And they will do this not only by creating more time for advisors to engage 1:1 but enhancing every part of the experience to engage at scale.

Efficiency remains the foundation, but engagement is the differentiator.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie