When asked whether they were concerned about their futures in financial planning given the rise of digital developments, most said they were concerned, but hopeful. However, some indicated real concerns about the profession’s sustainability.
Times are changing, rapidly, but it’s a natural human response to resist change and keep doing what we’ve always done.
Customers increasingly demand solutions that are simple, fast and effortless, yet personalised. These expectations are shaped, not by other life insurance experiences, but their experiences in other industries – notably other digital platforms, says Petrie Marx, product actuary at Sanlam.
"Intermediaries need to become phygital. Where does the physical stop and the digital begin? The lines are getting increasingly blurred. Intermediaries should capitalise on this through hybrid models, and be equally comfortable to serve their customers through physical and digital interactions.”
Toby Shapshak, editor-in-chief and publisher of Stuff magazine, believes our resistance to change stems from nostalgia and how we’re wired. “Our brains are truly remarkable. Everything on this planet is the result of our forebrains. The problem is our brains respond to the environment and stimulus they’re in, and that environment has radically changed from 300,000 years ago when homo sapiens became the dominant species on the planet…our brains are configured for an environment that no longer exists.”
He added that ‘neurons that fire together, wire together’. The way we do things and think about things creates ‘pathways’ in the brain. These make it easier for us to handle similar circumstances – the way we’ve always done things – but not change. Which is a problem in a world that’s changing at pace.
Shapshak used the example of the wireless – a wireless radio to his grandfather; something else entirely to us today. “The pace of technological change now compared to ten years ago is amazing.” He added that young people use tech in completely different ways, which calls for brokers to communicate with them differently. “You must evolve to a point where you are interacting with your customer in the format the customer wants.”
Behavioural economist Erik Vermeulen said we don’t just need to accept change; we need to create it. “The easiest way to embrace change is to expect it, and when it happens, to accept it – because we can’t kick against it. Then, we need to create our own change. When I focus on behaviour and decision-making and start thinking about what I can do to create my own change to nudge my clients forward, then I become an agent of change rather than a victim of it.”
Vermeulen mentioned a few behavioural economics principles applicable to the broker space – and business, generally:
Jacques Coetzer, general manager at Sanlam Broker Distribution, outlined how he believes the broker value proposition will evolve in the context of the fourth industrial revolution.