“It’s great to be back with all of you for our 11th Annual Hearsay Customer Summit!” Those words, spoken by Hearsay CEO Mike Boese on April 20, kicked off a truly spectacular event. As we settle back into our regularly scheduled work weeks, we want to share a few of our favorite moments.
Attendees were challenged to think differently
Across keynotes, thought starters, breakouts, and think tanks—speakers encouraged attendees to examine their processes through a new lens.
First, Nalika Nanayakkara, Managing Partner for Financial Services Consulting at EY, presented a 10-minute thought starter that challenged everyone to reconsider how they think about personalization. Suggesting that the current structure is flawed, she pointed out that most firms segment leads based on things like net worth or life stage when in reality, 90% of the way we make decisions is based on how we feel. Using a tool such as the Klontz money script helps to evaluate customer sentiment to customize messaging and advice. Providing financial advice that aligns with someone’s purpose—rather than their demographics—will always resonate better and be more effective.
Our keynote speaker, Ken Schmidt, the former Director of Communications at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, shared an interesting perspective on how to attract more customers. He explained that while we spend an inordinate amount figuring out how to ‘build relationships’, that may not be a logical approach. Why? He says, “No human being in the history of the world ever asked to have a professional relationship.” Instead, he encouraged attendees to shift their mindset away from relationship-building and toward meeting basic human needs, like the need to be seen, in order to stand out in a competitive market and generate more revenue. “If we step back from what we do every day and plug into real simple basic drivers of human behavior, we can create incredible differentiation [as well as] unparalleled levels of loyalty, marketplace advocacy, and referrals—all the things businesses want.”
Sean Kellenberger, Sr. VP and Head of Marketing at RBC Wealth Management issued a piece of advice that triggered a lot of audience head nods. RBC coordinated a study that uncovered a staggering statistic: With billions of wealth transfer dollars on the horizon, 70% of millennials plan to fire their financial advisor. He cautioned firms, saying, “It’s still common to hear this demographic group generalized as a bunch of young people, but you have to remember that millennials are forty years old now!” He encouraged marketing leaders to re-assess their content strategy to make sure what they're delivering resonates with modern millennials—adults with families—rather than the version of millennials that exists in our memories.
Hearsay CEO, Mike Boese, delivered an AI manifesto
It’s no secret that AI is a hot topic across all industries, and financial services is no exception. In his opening keynote, Hearsay CEO Mike Boese addressed the topic by sharing his thoughts on the future of AI and how it will impact the industry.
“How did 2023 become the year of AI? The short answer is we reached a tipping point across several aspects of the technology stack. Start with increasing computing speeds and decreasing costs, add exponential improvement in bandwidth speed, and consider the orders of magnitude increase in digitized data that’s now available online. Then factor in the billions of dollars of venture, corporate, and government funding that’s gone into building and tuning artificial intelligence models. This confluence of trends allows companies like Hearsay that have extensive, robust data sets to apply the very best AI models—like ChatGPT—and deliver brand new solutions and capabilities to delight customers.
The best part about AI is not the raw technology—it’s applying the technology to the right business problems. This includes fueling top-of-funnel activities like finding and recommending the very best content for marketers and advisors, thereby earning the right one-to-one interactions such as direct messages. It's about speeding up the pace of engaging with leads and customers through the right channels and with the right team members. And it's about being adaptive and accessible—whether you are in the office or on the road.
Hearsay has already been hard at work delivering new AI functionality. We’re embracing this technology innovation, and we’re just scratching the surface of what AI is capable of when it comes to streamlining workflows and boosting productivity. We’re launching a number of AI-powered products and features this year, and there’s plenty more innovation to come from Hearsay.”
Hearsay product innovations were revealed on the main stage
Our opening keynote unveiled three major product announcements.
First is the introduction of Content+, which allows digital content administrators to design, manage and curate exclusive, compliant third-party content collections within Hearsay Social and Sites. Here's a look at how it works!
Next, the team announced the upcoming launch of our unified mobile application, scheduled to debut in September 2023. The app will roll out with an optimized interface that unifies Social and Relate in one place, making it easier than ever to integrate daily tasks. Agents and advisors can jump from calls to texts to social posts with ease, all while staying plugged into critical compliance workflows and keeping complete threaded archives of all communications seamlessly synced with their CRM. Here’s a video that shows how it works.
Last but certainly not least, the team showed off our improved navigation experience, debuting on May 15, 2023. Prompted by usability testing, Hearsay UX researchers streamlined the navigation to make it more intuitive. Early testing shows that advisors were able to complete 2x more tasks on the optimized platform. Learn more about our improved navigation experience.
Attendees enjoyed unique networking opportunities
At Summit, old friends came together, new connections were formed, and great discussions were had by all. Wednesday night’s welcome reception featured two mega-talented caricature artists who created individual portraits on San Francisco-themed backgrounds—a great keepsake from the event.
The next evening, we were welcomed aboard the California Spirit at Pier 40. Passengers enjoyed a marvelous tour of the San Francisco Bay and an up-close look at Alcatraz. Before we headed back to shore, everyone enjoyed prolific views of the Bay Bridge, which served as a spectacular backdrop for a stunning California sunset.
Lively conversations continued well into the evening each day as a diverse group of the top minds in financial services—including firm leaders, compliance experts, experienced marketers, and program administrators—came together to share ideas. Attendees also had an opportunity to celebrate their peers when we announced our 2023 Innovator Award winners.
Summit attendees were also invited to participate in a friendly competition using an app called Goosechase for the duration of the event. Participants were prompted to complete fun ‘missions’ focused on San Francisco—or Hearsay—in exchange for points. We had a blast seeing how every person put their own unique twist on each mission.
Wrapping up 2023 Hearsay Summit
The insights kept coming in breakout sessions led by Hearsay employees in collaboration with customers. We’ll share session write-ups in the coming weeks, so be sure to connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to make sure you don’t miss any great content!
We are humbled and honored to have hosted leaders from some of the most influential wealth management, banking, asset management, P&C, and life insurance companies in the world at 2023 Hearsay Summit. Together, attendees represented over 10 trillion dollars in assets under management, over 350 billion in annual premiums, and over 100 million end customers.
We loved hearing your insights, talking about what’s next in the world of financial services, brainstorming new ways to leverage AI, and learning about your 2023 digital transformation initiatives. We can’t wait to do it again next year!
