As Qwil Messenger is progressively deployed across all St. James’s Place with new staff and clients added every day, we reached out to a few practices to gather their initial thoughts and comments.
Read below how they responded to our 7 questions:
1 - Why did you decide to use Qwil Messenger for your practice?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management (Client Servicing Manager): We decided to use Qwil Messenger because as a practice we are super conscious about making everything as secure as possible for ourselves and our clients. Everybody knows someone who has had their emails hacked.
Guppy Wealth Management (Managing Director): Initially I was attracted to Qwil as a way of sending information securely to avoid the encryption service that was far too clunky.
Whitehouse Financial Management (Director & Senior Partner): The main motivation was the current encryption system is not liked by clients dislike it so this experience is much better. Also, the upcoming automated keeping of records on Salesforce will make finding records easier for us.
ML Financial Consultants (Client Service Administrator): This was introduced to us by St. James’s Place Wealth Management as a tool to communicate efficiently and securely with our clients, prospects and more if required. We weren’t a huge fan of encrypted emails as more than 50% of the time we would receive a response saying that they were unable to open the encrypted email, a little bit too secure. It seemed like a good technological advancement that would help us develop and improve our service to our clients.
Hendred Financial Partners (Managing Partner): Clients were getting sick and tired of having to login to the secure email system and I was getting tired of having to remember to encrypt some emails rather than others.
2 - What do you use Qwil Messenger for and why?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management: Everything really. From booking reviews, keeping in touch with clients, sending them suitability letters and online wealth accounts, any paperwork that we would usually send out in the post now gets “Qwil’ed”. I think what’s really important for me though, as part of the servicing team in the practice, is having a tool that’s so easy for us to keep in touch with the clients but also them to stay in touch with us.
Guppy Wealth Management: I use Qwil Messenger to get secure information to clients without delay (eg on-line codes, valuations etc). I also use it for quick communication for clients, the replies come much faster. Some clients use it for everything as they feel safer that all their financial communications are running through a secure channel.
Where I have friends or family as clients it’s a great way to differentiate communications business and pleasure.
Whitehouse Financial Management: Sending sensitive information and keeping in touch with clients in a formal but friendly manner.
ML Financial Consultants: Communicating quickly and securely with clients and colleagues, sending documentation, answering client queries…the usual day to day activity that would be done via email but in a much easier to use, better looking and automatically encrypted format so it is safe and secure.
Hendred Financial Partners: I now use it for all my electronic communication with clients and prospects as it’s easy to track all our conversations and refer back to specific points we have discussed and the timing of them. I no longer have the issue of having to find that email you can never find when you need it most!
3 - What has been the reaction from your clients and colleagues?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management: All our clients have been happy to sign up and download the app. You don’t have to sell it to clients when you tell them it is an encrypted app that is much safer for us and them to use.
The staff have been happy to us it because it actually makes life easier. It is great when you see clients uploading their own photo onto the app and really buying into it – with no need for further guidance. As soon as the Butler informs me a client is onboarded, I send them a message to welcome them but also to ask how what they think. The feedback I have had is that its super easy to download and to use.
Guppy Wealth Management: Once set up, most clients have embraced it without any issues.
One unexpected benefit is that levels of engagement have increased with clients. For example, city professionals who perhaps do not want to take a call or answer emails at work are far more engaged with the instant engagement of a Qwil message
Whitehouse Financial Management: Very positive so far.
ML Financial Consultants: All round the reaction has been really good from everyone. Some clients are hesitant to use it though this is the minority not majority. Some people will prefer to use alternate methods of communication, though if it works for you then, why not. Qwil is definitely worth a try for you and your practice to see how you could use it, it is a very good tool for communicating with clients and can help build those relationships further. Colleagues have adopted the new system very quickly and with ease.
Hendred Financial Partners: Clients much prefer not having to login to secure emails and can easily find documents I sent to them months ago – so it’s very useful in that way
4 - How hard has it been to get Qwil Messenger up and running in your practice?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management: We have around 480 clients, so it seemed a massive task. Once I understood how to use the CSV spreadsheet to upload them all, it wasn’t as big as a task as thought. It is a big priority for our practice, so have been actively chasing clients 3-4 days after first inviting them to ask them to make sure they are accepting and downloading the app. It does take some time, but overall, it is absolutely worth the effort and time for the long-term gain.
Guppy Wealth Management: The main thing to get to grips with is setting up the Relationship and on-boarding the client to the system. It’s not tricky, but you need to invest 10 minutes of time to get familiar.
Whitehouse Financial Management: Like all new things you have to invest a bit of time into them to get it right, but a few hours doesn’t seem too much of ask to me for something potentially so vital.
ML Financial Consultants: Not complicated at all. You may think it is at the start but it is very simple and easy to use. We have been manually adding clients one by one as and when the advisers have meetings with the clients and introduce Qwil to them then. If preferred you are able to add multiple clients at a time in bulk, which I have found out from the very useful Qwil support team.
Hendred Financial Partners: A doddle – took minutes.
5 - What would you say to other partners who are not yet using Qwil?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management: Within the financial services industry, you can never be safe enough. If you need any support, the Qwil help centre is also so simple to understand so go there first.
Guppy Wealth Management: You are missing a trick….
Whitehouse Financial Management: Start using it and embrace it, it’s the future.
ML Financial Consultants: Definitely use it, it is a great tool and technological advancement for your business. If you use email, text or any other form of messaging with your clients and also have to send them encrypted messages a lot due to the sensitive data or documentation, then that stress is removed by using Qwil which does it all for you. If you are hesitant, It is at least worth giving a go and trying out with a few of your clients…to see how both you and they find it, there is plenty of support there if it is needed.
Hendred Financial Partners: Why not? Why take the risk of leaking that unsecured email which could be intercepted by unwanted parties and why have to save emails or trawl through folders to find them? Also, WhatsApp is not an authorised way of communicating and it’s fine when everything is rosy, but what happens in the event of a client dispute? Who will be liable? Not worth the risk. It’s so easy to track a conversation you had months ago – just like with WhatsApp – but you can also share documents and add other parties to the chat (I add my business manager so she can simply send withdrawal forms and receive bank statements securely – a mandatory requirement for all withdrawals going forward).
6 - What has Qwil Messenger enabled you to do better?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management: Service clients a lot a lot better and overall be a safer practice.
Guppy Wealth Management: To get more high quality engagement with clients, to improve the feeling of security for everyone. To deliver information much faster and thus be more efficient.
ML Financial Consultants: Communicate with clients in a safe and secure manner. The best way I and many others have found to describe it is a professional version of WhatsApp.
Hendred Financial Partners: Find previous conversations and quickly get up to speed when I need to respond quickly
7 - What would you like Qwil Messenger to be able to do more?
Bushell Holt Wealth Management: Looking forward to further Salesforce integration and seeing the chat history under the client file. Also being able to send messages to all clients with a few clicks.
Whitehouse Financial Management: Not sure to be honest, as it ticks the boxes we need for now.
Hendred Financial Partners: I would like to be able to access a centralised folder of up-to-date mandatory documents that we need to send to clients – Pension Client Declarations, CRRs, Withdrawal Forms, Investing with SJP and Guide to Risk and Return etc rather than having to download the latest version from the internet and then save it. I would also like to just have a single chat per client – sometimes clients set-up new chats and it becomes more like emails. Simply change the title and keep it all on one chat would be helpful.
Thanks a lot to all the practices that have provided us their feedback in answering the questions but also along the way.
Note: If you don’t have Qwil Messenger in your practice yet, click here.
The Qwil Messenger Help Centre is intended for your staff administrators as well as your end users (staff and client users). You can easily search for answers to almost any question and chat with our customer support representatives.