Will money managers soon be showing their customers more love?
With pressures from outside the industry, most notably from banks, I believe the answer is a resounding “yes.”
Mt view is as the customer service benchmark is being raised outside of the industry, money managers too will find themselves held to a higher standard by investors and advisors.
Part of the pressure is coming from the rise of mobile technology, especially the sudden ubiquity of iPads, and this weeks introduction of the new iPad2 which are conditioning people to expect instant access to information 24/7. 
Such initiatives are not unknown in investment distribution. It’s something asset managers have been trying to teach through value-add programs — to be more sensitive to the clients’ needs as I mentioned in a recent Hannah Glover article for Ignites. It’s time for asset managers to apply the same standards to both advisors and investors.
As firms study and adapt to the new world of enhanced customer service, they should not overlook creative and cost-efficient solutions that are close at hand; especially social media blogs and networks that offer financial marketers a convenient and inexpensive way to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
To gain a basic knowledge of how you and your firm might begin to understand this social media phenomenon better I invite you to download an Introduction to Social Media which I co-authored with Jeffrey Young from Huntington Bank.
