How Broadridge Financial is changing the way we receive retirement benefits, shareholder information, and more

For those not familiar with the company, Broadridge Financial Solutions has been an engine that powers investing, governance, and much of the financial communications we receive daily. As a partner to global institutions, they help deliver important and essential documents to over 80 percent of American households, from information about retirement and health benefits to regulatory disclosure and notices.

For years, much of this communication was delivered physically through channels like direct mail. But, as the world became increasingly more digital, Broadridge stepped up to help its clients bridge the gap. With Adobe Experience Cloud as a technology partner, they are tapping data and personalization tools to enable quality experiences across every touchpoint with end users.

One-stop shop

The company built the Broadridge CX platform for clients to manage all the different channels it employs to engage customers. Delivered through Adobe Experience Manager, it can be tailored to specific needs and campaigns, from an organization having to deliver communications on improving retirement outcomes to one that provides materials like shareholder notices. The overall framework on how this plays out would look something like this:

Image source: Broadridge.

Consider a Broadridge client that is tasked with communications around 401K investment plans. Through Adobe Campaign, they are able to create and automate a cascade of communications to potential plan participants – starting first with an email campaign that encourages folks to explore benefits and sign up.

Once an individual comes on board, they can then trigger a set of messages delivered through other channels (either again through email or print and mobile in some cases). This second set of communications provides different ways for plan participants to take advantage of their program, as well as long-term financial planning. Adobe Analytics measures each engagement as well, so that the client can manage fatigue and optimize efforts that are most effective. They could also see where customers are falling out and make tweaks accordingly.

Bridging digital and physical

In the world of financial communications, physical channels like direct mail are not going away anytime soon. Some customers do prefer it, and in some instances, regulatory requirements make it a necessity. While it is difficult to measure actual engagement (at the scale of millions of individuals), there are ways to better understand effectiveness.

With the Broadridge CX platform, clients can look at engagement from a campaign level, a plan level, by channel, salary, age, or other meaningful segments to help tailor future campaigns. For instance, a direct mailing could include a call-to-action to enroll online. By tracking this via Adobe Analytics, teams can see if this is driving more conversion versus the same ask being delivered through email. In some cases, the most optimal path could be an initial email, followed by a direct mail reminder. Having a better grasp of these journeys also allows for better personalization.

According to Cindy Volker, VP of customer experience and product strategy: “Several trends are converging at once, prompting retirement providers to rethink their business model and approach towards investor engagement.”

Executing on the promise of digital transformation has not been easy for a number of reasons. Disparate data sources, manual processes and regulatory obstacles, for example, have created serious hurdles. However, operating in the new normal of living and working virtually has accelerated changes to regulation and amplified the need to adopt next-gen technologies to automate and scale a connected customer experience. Adobe Experience Cloud apps have helped us better equip our clients to adapt quickly, while driving better experiences through any digital or physical channel.”