It is once again the time of year for hectic shopping sprees, mistletoe and making lists. Joining the group performing the last is Kasina. The consultant is circulating a list of five sales trends to watch for in 2003. This time next year remind us and we will check and see if Kasina deserves gifts of goodies or coal for its foresight. In fairness to the predictions we are running Kasina's prognostications unedited below.

Here it goes (according to Kasina):

Trend 1

Renewed focus on the wholesaler. 2002 was the year of the financial advisor when it came to dedicating resources to Web-based product offerings and support, says kasina's Steven Miyao. The New Year will see the emphasis shift to broadening online support for wholesalers, kasina believes.

"We believe many firms will begin to re-tool their sites to provide enhanced online support for their wholesalers," says Miyao. "At the end of the year, e-wholesaling will be a much bigger part of the online distribution structure."

Trend 2

More firms will adopt a strategic plan for managing e-mail communications. The use of e-mail continues to grow exponentially, creating a potential overload of "spam" for recipients. To avoid alienating shareholders, advisors, and other customers, firms are likely to adopt broad-based e-mail policies, defining the frequency and nature of e-mails that can be sent. Firms will also look to use e-mail as an alternative to hard-copy delivery. To promote the use of electronic content, firms will start to create incentives. In some instances, this may take the form of establishing a ceiling for the amount of money that can be spent on printed materials on a per wholesaler or customer service representative basis.

Trend 3

CRM initiatives will be tied much more closely to a firm's overall business objectives. kasina notes that among asset management firms there has been widespread disappointment with the initial implementation of many customer relationship management (CRM) systems. In 2003, the consulting firm expects to see a greater emphasis on using CRM to segment markets more effectively and to analyze the effectiveness of business processes.

Trend 4

Content syndication initiatives will be further expanded to financial advisors and institutional partners. Firms will continue to invest in finding more efficient ways to deliver information to their distribution partners.

Trend 5

Separately managed accounts (SMAs) and 529 plans will get a bigger share of the real estate on the Web sites of asset management firms. SMAs and 529 plans represent two of the primary growth areas for many managers. As such, additional online resources will be allocated to supporting these products, kasina predicts.

Kasina Summary

"These trends are consistent with what we've seen for the last few years - the use of online strategies to improve operational efficiency and a general movement of e-business beyond Web sites," says Miyao. "For 2003, we expect to see more emphasis on targeted programs as firms look to manage costs by both focusing on their most important customers and by moving more and more of their communications efforts online."

Here endeth Kasina's predictions.

If you think that you know something we don't, or just would like to go out on a limb and make your own predictions for 2003 drop us a line by following this link. You can use this page to share thoughts on any topic, either anonymously or for attribution.  

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