Case Study
Transforming client engagement: How experience design supported a $22 billion growth journey for a financial services leader
OUR CLIENT
Our client is a global financial services company with nearly a century of experience delivering investment products, advisory, and risk management services to thousands of individuals, commercial, and institutional clients. With approximately 10,000 employees, the company has almost $3 trillion in assets under management (AUM).
THE CHALLENGE
Addressing outdated, fragmented systems amid industry-wide digital disruption
The company struggled to keep pace with the digital innovations that had swept across the financial services industry. Its outdated sales and marketing processes were siloed with manual data collection methods. This approach resulted in fragmented repositories of client data, with little coordination across departments, making it challenging to understand and address client needs with agility. These inefficiencies contributed to a decline in revenue, and as a result, the company fell behind competitors in new-client growth and AUM.
To overcome these challenges, company leaders sought to drive digital transformation by implementing a unified platform for sales, marketing, and customer relationship management. Ideally, the new solution needed to collect and analyze data in real time to provide a holistic view of client interactions and needs. It also needed to enable coordinated handoffs and communication across departments, ensuring that client insights could be shared and acted upon effectively. Additionally, the company sought digital tools to automate routine tasks, enhance decision-making, and improve the experiences of both clients and employees.
THE TRANSFORMATION
A modern digital foundation for high-performing, client-centric engagement
UST experience design experts delivered a comprehensive solution that modernized critical client and employee value streams. By meticulously mapping client journeys and identifying needs, our holistic analytical approach uncovered strategic opportunities to implement digital solutions to enhance client engagement and improve business performance. The project delivered:
- Marketing modernization tools—UST introduced frameworks and tools that empowered the marketing team to drive more effective campaigns. This included campaign summaries, impact reports, and client-fit profiles, which allowed marketers to evaluate and tailor their efforts with greater precision. UST also developed messaging frameworks, enhanced communications across channels, and aligned client engagement strategies with business objectives to drive modernization and growth.
- A digital concierge and advisor forum for financial advisors—This innovative tool provided relevant information and personalized recommendations for advisors to share with clients, and it also fostered collaboration with portfolio managers and other industry experts.
- A revamped 529 college savings plan marketing website—UST redesigned the firm’s 529 platform, delivering an integrated, efficient user-centric experience, making it easier for clients to explore, compare, and invest in education savings plans.
The financial services company can now seamlessly analyze and utilize comprehensive insights to strategically engage with clients and optimize business outcomes—something that was previously difficult due to fragmented processes. Additionally, the company can efficiently generate and leverage campaign data, improving decision-making and enhancing the effectiveness of both internal and external marketing efforts.
THE IMPACT
Adding billions in new financial services business and nearly a trillion in AUM
The successful engagement helped the company create a more integrated, efficient, customer-centric organization, boosting client retention and solidifying its position as a leader in the competitive financial services industry. During the course of our collaboration, the company accomplished several major milestones that signaled significant momentum and growth:
- Added $22 billion in new retirement business—through enhanced promotion of its top-performing funds and products
- Gained over 4.9 million new 529 plan clients—strengthening its leadership position in this critical market segment
- Saw AUM grow from $1.3 trillion to nearly $2.2 trillion—reflecting a major leap in financial performance
- Expanded into eight new global markets—creating new opportunities and laying the foundation for future growth
To learn more about our experience design consulting services, click here.
RESOURCES
https://www.ust.com/en/ust-evolve-design
https://www.ust.com/content/dam/ust/documents/UST_Thinking_Ahead_Report_2023.pdf