Why Northwestern Mutual is committed to giving our clients an amazing experience

My youngest child, Hugh, is six years old – and he’s very precocious. Two years ago, around Christmas time, we got a knock on the door from a UPS delivery person. The UPS employee was standing there with this giant package. It was so heavy, my wife couldn’t even pick it up to bring it in. We opened up this mystery box and inside is one of those battery-powered cars for little kids. Neither my wife nor I ordered it. My wife’s confused face turned to see Hugh, who was sheepishly peaking around the corner. She asked, “Did you order this?” He blushed and nodded. Apparently, one of our older kids walked away from their laptop, and Hugh hopped on, surfed to Amazon, found this car, and bought it. He shouldn’t have done it - but with just a few quick clicks, the box was on our porch. 

The reason I share the anecdote is this: I think a lot about Hugh and what his financial life is going to look like. How is he going to buy his first house? What will financial planning look like and feel like for him? How will innovation change his life, and what companies will be vying for his attention? His experience is going to be completely different from the model that I grew up with. As I think about that future, it’s a future shaped by experiences, not transactions or accounts.

In many ways, that future is already here. A staggering 74 percent of Americans prioritize experiences over products. Customers advocate for companies they trust and are three times more likely to recommend a financial services company because of it.

Many organizations face a choice: are we going to focus on the products we make and sell, or are we going to focus on the experience? In my view, you have to focus whole-heartedly on both. Companies need to have incredible products and offer an exceptional experience. That’s the way to build consumer confidence and loyalty, and stay ahead of competitors.

At Northwestern Mutual, we’re known for having the most-credentialed financial advisors in the industry. We offer world-class insurance products, unmatched financial strength, access to a full suite of investment products and services, and a wide range of financial planning resources. Combined, these factors have been critical to our success for 160 years – but what excites me most is the way we’re now winning with an integrated client experience, too.

United across our enterprise, we have been making significant investments in this area. We partnered with our financial advisors to build a personalized and actionable planning experience that evolves as a client’s life changes. We created a digital, frictionless purchase experience to make it easier for clients to work with their advisor to take action and follow their financial plan – ensuring clients can pursue and achieve their financial goals. For our advisors, we acted to reduce manual work, integrate tools and systems, accelerate processes, and enable a great experience.

This week, we’re gathered virtually for our company’s annual meeting – and I’m pleased to share the incredible progress that we have made toward delivering this experience. Many of the key steps toward building a financial plan are now integrated into our new seamless platform – so that a client can build a financial plan with their Northwestern Mutual advisor, take action, and then track their progress in multiple ways including on their mobile device.

Ultimately, we are doing this to help our clients become more financially secure so they can focus on following their goals and dreams.  We recognize that becoming financially secure needs to happen on a client’s terms – with the ease and convenience that consumers have come to expect. If Hugh can order a car and get it delivered at the age of six, he’s going to want a seamless experience when he’s older and meets with a financial advisor. 

We also recognize that clients expect that our client experience to continue to become easier. We will continue to improve our experience to make it increasingly integrated and easy for our clients. We’re here to connect clients to our expert advisors, products and services so they can achieve financial security and live the life they choose, today and every day after. We want our client experience to be cohesive and, simply put, the best.

Because you (and Hugh) deserve it.