A client in his thirties will not take an afternoon off to drive to an office and sit in a meeting room. A client in her seventies will not discuss her finances with a face on a laptop.
A firm that offers only one of those formats has chosen one of them and does not realise it.
The decision clients are making
Not which is better. Which one they will actually do. A format somebody is uncomfortable with means the advice never happens at all.
When remote suits
Busy working clients, those at a distance, review meetings where nothing new is being decided, clients who travel, and anybody who would otherwise postpone repeatedly.
When in person suits
A first meeting, complex circumstances, documents to examine, older clients, anybody uncomfortable with technology and situations with emotional weight such as bereavement.
When a hybrid is best
An initial meeting in person and reviews remotely. It is what most clients actually want and almost nobody offers it as a named arrangement.
Publish both options plainly
On the page where somebody decides to make contact. Clients rule a firm out on this and never say so.
Explain what a remote meeting involves
The platform, whether anything needs installing, how documents are shared, how long it takes and what happens if the connection fails. Technical anxiety is the main obstacle.
Explain how documents are handled remotely
Signing, identification and secure exchange. Clients assume remote means paperwork by post and are reassured when it does not.
Explain the identification process
Because it differs between formats and it is the step clients find most awkward. Publishing it removes a hesitation.
Offer a telephone option
Which some clients strongly prefer to video and almost nobody mentions. It suits people who dislike being on camera and those with poor connections.
Explain whether a partner can join from elsewhere
Two people in two places joining the same meeting. It solves a real problem for couples working different hours.
Explain the home visit option
Where it is offered, for whom and whether it costs anything. It reaches clients who would otherwise never engage.
Say that the advice is the same
Whatever the format, the standard, the process and the protections are identical. Clients worry that remote means a lesser service.
Say what a remote meeting cannot replace
Reading a room, noticing that somebody is uncomfortable and having a difficult conversation properly are harder through a screen, and clients know it. Being honest that certain meetings are better in person, and suggesting it when the subject warrants it, is what makes the remote option credible for everything else.
Let the client choose each time
Rather than fixing it at the outset. Circumstances change and a client who can switch is a client who keeps attending reviews.
Publish it alongside the other practical questions
Fees, status and what a first meeting covers are read together, as in fee structure questions clients should ask and independent versus restricted advice explained.
The same choice appears in other professions
It is the identical trade off described in online versus in person therapy decisions.
Getting started
Publish every format with what each suits and how documents are handled, then let clients choose and book at any hour, which is the approach in how financial advisors use chatbots to answer client questions. SpideyChat for financial advisers answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.