16 connected strategy for asian wealth management ^Top 2. Connected Strategy I n many industries, new technologies are enabling frequent, seamless client interactions underpinned by data-driven personalization. Companies in sectors as diverse as e-commerce, education, media and insurance are building deeper and more frequent connections with clients at scale in ways that were previously not feasible. Instead of waiting for clients to come to them, firms can now also anticipate and address clients’ needs proactively. These are outcomes of the increasing use of a Connected Strategy. For an in-depth treatment, other case examples and worksheets, we refer readers to the book Connected Strategy by Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch (HBR Press, 2019). For more information, see also connected-strategy.com. what is a connected strategy A firm’s connected strategy is its set of strategic, operational and technological choices that fundamentally transform the client experience as well as the firm’s economics. A Connected Strategy has two main elements: • A connected customer experience: This relates to the firm’s choice on how and how frequently it connects with its clients, at what stages in the client journey and to deliver what target experience. • A firm’s connection architecture: This design choice addresses what connections a firm chooses to facilitate with or between the industry ecosystem participants. Types of connected customer experiences There are four distinct connected customer experiences, as follows: 1. Respond-To-Desire: This works best when clients know exactly what they want and the firm’s job to be done is to provide it quickly and reliably at the lowest price point. The firm’s key capabilities are fast delivery, flexibility, and exact execution. ‘Do it yourself’ clients like a respond-to-desire experience. 2. Curated Offering: This approach works best for clients who do not know exactly what they want. A firm can delight its clients by finding them a product or service best suited to their needs, facilitating the discovery and evaluation of options. The key firm capability here is the recommendation or curation process. Clients often like to make the final decision but value a Curated Offering experience.