Fund companies’ advisor sites suffer from low use and poor reporting according to a new report from Boston-based research firm Forrester Inc.

Forrester spoke with 25 U.S. mutual fund companies to examine the use of advisor sites.

On average, just 16% of a firm’s advisor base logs in to its Web site. Few firms know which advisors use their site, and few can correlate site usage to any impact on sales or revenue. “We have videos, content, continuing education, you name it. But a Porsche sitting in the garage is worthless — we just can’t get advisors to use our site,” said one respondent.

The research firm found that many firms now believe that getting wholesaler buy-in is the key to boosting usage. “Many industry acolytes predicted that field wholesalers would become dinosaurs, to be replaced by e-wholesalers that would use the Net to serve advisors instead of a plane and a golf course. That won’t happen,” it says. “Wholesaler Web sites will give traditional wholesalers the ability to contact more of their clients, more often, with a more personal touch than before. Frequent contact will further cement wholesalers’ already strong relationships and give them the ability to reach out to additional advisors who they can’t visit as often.”

Forrester found that many firms launched their online efforts with dreams of cost savings, but only 28% now hope to derive cost savings from their sites. “Interviewees now strive to provide better service to the advisors who sell their products.”

One interviewee said, “Cost cutting was an initial goal. But our goal today isn’t to reduce phone calls and cut costs, but to shift those calls to higher-quality conversations with our reps.”

“We had high hopes for the Web as a business in and of itself. Now we take the view that the Web is a part of the sales process. Any use of electronic marketing that’s not part of our multi-channel marketing efforts is a waste of time,” said another respondent.

http://www.forrester.com