Everything is connected. As each year passes, this becomes even more true. I’ve lost count of the number of the devices I own, which are connected to the web, my computer, my phone, my watch, my printer etc. Skype skyping (if that is a verb), phones phoning, Twitter tweeting, e-mails e-mailing, IB chats chatting.. it’s got to a stage that it can be somewhat confusing what medium of communication to use with clients. Each medium has it’s own pros and cons. However, the problem remains that time has not expanded to allow for greater communications. Clients still have the same amount of time they have always had. If you think of the buy side, the communications overload can be particularly acute. Let’s say for example a large buy side firm trades with 10 different sell side institutions and numerous other independent providers whether that is research houses (which I hope includes Cuemacro!). Every additional relationship results in more e-mails, chat messages etc. It is simply too difficult to read every single message.
The onus of course is on the sell side and companies like Cuemacro to ensure that communication is targeted to ensure that clients remain engaged. What type of communication would interest a client? Would they like a daily e-mail update or would they prefer more adhoc communications for subjects which are particularly relevant for them? However, the key point despite all these advances in communications, is that the best way to understand what a client wants is to meet them. Airlines are still filled with business travelers for that very reason! I’ve done projects with clients in the past without meeting beforehand, however, I have to admit it has made things somewhat easier to meet to at least discuss what a project might entail. Yes, it’s a cliche, but simply putting a face to a name, can help to enhance all the other forms of communication whether it is e-mail or chat. Also, meeting in person forces you to be very precise in the discussion. How many times have you written an e-mail which was too long for its purpose (I’m mainly looking at myself, I admit to being guilty of this)? When presenting it’s also often much easier to do in front of an audience, rather than purely as a webcast. In my experience, I get a lot more questions, when a real audience is front of me! Whilst travelling is time consuming, it can be time effective provided you book client meetings close together. I also find that meeting clients within a short time period, makes it easier to identify themes in terms of their questions.
It’s for that reason that I’m going to be travelling and presenting my work on Python and trading ideas using Big Data over the coming weeks. I’ll still be tweeting during my travels, but hopefully that’ll take a backseat to meeting people! If you’re interested in hearing me present in the coming weeks on quant, FX and Python, here are a few places that I’ll be below. I’ll also be available for meetings during my travels in London, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, Chicago, Omaha and Barcelona over the coming weeks, if you’d like me to visit your office or grab a coffee! I still have a few meeting slots, but expecting these to fill soon.
- 1-2 March – Presenting at AI Data Conference in London on open source & Python
- 3 March – Presenting at Quant 2017 in Venice on Big Data in macro markets
- 21-24 March – Presenting at TradeTech FX Asia on Python in FX markets and meeting with clients
- 3 April – In Tokyo meeting with clients
- 27 April – 4 May – Presenting at QuantCon 2017 in New York City (use coupon code AmenQuantCon2017) and meeting with clients
- 5 May – In Chicago meeting with clients
- 7 May – In Omaha for Berkshire Hathaway shareholder conference
- 8-11 May – Presenting at Global Derivatives 2017 on Python in Barcelona and meeting with clients
I’m looking forward to learning a lot during my travels and hopefully, seeing what I can do better to help clients in quant and FX space. Yes, electronic communications have their place, but they cannot totally replace face-to-face meetings. Now, for my next challenge, finding the best burger on my travels, I’ll be sure to report on this soon!