The following is a guest editorial courtesy of Andrew Lane, CEO of sentiment-based technology company Acuity Trading.

Analysts project sluggish global economic growth of 1.8% through 2023. Resilience of the US economy, against a downturn in Europe, may help us steer clear of a global recession. The unpredictability of the Russia-Ukraine war points towards a slump in the markets during the initial part of the year, although sentiment may be supported by China’s reopening.

Bearish markets can be a cause for concern, especially for new traders. This is because many traders believe that only bullish markets offer the opportunity to profit. This belief, in turn, hampers trading activity and can adversely affect the revenues of your brokerage.

Against the backdrop of uncertainty, brokerages must find ways to engage and encourage trading on their platform to keep cash flowing through the downtrend. Here are a few tips to keep your traders motivated and help them continue trading irrespective of the market conditions.

Have a User-Friendly Interface

A customer-facing business should have a convenient, intuitive, and user-friendly interface. Millennials prefer speed, and complexity slows them down. Easy-to-navigate interfaces save time and promote activity.

Improve the research experience of your traders with tools that use disparate datasets, such as news, calendar data, price movement, sentiment data, and opportunity scores. This helps traders get a holistic view of the assets they are interested in. This can help them gain more confidence in their trading decision and boost activity on your platform.

Reach out your customers regularly, via the modes they prefer, which could be emails, messages on your app, or social media posts. Leverage analytics to discover how your traders operate and then facilitate their activity through their preferred mode.

Use Visual Tools

The human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Technical analysis tools have become increasingly visual now. You can also supplement these with other charts and graphs to ensure ease of use. Visual tools are also more engaging and may help you hold your clients’ attention for longer. These tools should provide access to trusted market research and reliable signals.

Provide performance analysis tools too. Traders who can see their progress tend to be more motivated. A cheer on small accomplishments may work as a catalyst to boost their interest.

Did you know?

Using red or green colour with actionable information creates excitement because people associate urgency and success with these colours. This little psychological tip may get your clients trading more often.

Build Trust

Building trust requires work and this should be a continuous focus, not just when the markets are down. Make sure that you build a reputation that speaks of reliability. Use social media and informative articles to expand your reach.

New traders can get overwhelmed by information overload on the Internet. Provide good-quality and concise information that is easy to understand and apply, and from which they can benefit immediately.

Educate Your Traders

Most novice traders are unaware of how they can take advantage of market downturns. Teach them about the opportunities and how your brokerage can help. Here are a few things you can do:

• Introduce them to instruments like CFDs, which can be used to speculate even in a downtrend.
• Educate them on risk management techniques, including stop loss and take profit. Encourage them to diversify their portfolio and teach them about which asset combinations work best to hedge against each other. This way, you can prepare them to not consider a bearish market as a sign to stop trading.
• Enable copy trading and social trading to make expert advice available to new traders and help experienced traders earn by sharing their signals.
• Provide educational content on how your clients can avoid making mistakes during bearish markets.
• Publish actionable insights. It accelerates decision-making and encourages clients to trade.

Share Success Stories

In the US, customer attrition is the highest, at 25%, in the finance industry. This highlights the need for brokerages to continue investing in retaining clients. Moreover, a market downturn may be an opportunity for your brokerage to attract customers away from others. Traders may switch to a brokerage that helps them discover unique opportunities even in challenging market conditions. Sharing true success stories of your clients can help boost trader acquisition during a downturn. What your customers say about you can be a good way to expand the communication, as regulated brokerages are restricted by compliance to make certain statements.

Boost Customer Confidence

It is crucial for traders to not lose confidence in your trading platform or in trading in general. The uncertainty of the markets may catch them off-guard and make them incur losses. Ensure that they are aware of their risk appetite and available capital. Despite an unfavourable trading experience, make them aware that the loss does not indicate their lack of trading competency, rather a factor that was overlooked and a challenge that can be easily overcome. Suggest practicing on demo accounts and to back-test their strategy to continue learning.

How to Go About It?

Put advanced technology and AI-driven analytics to use and make the most of the data available. Partner with an analytics technology provider that is equipped with plug-and-play tools that are ready to be integrated and used with any platform. A leading provider of comprehensive solutions can help you meet all analytical and informative content needs of your audience and traders at all levels.