The client experience is directly correlated to the growth and profitability of an advisory business. So it’s no surprise that businesses are spending valuable time and money trying to improve their client experience.
Unfortunately most advisory businesses aren’t experiencing the results they expected. They were hoping the improved experience would attract more clients and reduce the workload. So what is the problem?
Problem 1: Not asking for feedback in ADVANCE of rolling it out to clients.
Problem 2: Creating too many different client experiences and stuck in a black hole of possibilities.
Problem 3: Not leaning ENOUGH on staff for input and creation of ideas.
Problem 4: Shiny object syndrome. Tech is not the client experience, it is only part of it. Buying a client portal technology doesn’t solve the problem, especially when you haven’t defined what you want your client to experience online and with you.
Here are some solutions to improve your client experience without breaking the bank.
Solution 1: Follow Wershing’s lead with creating an advisory board. Don’t take my word for it – check out this video of your peers sharing the benefits. An advisory board can provide feedback on ideas. They will also stop you from wasting time and money implementing something that doesn’t add value to your clients nor your firm.
Solution 2: Let your staff brainstorm and wipe board what the client experience should be. Include elements such as:
- tech and think about what message you want the tech to send (planning centric, investment performance centric, save more, spend less, get organized, etc)
- deliverables provided during the year and who/how those deliverables are created
- # of meetings, where, and how (video, call, in office, at person’s office, home)
- # of communications, what content, frequency, format (email, phone, social media)
- and more….
Solution 3: Go slow and steady with the improvements and ALWAYS keep moving forward. Schedule a biweekly meeting on the team calendar and keep wipe boarding, discussing, and testing out ideas. If you want to accelerate this process or get stuck on the mental decision of defining your ideal client and what you want the experience to be, un-stuck yourself!
Solution 4: Make your staff and their family members your guinea pigs. When you improve an experience, have a few staff walk through that experience with a family member and elicit feedback.
If this is overwhelming, reach out to us or create your own client servicing segmentation worksheet.
Whatever you do, don’t give up. The client experience is key to business growth, profitability, and lowered workload. So dedicate the time it deserves and make every effort count!
Please note: We are agnostic to all product providers and have no revenue sharing arrangements with any product vendor.
