Client engagement is an ongoing exercise for financial planners.
Crazy though it may be, not everyone likes to think about financial
planning all year long. And with summer right around the corner,
customer engagement is only going to get harder. To help you keep
your clients engaged even during the slowest months,following are
the do's and don'ts of critical engagement skills :
Do's :-
- Understand your clients’ contact expectations-
Some clients only want to hear from their financial planner once a
year while others welcome quarterly or even monthly contact. The
key is understanding from day one how to manage this expectation.
“From there we can design our database to have each person in the
right category for the level of touch they want,” . Then the work
begins on moving them up the customer engagement tier.
- Make it personal- If you know your client has
a birthday or event coming up, reach out to them to let them know
you’re thinking of them. “It’s personalizing yourself to that
person that makes them go, 'Wow, you remember everything,'” Client
says. “I say I remember important things for important people.”
Keeping a strong database is key in this regard. Planners can’t
expect to remember the birthdays of their hundreds of clients, but
your database can. Fill it with little nuggets you can use to make
your clients feel special to keep clients engaged.
- Host a client appreciation event- To keep
clients engaged, you may host quarterly client appreciation events.
“Nobody likes to feel like they’re being sold,”. So try to find
softer ways of inviting them in. Maybe it’s a wine and cheese event
or dinner. During the summer months it can be a barbeque, complete
with games for the kids. She schedules so clients can come and go
as they please. She always follows up these events with a phone
call on Monday to thank clients for coming by and to say, “Our next
meeting is not scheduled until this date. Should we be working on
anything for you in the meantime?”
-
Meet them online- When it gets hard to lure
your clients into the office – such as when summer weather has them
longing for anywhere but an office –we can have a contact using
WebEx or Skype to set up virtual meetings. “That way, they don’t
need to take time away from the beautiful weather, their travels or
family,You can still stay in touch and they can still share with
you any updates or changes to their situation.Further, you can get
in touch through Emails and other social media options to make them
aware about certain events and happenings.
-
Reiterate your value proposition- Values go two
ways: There’s what your clients value and the value you provide as
their financial planner. When business is slow, this can be a great
time for FPs to reiterate their value proposition. “Remind clients
that even when they are out traveling and spending time with
family, you are overseeing their portfolio and financial plan.
“Reassure them that they can take the time to focus on the things
they love because even when they don’t hear from you, you and your
team are proactively managing their situation.”
Don'ts-
- Don’t take a spray and pray approach- Earlier
we referenced the tools like skype and email for communicating with
an audience in mass. That power is constantly abused by chains that
bombard their customers with messages without considering the
person on the other end. Research from 2017 indicates that 26% of
consumers unsubscribe from company emails due to high volumes of
sends, while 21% blame the lack of relevance. Send too many emails
that aren’t relevant and the only engagement you’ll achieve is an
unsubscribe or unfollow.
-
Don’t rely on one method of communication- One
of the more crucial tips for building engagement is to ensure that
each client is receiving the right kind of communications, and
that’s not limited to client preference or demographic information
alone. You might think that social media covers all your bases, but
some communications are better suited for emails, app
notifications, or text messages. The key to sending effective
campaigns is to choose the right communication method or platform
for each one.
- Don’t make assumptions about customers- Your
engagement with client should be based on an understanding of their
interests, which should be backed by data. Data history gives you a
great idea of what clients’ preferences are and why they buy from
you. Use this information during every interaction with clients to
build lasting relationships with them.The more careful you are
about maintaining the relationship, the more natural the
conversation will come.
- Don't let lapsed clients go- Remember
acquiring a new customer is almost 7 times expensive than to keep
the client. So, never take it for granted the existing client. You
never know, when they will get this sign that you are not paying
attention to them and they can switch to another. Hence, pay
attention and respect their time also.
- Don't fly blind- Trying to make decisions with
client past data can end up costing you more in the end.So, capture
client data, the more relevant data you have about your client,
more easier it will be for you to manage relationship with them
according to their requirements and provide them personalized
targeted services,messages and offers.