Written by Allie Carey, who serves as Managing Director for the Independent Advisor Solutions by SEI Front Office team.
I often struggle with how broad, and sometimes vague, the practice of client experience can be. Each person’s experience with a company depends on the sum of their feelings about their interactions. It’s personal to each client.
How do you design an experience that is pleasing to each individual client? One method is to identify two key touch points: “efficient interactions” and “moments that matter.” These are very different interactions, but both contribute to the company’s offered client experience.
Efficient interactions
Should every interaction with a company wow the client? No. Most should simply meet their expectations. They should be unobtrusive and efficient. The company’s goals are to remove barriers and make the process as quick as possible. A good example is a retail checkout, where we all expect to have a quick and accurate interaction.
Efficient interactions for financial advisor clients include:
- A client request or question
- A client’s access to their personal wealth information
Moments that matter
A small percentage of experiences are much more meaningful, and can make or break a relationship. These need to be highly customized to each person and situation.
Let’s use an insurance company as an example. When a client has to make a claim, they are not having a good day. Something has gone wrong. The client starts their experience angry, devastated, or dealing with personal circumstances. This is a tough challenge for the insurance company, which needs to be equipped to turn a bad moment into a good experience while handling each unique-to-this-client situation. This is an opportunity to prove the company’s value. If they fail, they will likely lose a client, but if they succeed, they may gain an advocate who refers business.
What are some moments that matter for financial advisor clients? Here a few that come to my mind:
- New client onboarding and new account setup
- Unexpected life changes, like a sale of a business, inheritance, or income loss
- Market volatility – behavior management
Client experience doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can easily segment your client interactions into “efficiency” and “moments-that-matter” experiences. This allows you to create executable plans to improve each.
I’d love to hear from you. What are your efficient interactions? What are your moments that matter? Are you already focused and organized around experiences? If so, how? The VIP Messenger will get us in touch.
