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Build Your Business

How To Transform Customers into Life-Long, Referral-Generating Clients

Thornburg Investment Management
6 Apr 2023
9 min listen

One of the most significant determinants of a small business’ success is the client experience.

Read Transcript

How To Transform Customers into Life-Long, Referral-Generating Clients

Hello, this is Jan Blakeley Holman, Director of Advisor Education at Thornburg Investment Management and the host of #NowMe podcast.

One of the most significant determinants of a small business’ success is the client experience. This week, Hollis Walker reads one of my recent articles that tackles this very subject.

The Small Business Administration defines a “small business” as one with fewer than 500 employees. According to the SBA, there are 33.2 million small businesses in the United States and those small businesses represent 99% of all US businesses.

According to the US Census Bureau the number of annual new business applications averaged 3.2 million per year between 2015 and 2019. Between 2020 and 2022 the number of new businesses averaged, 4.9 million per year.

Last April’s analysis of the increase in the number of new businesses by the Economist cited job layoffs and the availability of stimulus money as two of the reasons for the increase in small business start-ups.

As every small business owner knows, starting a new business is merely the first in several milestones a business owner must achieve to have a business that lasts for years. That’s particularly important because the SBA reports that only 70% of small businesses last 2 years and 10 years after a small business starts, 30% of them are still around.

I hope you enjoy this podcast reading as much as I did writing the article.

How To Transform Customers into Life-Long, Referral-Generating Clients
By Jan Blakeley Holman, Director of Advisor Education for Thornburg Investment Management

Your client experience is the centerpiece of your practice.

Last fall, when I visited a medical service provider, I immediately became aware that I was the beneficiary of the company’s well-thought-out, meticulously designed client experience. This company’s approach successfully converted me from a run-of-the-mill customer into a client who will be the source of numerous referrals. Many financial advisors strive to create this type of client experience.

A client experience will happen whether or not you plan it. For a great client experience, an ever-evolving framework needs to be put in place. To put together such a generic framework, a business identifies the processes, activities and client touchpoints that differentiates it from its competitors. A company’s client experience should evolve in response to changes in the company’s business model, the introduction of new technology, and new industry regulations.

Here are the five most important aspects of a world-class client experience that financial advisors should not overlook.

One: communicate, communicate, and—communicate. Purposeful and organized communication is the most important characteristic of a world-class client experience. The quality of your communication should be immediately apparent in every touchpoint with both prospective and current clients. Determine the type of communication required before each interaction; identify the goal; and plan the communication required to follow up your message. One of the most important aspects of “knowing your client” is knowing how each client wants to receive communications from your team. Assuming you can meet their communication needs, your initial client experience should include detailed examples of the communications clients will receive in person, by email, by telephone and voicemail, and by text (if texting is allowed by your firm). New employees are introduced to your client experience plan during the onboarding process. Soon afterward, they are taught the intricacies of the client experience, the role they play in that process, and the responsibilities they have to ensure the consistency and quality of service each client experiences.

Two: pre-meeting communications. To have a successful initial meeting with a prospective client, advisors need some of the client’s financial information. To make sure the prospect brings along their financial information, the pre-meeting communications must specify the type of information the client should bring to the meeting or email to you in advance. Examples include investment account statements, retirement account statements, tax returns, etc. From time-to-time, advisors also need information from existing clients. Having up-to-date client information ensures preparation for meetings will be seamless.

Three: personalize all interactions. One of the days I met with the medical services provider I mentioned earlier happened to be my birthday. I’ll admit that I was surprised to be greeted at the door with birthday wishes and received a “Happy Birthday” wish from every employee I met with that day. During each of these interactions, it was obvious that they knew who I was, why I was there, where I was in the process and what they needed from me. And, the birthday wishes didn’t end on my birthday. I had an appointment with the provider two weeks later and I was greeted with, “It looks like you just celebrated your birthday. I hope it was a happy day.”

Four: follow-up after each appointment. After each meeting with you, your client should receive a summary of the appointment, including the advisor’s next steps, the date and time of the next appointment or phone call, and a reminder of what the client needs to do to prepare for that meeting.

Five: ask for feedback and reviews. Requesting feedback and reviews should be constant, but not obnoxious. It’s probably safe to say that younger clients—Generation X and younger—are more likely to give social media reviews than older clients—Baby Boomers and older. To encourage reviews, make sure you give all clients a way to tell the world just how wonderful you are. Make one card available that displays a QR code that makes it easy for technologically proficient clients to give you social media reviews and another card for clients who prefer to write down their feedback.

Right now is the perfect time for you to create a client experience format, if you don’t have one, or to fine-tune the one you have, based on these principles. A world-class client experience helps to show prospects and clients that you are a step ahead of the competition.

This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. It is not intended to predict the performance of any investment or market, and is not a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell any security or product, or adopt any investment strategy. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Investing involves risk including possible loss of the money you invest. Consult your investment advisor before making any investment decisions. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, Thornburg Investment Management makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the information and has no obligation to provide any updates or changes. The views expressed are subject to change and do not necessarily reflect the views of Thornburg Investment Management. This podcast is for your personal and non-commercial use only. You may not use it in any other manner without the prior written consent of Thornburg Investment Management. Thank you for listening.

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