You can pretty much do everything yourself online these days and if you don’t know the answer to a question Google will certainly find the answer for you. For every business, visible online client reviews are becoming more and more important and the financial advice industry can do a lot more to re-engage existing and new clients by providing exemplary service to stay front of client’s minds or lose out to DIY financial advice.
Why should someone nowadays, buy from a shop on the high street or go to the local butchers, or use a financial adviser, when they can pretty much do everything they want to online from their office or home? The financial services industry has changed much over the last 28 years since I first started out, however the fundamentals of what we do has not really changed and I think we need to look back to see we need to do to get back to what our clients want and need.
Fifty years ago or so I am told, the local shop or trades people dealt with a very small number of clients from their local village or street, not being internet in those days. Motorised transport was not affordable for many but the few, so people were a lot less mobile. The reality was that most people shopped local and if you couldn’t get it, you did without. The local butcher, would know your favourite cut of meat, the local pub would know what you drank and have it waiting on the bar when you walked in. The client was always treated treated politely and with respect; loyalty playing a big part in community spirit, where everyone knew everyone and also what everyone did in the community.
More recently many businesses have became obsessed with “processes”, doing everything “en masse” and the poor old client just had to fit in and buy what was on offer. We have accepted this as bulk purchasing bought prices down, kept costs lower and businesses thrived and grew rapidly, but it has meant that getting to know your client has became a way of the past. This business s model proliferated, due to the drive towards greater profit; to the point that now you can walk down any main high street in any town and all the same shops everywhere, stocking the same products. We no longer expect the shop assistant to recognise us, we feel fortunate if they know anything about their products.
How many of us have gone shopping for something new out of habit, because that is what we always have done, only to be disappointed with the experience and come home and bought the item off the internet. I see this happening more and more in our household, my 16 year old daughter rarely goes to the shops; she buys everything over the internet, after asking his friends on facebook and other social media, which product is the best, researching and checking out reviews before making a purchase.
So what does this mean for a typical financial adviser? The world has changed and this means that financial advisers need to change with the times as well; they cannot do what they have always done and expect the same results anymore. Anyone seeking financial advice can go online and find lots of useful information that will help them put together a financial plan, without any personal contact with a financial adviser. They can research different types of investments, different funds, even create their own Cashflow model, educating themselves. So why pay the higher costs of an “actual” financial adviser?
Well this is where the client service is becoming very important… As financial advisers we absolutely have to create a service so good for our clients that will be prepared to pay us to help them look after their financial affairs. We need to go back to treating clients as individuals, like the butchers used to 50 years ago. All financial advisers need to be aware that any client who has come to see you and is prepared to pay your fees, has done so because they want “personal service”. They have not come to see a financial adviser because they have to, they could have done a lot of the financial planning themselves. So as financial advisers you are constantly being tested by your clients, to see whether they are adding value.
Outstanding client service is so rare now that we remember it. We remember how it makes us feel, which encourages us to be loyal and even speak to other people about the experience we have had. We want to return as a client, because we appreciated being looked after and cared for so well and we will also tell others about how professional, knowledgeable and caring they were to us.
Online review websites are growing at such a rapid rate that they cannot be ignored. We have all used websites to check out hotels and restaurants and a multitude of websites are now competing to become the “tripadvisor” of the financial adviser world.
When speaking to other financial advisers, I ask them, “Have you checked to see what people are saying about you online recently?” Remarkably and unbelievably, very few are even aware that people may be posting comments about their business online for the world and their future potential clients to see.
So calling all financial advisers, make sure you are offering your clients the very best service you possibly can. Think about what can you do to make them feel special; thank them for choosing to do business with YOU because they do have a choice. Check out your online reviews and see what your clients are saying about you, because this is a big growth area, that is a happening right now and is only going to increase, as the younger generations now buy everything in a completely different way they than we are used to. Change is essential to make sure you are still in business giving valuable financial advice a decade from now.
