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Opinions
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by John
H. Melchinger
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In
less than two decades we have moved from the computer age (processing data faster)
to the information age (understanding data and trends) and onward into the communications
age (sharing information so we can do something productive with it). People want
to be heard now more than ever before. Are you ready to hear what your clients have
to say, and if so, are you ready and willing to adjust your practice to accommodate
your clients' wishes?
People want to be heard
Your clients are no different from anyone else. They, like most all of us, wish to
be heard, but they often lack a polite, upbeat, face-saving forum for doing it. They
may also be reluctant to offer their time and feedback to you for fear that the information
they provide will not be liked or believed, and therefor not heeded. They not only
need to be heard, they need to know that they are heard by receiving your feedback
on their feedback.
To obtain and maintain effective, timely information about how your clients feel
and what they really want requires your initiative to provide the right questions
and the appropriate forum for answering them. Conducting regular client surveys may
provide your best source of marketing information ever.
Client Surveys
Client surveys can take many types and styles. When asking for personal introductions
from your best clients and centers, leading a oneñon-one conversation about your
business relationship can work remarkably well to find out just how your client expects
and wants to be treated. A mini board of directors comprised of clients (sometimes
in specific target markets) can help you keep your finger on the pulse of your evolving
clientele. Conducting focus groups of people representative of your client base works
well too. Sending questionnaires or "report cards" for your clients to
tell you how you are doing with them is also effective.
The major differences between styles of communicating are easy to see when you compare
letters, newsletters, announcements and bulletins with calls, voice mail, meetings
and surveys. The first group conveys messages, the second set discusses issues. So
the focus here is on conducting client surveysóreport cards you employee as the basis
for developing meaningful marketing dialogues with your clients to raise and discuss
important issues.
Which client feedback method you employ is your choice; the only sin would be to
guess, rather than know, how your clients perceive your performance compared to their
expectations. The choices you make about how to obtain good client feedback should
consider the types of clients you have, how they are accustomed to communicating,
how they are used to hearing from you and communicating with you.
It isn't what you don't know that hurts you; it's what you know for sure...that
just ain't so.
Report Cards
Generally, you should seek to discover two things:
1.
how your clients rate you now in certain key areas of concern
2. trends in how your clients feel
To
learn how your clients rate you, conduct a survey. To spot trends, conduct regular,
periodic surveys and compare results over time. Here are some tips.
Offering clients anonymity in your survey is not recommended. In fact, this
common error is not necessary and will complicate the survey psychologically if you
try to guess who sent in those critical responses that got your back up. If you receive
anonymous critical responses and try hard not to guess who sent them in, or quietly
guess wrong, the harm can be serious to important relationshipsóand unmerited. Obviously,
anonymity precludes your being able to fix individual problems by forcing you to
respond only to the collective input and not violate the anonymity you've offered.
It just does not work because your normal human tendency would be to over-interpret
critical-sounding data and comments, misread their meaning or deny what the data
and comments suggest. Dialogue is needed to resolve issues, and your survey should
raise the issues you should be talking about with your clients.
A report card is not just a questionnaireóit is a method for developing meaningful
dialogue with your clients. The steps to developing and using a report card with
your client are pretty straightforward.
1.
decide what you want to know
2. formulate your questions
3. format the questions (yes or no, true or false, rate on a scale, write out a response,
etcetera)
4. produce the questionnaire (the layout, customized to fit your image)
5. mail the report card to clients with a compelling cover letter
6. call responders to say thanks, taking the opportunity to fix problems they raised
or make additional progress in key areas of concern
7. call non-responders and ask for their valued input
8.
log/tabulate the data
9. summarize the data
10. interpret the data
11. decide your courses of action
12. report back to clients on general findings and what you are going to do in response
13. repeat every 6 to 12 months
When
surveys are addressed to each individual client, the source of each response is known
and the client knows this. Responders are called and thanked. People with problems
are contacted immediately to resolve the problems. Non-responders are called and
asked to participate, if only to encourage them
to participate next time.
A semiannual client letter can mention significant findings in the surveys and
steps you are taking to improve your practice, all of which is good news for
clients who want to know that your advisory services are keeping up with the times.
Clients will feel that they are participating, and this helps keep the lines of communication
open, frank and mutually productive. It also helps you continue to inform your clients
of the full range of services you provide, reminding them of things they are apt
to forget.
In all, client surveysówhether they take the form of report cards, questionnaires
or some other mediaóare excellent for keeping up with your clients' attitudes in
changing times.
John H. Melchinger
coaches personal financial services advisors how to market their professional practice
to high income and high net worth affluents. Effective market identification, segmentation,
selection, penetration and development, with compelling packaging and promotion,
make his clients among the best planners in the business. His marketing techniques,
how-to books, articles and presentations have become classics in private practice
marketing. John donates one day per month to non-profit organizations that request
his support for workshops, seminars and fund raisers.
jhmco@melchinger.com
Web site: www.melchinger.com
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