The media has been tireless in reporting on the new state of retail in the United States. Some call it a “retail apocalypse” others see it as an evolution of traditional brick and mortar. Whatever the hot take of the day is, one thing is for sure: retail is changing.
What does retail have to do with financial advising?
As an advisor, you should be focused on creating an engaging client experience. To that end, it’s good to ask yourself “what can I learn from the changing landscape of retail?” While retail and financial advisors work in very different segments, that doesn’t mean there’s no overlap. Retail successfully generates billions of dollars in sales every year and cements customer loyalty along the way. In the same way, building trust and loyalty with your clients is incredibly important.
The new push in the retail arena is “retail experience.” It’s no longer good enough to just set your wares out on a shelf and hope passing customers jump at the deals, they need to be invested in the shopping experience itself as soon as they set foot in the store.
The same thing rings true with your firm. What are you doing to make sure that your advisees have a great experience when talking about their financial future? You probably won’t be able to invest the same type of resources that a retail giant would, but you can scale appropriately.
Easy steps to building a great customer experience
Simple gestures like offering beverages or snacks to clients that sit down in your office go a long way. Likewise, taking clients out for lunch now and again (especially if they have sizeable investments with you) is a no-brainer. Even simply calling up and checking in on clients to see how they’re doing, allowing them to talk to you about their financial lives, can go a long way.
Allowing your clients to interact with you and their money in a way that they feel comfortable is a must. Whether that’s face-to-face, more or less digital, or somewhere in between, making sure that your clients feel heard and accommodated will build trust and give them the ultimate financial advising experience.
Try brainstorming some ideas to improve your customer experience, you’ll be happy you did and it might just be the investment you needed to take your firm to the next level.