A word or two...

The Customer Feedback Centre Client Review & Custom Questionnaires

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:15:00 +0000

We continue to enhance the functionality of TCF Centre and this week we have added a new Client Review Questionnaire as well as the ability to create your own custom questionnaires that are specific to your company.

Custom Questionnaires for your Company

As well as the standard questionnaires provided by The Customer Feedback Centre, you can now also create your own company specific questionnaires. These work in exactly the same way as the standard questionnaires; the only difference is that as a custom questionnaire is only used by your company, your site comparison data only relates to your company, rather than giving you comparison data across all companies on TCF Centre.

These custom questionnaires give our users more options as to how they wish to use client feedback for their firm, perhaps to add custom questionnaires specific to their own internal processes, to gather marketing information or even to create a staff questionnaire.

Client Review Questionnaire

A new Client Review Questionnaire has also been added to the TCF Centre list of standard questionnaires. This asks questions about the client review process relating to the factfind process, analysing progress towards goals or quality of communications or documentation.

As always we welcome your feedback, both on the new and existing functionality so please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you....and if you are not already using TCF Centre to manage your client feedback programme contact us on 01564 711153 to find out how we can help!

A little more conversation...

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:10:00 +0000

I have been presenting at some of the 1st Software user groups this week, about web-based technologies. My focus has been on better client servicing, improved communication and more satisfied clients. So far the feedback has been great and it's good to see advisers and their teams getting excited about the opportunities new technologies are now presenting them with.

Regulatory pressures, particularly RDR and TCF mean that advisory firms must now build a business model that is absolutely focused on the client...and that may seem obvious, something professional advisory firms have been doing for a long time...but today there is a difference. Today this client focus needs to be measurable; it needs to be justified; it needs to be clearly defined. And as we know the demands of the RDR that ongoing income must be justified by ongoing service makes remaining profitable whilst delivering independent financial advice and high quality services to all of your clients difficult. It's just not feasible or profitable to provide face-to-face reviews or to spend time producing high quality reports for those clients who can not afford to pay a fee for such services.

So what is the solution? Drop those clients who aren't currently profitable enough to service? Or look for new ways to service them? The answer I believe lies in the new approach to technology that we are now seeing, a collaborative approach to communication and servicing. Letting the client drive our interactions with them and embracing the internet as a platform for conversation and collaboration. Service is no longer about managing our client, it's about collaborating with them. It's about taking a more social approach to communication. I believe that the internet is absolutely key to the delivery of RDR and TCF. Not convinced? Then have a look at the video below produced by Socialnomics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

I think it says it all....

Communication leads to understanding, loyalty and happy clients

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Keeping in regular contact with your clients is essential to ensure satisfaction, loyalty, repeat business and referrals. The contact most valued by your clients is of course the face-to-face meeting or client review but this is something you can only do profitably a certain number of times every year, perhaps quarterly for your higher net worth or ‘A’ segment client, and half-yearly or annually for ‘B’ clients. With this in mind how else can you maintain regular contact with your clients to keep your brand and services at the forefront of their minds? And how can you communicate and nurture relationships with more of your client-base profitably?

Let’s assume that ideally we aim to contact our clients up to 24 times a year to keep a regular communication channel open and to reinforce our brand, values and the great service that we offer. It may seem a lot but with a little effort and using the wealth of different communication technology available it soon becomes easy achieve this. People’s circumstances change quickly and often they forget to tell you about it so implement a communication plan to make sure you are always kept in the loop.

Get your team involved
Client communication in your organisation doesn’t always have to come from the adviser. In fact having different people in your organisation contacting your clients builds your company profile and loyalty to your company and brand, not just you as an individual. Account management calls are a simple and effective way to continue the conversation with your client long after the initial advice process or ‘sale’ is completed. Your client will value a proactive call from your client service team, administrator or paraplanner to see if there is anything further they need or to talk to them about how else you might help.

Quarterly Newsletters
Client newsletters or email bulletins are a great way to touch your clients with minimal effort or expense. A well-worded informative quarterly newsletter positions you and your firm as the experts in your field that you are and is a great way to keep your clients informed about what you are up to, how your business is performing or tell them about new services you are offering. Include articles, news, results of your client feedback programme, and personal stories to make your newsletters inspiring and interesting for your clients.

Email Bulletins
Tailor email bulletins to meet the interests of the different profiles of clients you deal with: are they sophisticated high net worth investors who would be interested in market commentary, business owners looking for tax planning information, or clients who are inexperienced in financial matters so looking for ideas on money management or budgeting? Targeting the information you send out to clients demonstrates that you understand who they are and that you can offer specific services to meet their needs. Offer monthly email bulletins to your clients, perhaps even weekly to your high net worth clients and capture their permission to do this as part of your factfind or initial enquiry process.

Client Feedback
Proactively asking for client feedback is an effective two-way method of communication that lets your clients know that you are serious about service excellence. Asking for feedback after each interaction with a client is not only best business practice, it also brings with it a wealth of other benefits including happier more loyal clients, more motivated staff, marketing opportunities, more referral business and great testimonials. It also gives you some strong marketing material to include in your newsletters and other company literature but publishing your feedback results.

Online Servicing
What better way to keep your clients informed and involved than 24 hour access to your brand through online servicing. Giving your clients access to their portfolio online is a great way to keep them interested in what you do, and if it includes their bank accounts, credit card statements and spending habits then you are giving them something that they are likely to log into every week. Incorporate a messaging function to allow you to chat to your clients and suddenly a whole new virtual world opens up allowing you to communicate with your client and give them a complete picture of their financial life.

Social and Internet Media
Social networking sites are a great way to keep a regular dialog going with your client so ask your clients whether they are signed up for any of the social networking sites like Twitter or Linked In. These offer opportunities for your to engage in a dialog with your clients, show your expertise, or drive traffic to your website or blog…and the easy part is that your posts can be short, making it a quick and easy way to get your message across. Try it and see the impact that 140 characters can have on your clients. You could also try writing regular weekly blog posts on your website to keep your clients updated and informed, with free blogging tools available such as Blogger or Wordpress, getting your blog started is quick and easy.

Seminars or Networking Events
Getting a group of your clients in a room together is a great way to extend relationships and uncover new opportunities. Such events could be focused around a specific, topical theme or more general. Use events to educate your clients about financial advice or planning, pension matters, tax planning or investment strategies. Include a lighter more entertaining section and make sure your brand is featured in presentations and hand outs. You could even follow these up with a promotional offer while you have your client’s attention.

When you implement these different communication channels you will find that making contact with your clients 24 times a year becomes much easier; 4 quarterly newsletters, 12 monthly email bulletins, 4 client questionnaires, daily tweets, weekly blog posts, 24 hour access to online servicing …. Before too long your clients will look forward to and make time for your communications. Whatever contact approaches you use, the key is to keep it consistent; a structured contact and communication plan is a good idea to keep track of how you are communicating, when and who with. Put this in place and stick to it. Once you are in regular contact with your clients they are more likely to contact you as a result. You will create stronger relationships and cement your brand in your client’s mind.

Resolutions for 2010: Satisfied clients, better marketing and improved business results

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:57:00 +0000

As 2010 gets underway, businesses up and down the land are setting out the plans for the year, be that plans for growth, new services or retaining new clients. There's no room for complacency as we move out of recession and a strong brand and client experience will be critical to business success this year. Getting your business profile, brand and most importantly your client experience right takes effort and all too often the assumptions we make about how our clients want to be dealt with can be some way off the mark. So here are just a few resolutions to consider to help you strengthen and grow your business in 2010...

Resolution 1: Know your client....and really know them

For financial services firms, knowing your client is a core part of day to day business. But how far does your 'know your client' approach go? Your factfind tells you about your clients key information, their current holdings, attitude to risk, income and expenditure but when it comes to service approach there is much more you could be asking and here are just a few ideas...

What communication methods do they prefer?
Do they use the internet? Do they use email?
What other technologies do they use?
What about internet banking, site comparison sites or social networking?
What are their favourite websites?
Would they be interested in seminars?

Knowing all this in addition to those facts you need for financial advice or planning opens up new opportunities to communicate and service your clients.

Resolution 2: Ask for client opinions

Basing any plans, for marketing, communication or service proposition on guesswork works out to be a costly strategy if you get it wrong and so listening to what your clients tell you is all important. It ensures that you can shape what you do to directly meet the demands of your clients, a simple concept and one that works. Proactively ask for feedback from your client regularly, ideally after each interaction with them. That way you can really understand what they like or don't like and ensure that you can continue to shape your services to meet their requirements.

Resolution 3: Get ranked and get noticed

These days Google, Bing or Yahoo are more often than not the first places people will go to find out more about you or your business so it's vital that you keep your web presence up to date and interesting with new content. Make sure people can find out not just about what you do but what other people say about you. Publish feedback results, comments or testimonials on your website, on your blog or via social networks like Linked In or Twitter. Try and personify your website too so that the personalities in your organisation shine through, after all those looking for financial advice or planning services are buying a person, your expertise, your advice.

Resolution 4: Keep innovating

The world changes fast, especially where technology is concerned so keep on innovating, explore new technologies, change your service approach, try new communication methods, have a go at social networking. Simple solutions that are easy to get started with can make a huge difference in a short space of time. Don't be afraid to try something new and you will find that more opportunities will present themselves to you.

For more information on how FinQS can help you with this and more contact us on 01564 711153...

All aboard the big dipper...

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:11:00 +0000

Is it really that time of year again? It can't be, I'm nowhere near ready! Business is busy and these last few weeks have seen more new firms signing up to TCF Centre taking us over the 100 registered firms mark. Brilliant stuff! I can't believe we've come so far, it seems like only 18 months ago since I was hopping up and down with excitement having secured our very first pilot site...oh hang on it was only 18 months ago and I still hop up and down when we win new clients now! Doesn't time fly when you are spending every hour of every day building a new business, forgetting what weekends used to be like, with elated highs over the successes and tears of frustration over the failures, no matter how small! This I am sure must sound familiar to any business owner out there...they say life is a roller coaster and in the case of business life I think it's reminiscent of a ride on Nemesis, or maybe Oblivion in some cases!

All in all we've had more roundabouts than swings, and I look toward 2010 with a sense of optimism and excitement. Despite 2009 being a really tough year for many firms out there, I think 2010 brings new opportunities as we move closer to a profession that is more qualified, respected and understood. There's much work to be done to educate consumers on the value of independent financial advice and to make financial advice accessible to a wider range of people but lots of initiatives in this respect are already making in roads. And for technology providers like us the future brings huge opportunities....

Technology is progressing faster than a runaway ghost train and technologies like MS Silverlight will take business application useability to a new level. I truly believe that interfaces can be intuitive and user friendly. The days of cumbersome pop up dialogs, tabs within tabs within tabs, and clunky navigation are numbered...and no, it isn't smoke and mirrors.

We are also seeing a shift in the way clients are serviced. A shift from managing the client, to collaborating with the client, letting the client drive how you interact with them. This is exactly where innovations in technology solutions can help and also why it's so important to understand what your clients really think about what you do, how you communicate and the services you deliver.

And so as the festive season gathers momentum I'll be spending the last couple of weeks of 2009 working with more progressive financial advisory firms to make client feedback technology a core part of their service, marketing and communications approach and looking at new technology that is coming in the new year to change the way we communicate with and service our clients..... so all aboard and scream if you want to go faster!

Uncover new opportunities with your feedback questionnaires

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:21:00 +0000

As well as identifying how satisfied your clients are with the services you offer, your client feedback questionnaires are a great way to find new opportunies within your clients. Here are just a few ideas for the types of questions you might like to consider…

Yes/No Questions

Yes/No questions are great for identifying new opportunities, consider asking questions to gauge interest in additional services you offer or even find out what additional services your clients would like from you…

Do you know of anyone who would benefit from our services? If you are happy to refer them to us, please provide their contact details.
Would you like to receive our regular company newsletters?
May we use any additional comments you make as a testimonial?
Would you be interested in finding out more about our service?
Do you have any further comments or suggestions that may help us to further improve our services to you? If yes please provide details.
Are there other services we should be offering? If yes, please provide details

Strongly Agree/Strongly Disagree Questions

These questions are scoreable and so great for gauging how your clients value your service…

The staff treated me with courtesy, attention and care at all times
I am happy to recommend ABC Financial Services to my friends, family and colleagues
I was kept up to date with the progress of my application/financial plan
Any queries I have are answered promptly and to my satisfaction

Very Good to Very Poor Questions

These questions can provide a straight forward view of quality…

The quality of the communications I receive from ABC Financial are….
The information available to me on the ABC Financial Services website is…

Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied Questions

Use these question types to understand client overall satisfaction or ask specific questions on elements of your service proposition…

How satisfied were you with the overall level of service provided by…
How satisfied are you with the frequency of contact you receive from us?
How satisfied were you with our approach to client care?

Client feedback questionnaires are a great way not only to monitor performance and build client loyalty but also provide valuable insight on which to base new marketing campaigns or create new leads.

Top 10 Tips for Better Response Rates from your Client Feedback Programme

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:56:00 +0000

There are a number of things you can do to encourage better response rates from your client feedback process. With thanks to our users who have told us what works for them, here are our top ten tips for increasing your response rates…

1. Make sure your advisers are telling your clients about your client feedback programme
Set an expectation with your clients so that they are ready to respond to your questionnaires. Make sure your advisers mention your client feedback approach during meetings and conversations with clients, telling them how important feedback is and when they will be receiving a feedback request.

2. Make your request for feedback timely and relevant
Don’t leave it too long after an interaction with your client before you ask for feedback. Make sure you send a request while the service they have received is fresh in their mind, perhaps just after you complete the suitability report, as a follow up to a client review or as part of the new business process.

3. Include reference to your client feedback programme in your client documentation
Why not add a sentence to your suitability report, introduction letter or other client documentation about your client feedback approach to encourage your clients to respond?

4. Provide an incentive such as a donation to your company charity
Make a small donation to a charity of your choice for each response received and tell your clients about this by customising your email text or covering letter for paper questionnaires.

5. Publish your feedback results on your website or in your company newsletters
Demonstrate to your clients that you are responsive to their feedback by publishing the results and most importantly what actions you have taken as a direct result of client feedback. Showing your clients that you listen to and take action on their feedback encourages them to give you their opinions.

6. Chase up outstanding responses
If your client doesn’t respond to your request for feedback, chase it up. This is important customer intelligence for your business, so send your client a gentle reminder if they don’t respond within a certain time frame.

7. Customise your feedback process and make it more personal
The Customer Feedback Centre provides you with lots of customisation options to make your feedback requests relevant to your clients and personalised to your business style. Choose your own email text, sign off or subject, customise additional information pop ups and include your own branding on the questionnaires to encourage your clients to respond.

8. Thank your clients for their feedback and tell them how it helps
Use the Submission Successful page to customise a thank you message for your firm and educate your clients about how you use their feedback (as well as directing them to your company website or other services you may offer)

9. Publicise your client feedback programme when pitching for new business
Tell prospects about your client feedback programme. Show prospects that you care enough to proactively ask for client opinions and set an immediate expectation about how you will be managing and measuring the relationship with them.

10. Use positive feedback to motivate your staff and encourage them to promote your client feedback programme
Positive feedback is a real motivator for your team, encouraging them to continue offering the very best service and gaining their buy-in to your client feedback programme.

Mind the gaps please...building a stronger future for your business

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:53:00 +0000

After a year of downturn, the last few weeks of more positive news on the economy have come as a welcome relief to all businesses. Commentators are still speculating on the strength and pace of the recovery but what we do know is that is has started. So what's next?

Many firms are now looking at the strength of their business, how well they have weathered the storm and making plans for the future. Every businesses has suffered in some way, however small, and it's now important to find any gaps or weaknesses in your service proposition and relationships with your clients so that you can determine where you are now and where you need to be. Focusing on building your strengths and adjusting your approach to correct any weaknesses in your proposition will ensure that you come out of the recession a stronger business and in the longer term, a more profitable one. So how do you go about doing this?

The solution lies in understanding where your customers are now and where they need and want to be. The only way to find out is to ask them. Does your business understand how it's customers have coped during the recession? How much do you know about their changing behaviours? Your clients' attitudes towards spending and saving will have changed markedly in the last year so it's paramount that firms understand their clients' views, needs and wants.

Different types or segment of customer will have differing opinions so if you haven't already segmented your clients into meaningful categories, start looking at this now. Knowing the different demographics of your customers pays real dividends. It helps to shape your communication, marketing and client servicing plans; especially if you combine a segmentation exercise with a survey asking your clients about their service preferences, communication requirements, buying potential, or attitude to different remuneration tariffs.

In this way you can determine whether your view of the value and proposition you bring to your clients is aligned with what they think, need and want. If this recession has opened up any gaps in your service proposition it's time to do something about them. Ask for your clients' opinions and keep on asking. In this way your firm will exit the recession as a stronger more informed business, ready to capitalise on the new opportunities that will come.

If you dont' ask you don't get...

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:24:00 +0000

How many times have you experienced a great service and thought ‘I must write and tell the company how pleased I was with their service’ or ‘My friend would really benefit from this, I must tell them about it’? How many times have you then moved on only to forget about the experience? Your feedback, testimonial or referral thoughts never go any further. It’s true that we are far more likely to give unsolicited feedback if we experience bad service, and we are far more likely to tell other people about it too. This represents a missed opportunity for businesses which could be benefitting from their clients positive feedback and plaudits about the good service they provide…and all because we don’t ask for it.

Client Feedback is one of the most effective ways for developing and maintaining good client relationships. In relationship driven businesses, my belief is that proactively asking your clients for their opinions should be a given. But client feedback processes are much more than simply best practice as far as client management is concerned. A good client feedback process opens up huge opportunities to secure additional business through referrals and testimonials, and why wouldn’t a business want to achieve that?

With this in mind it surprises me to find that many firms still believe that they don’t need to put in place a client feedback programme, citing reasons such as:
"We have great relationships with our clients, we don’t need to ask them what they think"
"We don’t have time to do this"
"We don’t have many clients, so we know what they all think anyway"
"We tried it before and got hardly any responses"

If this is your view, you could be missing out on how beneficial client feedback can be for your business. In its simplest form client feedback helps you measure your business. If you don’t ask, how do you really know what people think? A small comment in a feedback questionnaire could result in the need for a big change in your service approach. Client feedback helps you continually improve what you deliver to your clients , can identify where you could be saving time or cost and ensures that the services you provide for your clients remain the very best they can be.

But client feedback can be taken much further than this. Perhaps most importantly in a competitive market, client feedback is a fantastic marketing tool for your business. It identifies who to ask for referrals or testimonials; it provides opportunities for you to promote other services you offer positive feedback demonstrates the value in your client base; it helps you shape the services you offer; it ensures that each and every client feels valued because you ask them for their opinion.

Technology makes gathering feedback much easier and cheaper, using online processes to extend and enhance the results you can achieve. Online processes can drive traffic to your website; online processes can encourage clients to talk about you on social networking sites; technology provides an elegant solution to take the time and effort out of your feedback process; it delivers a professional, branded questionnaire to your clients; it enhances your professional reputation and uses a medium that clients now prefer and expect.

So before you decide not to put a client feedback process in place, ask yourself a few questions….
How do you really know what your clients think unless you give them an opportunity to tell you?
You may know individual opinions but can you see the overall picture across your team or business?
Have you considered how technology can help?
How are you generating testimonials and referrals for your business? How do you know who to ask? How much more business could you be generating if you were to ask your clients to refer you?

People like to talk about you, especially if you provide a great service, so give them the opportunity. Ask for feedback… and when you do, make sure you have the right process and system in place to make the very best of their responses.

If life hands you lemons, make lemonade

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:21:00 +0000

As a provider of an online client feedback solution I get asked a lot about the impact proactively asking for client feedback can have on PI Insurance. There’s a common misconception that asking for feedback is effectively ‘inviting complaints’. In truth the FSA does not necessarily consider negative feedback as a formal complaint but it is their definition of a complaint, and it’s literal interpretation, that seems to be causing some confusion amongst the IFA community and PI Insurers.

The FSA handbook defines a complaint as “any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from, or on behalf of, a person about the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service, which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience.”

It’s a fairly far reaching definition which, taken literally, may suggest that negative client feedback from solicited surveys and questionnaires could constitute a complaint. In fact the FSA have provided this wide definition for a specific reason. Having referred the issue to the FSA’s Policy department, they confirmed that “The Handbook definition of a "complaint" aims to ensure that firms are unable to justify a failure to deal with complaints on the grounds that the complainant did not present his grievance in a prescribed format (say, filling out a form), or did not explicitly say he was making a complaint; hence the definition is drafted quite widely. That is, if a customer contacts a firm to express his dissatisfaction, the firm should investigate the matter regardless of how it was communicated (email, letter, telephone etc) and regardless of whether the customer specifically refers to his concerns as a "complaint". However, this does not necessarily mean that any negative feedback should be regarded as, and dealt with, as a complaint."

It seems that the FSA are simply trying to prevent firms from wriggling out of their obligations to deal with a complaint by suggesting that the complaint did not reach them through a formal procedure, hence their rather broad definition. This ensures that firms must deal with complaints in whatever format they arrive in. As far as client questionnaires are concerned, what the FSA are in fact saying is that negative feedback should be taken as seriously as if it were a complaint and acted upon or investigated accordingly. What they are not saying is that every negative response to a client feedback questionnaire should be formally dealt with under a firm’s complaints procedure. It comes down to common sense as “Customer satisfaction questionnaires tend to ask the individual about his or her experience with the firm in generic terms, often with a focus on customer services. We need to consider whether the customer would reasonably expect an individualised response, or any response at all, to his or her feedback. In most cases, they probably would not - certainly not where the feedback is anonymous.”

Proactively asking for client feedback can bring huge rewards to a firm. Of course you should not simply ignore negative feedback, after all it helps you to continually improve what you do and everyone knows that if you can turn around a client who has expressed dissatisfaction with your service by dealing with their comments quickly and fairly then you will gain one of your most loyal clients. Any feedback provided by your clients should be monitored, understood and most importantly acted upon where necessary; whether it’s from a formal questionnaire process or indeed more informal ad hoc comments that are received.

It’s good business practice to find out what your clients think about what you do. Implementing a client feedback process where feedback is requests after each interaction with a client can help mitigate risks, ensuring that firms can quickly act upon any negative feedback before it escalates to a complaint and this is something that PI Insurers should look favourably upon.

According to the FSA, “Only in unusual circumstances would feedback on customer satisfaction questionnaires constitute a potential complaint - say, if the questionnaire specifically asks if the client would like the firm to look into a particular point of dissatisfaction and provide a response, or provides any other indication that it is a vehicle for airing specific grievances on which the firm is expected to act.”

So don’t be afraid to ask for feedback, it makes good business sense. Always notify your PI Insurer but challenge them if they suggest that you could be inviting complaints. This is not the case and in fact from a PI perspective client feedback can help mitigate risk, especially if you can be alerted to negative feedback as it is received so that you can deal with it immediately. This means that for a client feedback process to really work you need to ensure that you can manage it and monitor feedback effectively, and most importantly you can take action where it is needed. This way you can deal with any negative comments or concerns as they arise; you can be responsive to your clients; you can make use of positive feedback for testimonials and referrals; you can confirm your client proposition.

Client feedback is a fantastic business development tool, manage it properly and you will satisfy the requirements of your business, the requirements of your PI Insurer and the requirements of the regulator.

Twitter as a client feedback tool

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:02:00 +0000

When you think about it, Twitter is another form of web-based client feedback tool. If you provide a great service...or indeed a not so great one, people will tweet about it. And why? Because people like to give feedback and twitter makes it so easy.

The growth of the internet has made it easy for us to share information and social networking sites like Twitter make it even easier, a tweet from one of your clients about you is instant feedback in just 140 characters. And the big benefit of Twitter is that it gives you the right to reply, not just to the person who provided the feedback but to all your followers too. You demonstrate that you are responsive; you listen to client views; you care enough to monitor and respond to feedback.

Twitter is also a great tool to promote your business by posting links to your client testimonials on your website. Just try a search on twitter for 'client feedback' and you'll see how business owners are posting their positive feedback. It's a great way to drive traffic to your website and promote your services at the same time.

So to make the most of social networking and include it in your marketing and contact strategy. To quote Oscar Wilde "“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about” ....and if you are talked about make sure you know about it.

Positive Feedback is Good For Business

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:16:00 +0000

If you are proctively asking for client feedback in your firm then you may only ever focus on those responses where your client is not 100% happy. Negative responses are typically the ones we take action on, leaving positive feedback as simply a validation that we are doing things right. But positive feedback is an extremely valuable marketing tool so when you receive it you should make sure you use it wisely.

Your clients verbatim comments make excellent testimonials - check out my own website for ours at http://www.finqs.co.uk/casestudies.htm. When a client likes what we do, we ask if we can use their positive comments as a testimonial. Good feedback also helps you identify referral opportunities, those clients who will be advocates for your business so don't be afraid to ask them if they know of anyone else who would benefit from what you do.

Generating referrals is one of the most effective marketing activities you can undertake and receiving positive client feedback is key to this. Too often referrals are only ever received passively, because a client happens to mention you to someone. For you to really benefit from referral business make it an active part of your marketing strategy. Ask for feedback as a way to remind your client that you did a great job and you will identify referral opportunities...and when you do, don't be afraid to ask!

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:43:00 +0000

"You're hired!" and so ends this years series of the Apprentice and as usual I'm left wondering whether Sir Alan will ever find the ultimate apprentice, someone that we'll really remember as a gifted entrepreneur.

This years series brought with it the usual crop of "talent" that made us shout at the telly, shake our heads in disbelief at the apparent incompetence of these Global Marketing Consultants, Corporate Enterprise Account Managers and Sandhurst Scholarship Winning Stockbrokers, and laugh out loud at the dry comments from Nick "I'll leave that with you" Hewer and the wonderful Margaret Mountford; "Never before in the history of car washing have so few cars been washed by so many people in such a long time". Brilliant.

We watched the candidates make simple errors which we of course we would have spotted straight away. After all we all know how expensive Sandalwood is and that there really isn't a mass market for hand-made rocking horses.....don't we? I wonder if there will ever be someone who in our eye's really cuts the mustard and proves themselves as a raw talent; a worthy apprentice. This year's finalists were hard to pick between, it's fair to say, but I was left feeling that although Yasmina was perhaps a worthy winner, maybe James would have brought a bit more character (as well as ignorance) to the boardroom table.

In any event, in the words of James "it's been brilliant" and another hugely entertaining series from which we can all take away some lessons learnt. My personal ones? I will be a tougher interviewer; I will check all references; I won't ever buy soap with honeycomb in it and Pants Man really doesn't work, on any level (sorry Philip).

And the ultimate apprentice? In my opinion look no further than Mickey Mouse in Disney's Fantasia, if you haven't ever seen it, it's a delight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVsCRQkXvw

Confirming your client proposition and generating opportunities

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:32:00 +0000

In today’s climate, clients demand the best service more than ever before. When times are tough, clients are more choosy about where they spend their money and for businesses to gain a competitive advantage, clients must be satisfied, loyal and most importantly engaged with your business.

Clients who are engaged with your business are enthusiastic about what you do, they recommend you to others, they provide you with testimonials, they become part of your marketing collateral and ultimately they increase your profits.

A strong service proposition increases a clients engagement in your firm. As client engagement increases, this builds trust, increases loyalty and client retention, leads to more referrals, increased revenue and profitability. Your most loyal and engaged customers become brand enthusiasts. Some commentators call this ‘Customer Advocacy’, taking the view that clients are less likely these days to simply accept whatever services you provide, indeed according to a white paper published by The OMC group about Customer Advocacy in Financial Services, today’s customer is now “value-extracting” meaning that clients will look for the value in a proposition and how it meets their personal requirements. This is the very reason why firms need to develop a strategy to align their service, marketing and branding efforts with the needs of their clients.

To develop client engagement or customer advocacy with your business you need to understand what drives it for your clients. Is it that you provide a well delivered, excellent service? Is it the frequency of contact you have with your clients? Is it that you care enough to ask for client opinions? Is it that you take an open and responsive approach? Is it that the client has confidence and trust in the service and advice you offer? Is it the perception of the quality of your communications with your clients?

Finding out what inspires your client’s loyalty and engagement with your firm is the first step to creating a successful service proposition. The only way to really understand what your clients want is to ask them for their views. Doing this enables you to benchmark your service proposition and set a solid foundation on which to build your client proposition and marketing strategy.

So don’t just assume you know what your clients opinions and perceptions are, ask them. Reach out to your clients and inspire them to talk about you. You may or may not be surprised by their responses, but you will certainly benefit from them.

Have you switched to fees yet?

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Axa Winterthur have published an interesting survey this week on how IFA's are adapting their service models to help them cope with the current economic downturn. Despite the apparent desire and push to move to a fee based model for many IFA firms over recent years, the survey reveals that 6 out of 10 IFA's are currently running a commission based business but they expect to increase the fee-based portion over the next 12 months.

So yet again we see a drive towards and a desire for fee-based business models but it seems that progress is slow. So why the delay? Experience tells me that many firms want to get there but practically they just don't know how. Help and guidance is needed if firms are to get their businesses ready for a post RDR world. So how do you get there?

The important focus must be on being able to demonstrate the value of your proposition to your clients. There is a huge misconception by consumers that advice is free and if this is to change then IFA's need to really show their clients what they are paying for. This means that firms need to take steps to firstly understand the demographics of their client base, conducting an unbiased segmentation of their clients, and secondly to ask their clients what they think about the existing services they offer. Only then can a firm understand how to change their business model and proposition to justify a shift to fee-based advice.

In my opinion there will still be a place for transactional businesses post RDR, but there is much uncertainty and speculation over the business and distribution model for such firms. Those businesses who decide to move to a fee based, truly independent proposition have huge opportunities in front of them, but only if they can get their service proposition right for each segment of their client base.

A strong service proposition, together with effective marketing based on an understanding of the needs and financial behaviour of a particular client segment means that firms can truly maximise those opportunities and build a strong business fit to weather any economic storm.

From Cyberspace to CRM: Technology Delivers Results

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Effective client management and service has always been a key driver for business success but in today’s climate it really is absolutely vital. Customers expect far more than just a competitive price, when times are tough they demand excellent service and it is this that will set you apart from your competitors. Technology eases the way, providing slick solutions to help you deliver customer service more quickly and effectively. The continuing expansion of the internet, social networking and email communication makes getting your message to your clients even easier. So which technologies should you consider to maximise the opportunities within your client bank?

A website gives your business presence
If a client is looking for a particular service today they will more than likely ‘Google’ it. The World Wide Web is the largest shop window in the world and the internet savvy consumer has millions of company profiles and brochures at their fingertips so make sure your website stands out. An interesting website is a great way to clearly state what you do and why customers should choose you.

Feedback technology ensures you can really make client opinions work for you
The only way to really understand what your customers want is to ask them for their views. Doing this enables you to benchmark your service proposition and set a solid foundation on which to build your client proposition and marketing strategy. Good client Feedback technology makes the process of gathering feedback simple so that you can focus on the results; and it’s a much more cost effective way to understand what your clients think than manual, paper-based methods. A timely email received by your client with a simple click through to your personalised, branded client questionnaire ensures rapid, relevant feedback. Feedback that you can measure, analyse and act upon.

Social Networking drives referrals
Social networking sites like Twitter provide a free, easy way to get your message across. If you have a really great meeting with a client, ask them to tweet about it. Soon their friends and family will hear about you, along with their work colleagues, and their followers too. This is viral marketing at its most powerful, passing on your message and building awareness of your brand.

Email communication delivers your message efficiency
Email is fast, it’s cheap and it’s an effective way to communicate with clients. If you profile your customers you can send targeted promotional messages to different groups quickly and easily. If you don’t hold many email addresses as yet, start gathering your client’s email addresses as part of your factfind or client review process. It may take a few months but before too long you’ll have an email marketing list that you can use to communicate with clients quickly and easily, perhaps to update them on events you are running or to send out a regular client newsletter.

A CRM or Back Office solution keeps you on top of your client relationships
A solid back office system keeps your client records in one place, manages leads, sales and business activity, and gives you an audit trail of all communication. There are lots of solutions out there to suit all types of organisation so shop around; and when doing so make sure you focus on your business requirements not the functions offered by a particular solution. A good back office solution will integrate with other tools or provide the ability to export your client data so you can use it elsewhere. So make sure your data is accessible so that you can also exploit the power of other essential business tools such as Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Business Intelligence or Customer Insight solutions.
So if you are not making best use of the internet and technology to enhance your service proposition and build an effective marketing and communication strategy, ask yourself a few questions….
Do potential customers know who you are?
Do you know who your customers are?
Do you know what your customers really want?
How well are you servicing your customers right now?

Technology is there to help you build and maintain strong relationships, generate repeat business and grow your business. Thanks to technology business can now be conducted more efficiently, online; it connects us with our clients and allows us to communicate in a more immediate way than ever before. So take a small step into cyberspace and watch your business take a giant leap into a better way to do business.

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:06:00 +0000

In the Shawshank Redemption, it is Andy Dufresne, a man wrongly convicted, a victim of circumstances out of his control and played so poignantly by Tim Robbins, who first utters the line “Get busy living or get busy dying”. And he’s right; it really does come down to a simple choice.

Today’s world brings us constant challenges. For those of us in business, never has it been more challenging to grow our businesses, in a climate where consumer trust has all but disappeared and every day the media perpetuates and propagates the doom and gloom. For many business owners the answer is to wait, to ride things out until those ‘green shoots’ really do appear. But in truth now is the time to get busy living. Now is the time to take action, to market your proposition, to build confidence in your clients. Now is the time to get your business ready for the recovery.

Holding back on your marketing and business growth plans may seem like the sensible option right now, playing it safe and cutting your costs to ride out the recession, quietly. But while you are busily biding your time, those who are prepared to take advantage of the economic climate right now will ultimately prosper. Those who nurture their clients, those who proactively build and develop their client marketing strategy, those who focus on client relationships and service will come out way ahead of those who sit back and wait.

There are companies out there who are thriving during this recession, and why? Because their focus is on growth, expansion, new ventures; they are taking advantage of the current economic climate. Take Tesco as an example; although their sales may have slowed, they continue to thrive. Tesco is set to expand its personal finance arm, seeing an opportunity to compete with the big banks whose reputations have taken such a hit in the last few years. Tesco are actively expanding into what some would consider one of the most difficult markets to be in, they are seizing the opportunity to build on their brand and take new ventures to market. While the banks are busy dying, Tesco is very much living…and thriving.

The recovery will bring investment and consumers will look for financial advice more than ever before. The economic downturn has shown us that simply saving in a bank deposit account isn’t enough; the constant media stories about how the economy has effected every part of society has educated consumers, has given them a better understanding of the financial framework of the UK. The post-recession consumer will be much more financially savvy. They will need and will demand advice. They will turn to those firms who serviced them proactively during difficult times, those firms who they trust, those firms who focused on building their brand and shaping their proposition.

The recovery is on its way, and whenever it comes you need to be ready. Don’t delay, take hold of your entrepreneurial spirit and get busy living.

Segmentation: The Key to Success

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:30:00 +0000

To build a strong service proposition, it has become evident that most IFA’s not only need to ensure the advice process works properly but that the client is getting the appropriate service. As advisory firms start to change their business model in light of the impending Retail Distribution Review, they need to consider a robust approach to managing client relationships and this approach should be built around their Contact Strategy and Marketing Plan.

1st – The Exchange have published their white paper research on the “Future of Distribution” in the financial services marketplace. This research highlights over 30% of the FSA regulated firms surveyed were of the opinion that Client Segmentation was the business area which required most change. It also highlights 51% of the firms claimed by 2012 the focus would be on face to face advice for High Net Worth Clients.

Developing the right approach to client relationship management will help demonstrate to the client the value of the relationship with the IFA and assist in building long term relationships. This is what lies at the heart of relationship marketing and is why Client Segmentation is so important.

Initially it will be necessary to consider the structure of your client base. Once the groupings have been decided you then need to start the communication process with the clients. As the relationship develops with the client and their circumstances change it will be necessary to review the client segments.

The challenge for the IFA today is to accurately segment their client base. Subjective segments based around the last time they saw a client or what they bought is not enough. It is also important to distinguish between segmenting a client base to understand the financial behaviour of a client and using basic client information to flag a birthday or policy anniversary.

Identifying High Net Worth clients will become more business critical as will identifying other types of clients who will become high net worth in the future. Technology has an important part to play in this process to ensure the segmentation exercise can be done as time efficiently as possible.

The ideal position is an approach which allows the IFA to produce an un-biased segmentation of their client bank and then measures ongoing customer satisfaction to not only demonstrate a client is being treated fairly but also as a means of continually shaping service proposition, generating new business and obtaining introductions to new clients.

Chewing the fat and putting the world to rights…

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:09:00 +0000

It’s been another hectic day at FinQS and another hectic day for the rest of the world; a world whose media today has endlessly reported the impending global pandemic, the continuing economic downturn, the forecast of yet more rain….

Meanwhile back in the real world at the Malt Shovel....a family of dad, son and daughter sat battling over a Sudoku at the bar, deep in concentration not a word was uttered between them save for the occasional murmur as another number was pencilled into a box; six high flyers loudly (too loudly) discussed the latest production Aston Martin which is apparently ‘pretty awesome looking’; a couple of farmers sat in contented silence over pints of Guinness; the pub Springer Spaniel stopped for a quick scratch behind the ears as he wandered through the bar; I sipped my Merlot and tried not to pick up the Blackberry for the tenth time and then Superman ran past me brandishing a bag of Cheese & Onion crisps…now that got your attention didn’t it?

Well, OK so Superman was seven years old and his real name was Ewan, his cloak was a little too big for him and his mum was shouting after him to stay away from the fruit machine. I’m betting that you recognise the scene…like your local, my local is a haven for little Britain, where the economy doesn’t matter, the rain makes it cosy and the pandemic can’t reach us.…especially when Superman is in residence….now what was it I was saying about a hectic day?

What do you really want to know from your clients?

tessa.lee@finqs.co.uk (Tessa Lee - CEO - FinQS) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:56:00 +0000

It’s true that knowledge is power and most IFA firms now have a back office or CRM solution that helps them collect detailed information about their clients from contact details, portfolio holdings and values, health information to income details. All of this can help firms segment clients into useful groupings for ongoing targeted marketing purposes. However, even with the most sophisticated CRM system, firms need to go further than knowing who the client is in as much detail as possible. In order to continue to shape your service proposition and make sure you can deliver the best possible service for each and every client, you need to know how well they were treated in each and every transaction with your business.

Event driven client feedback programs help you do just that, proactively requesting feedback after each interaction with your client, whether that’s a client review, advice process, lifestyle planning service or a product sale. For such feedback to be really effective, you need to go after the type of information that is going to be most useful for you in understanding the outcomes your proposition is delivering to your clients; the things that provide practical value to you, as a business owner, manager or adviser.

Ideal questions are the ones you can do something about; the ones that really tell you something about the service you are offering; the ones that will drive client referrals and loyalty. If you focus on these then you can really start to understand what your clients think about what you do and more importantly you can adapt to their changing needs and wants.

If a client provides positive feedback, don’t just accept it as a validation that you are doing things right, use it wisely. Positive feedback from your clients is your testimonials, your client referrals, and your repeat business. Positive feedback helps you recognise and reward your team and in turn ensures that each person is motivated to continue providing the highest possible service. If feedback is negative, make sure you have the means to respond quickly and effectively. Research shows that if you can turn around someone who has had a poor experience with your firm, they will end up being one of your most loyal clients. Use negative feedback to help you focus corrective action where it is needed, build it into your training and competency plans and use it to continually improve your service proposition.

Make feedback a strategic part of your everyday business and deliver a service proposition that is truly aligned to your clients needs.