Second, Three Levels of Client Experience—Basic, Surprise and Delight, Shock and Awe
Let me share some ways I’ve taken my client experience from basic to mind-blowing for our top-10 clients. These ideas have also worked for the clients I coach, and they might be just what you need for your top clients too.
Onboarding
Basic: Clients hand in their paperwork, assets move over without a hitch, and accounts are up and running with hardly any communication needed.
Surprise and Delight: Send weekly emails updating clients on the process. For example, “We’ve submitted your paperwork to this institution. Next, we do this. (time frame) Here’s what we need from you, and here’s what to expect next week.” This adds a bit more engagement to the basic experience.
Shock and Awe: Once the assets are in, hold a friendly onboarding session. Walk clients through setting up and accessing their accounts online, navigating the portal, and finding key documents. Go over their first investment statement, explain any changes, and help them get a good grasp of their portfolio. Plus, come up with fun nicknames for their accounts to make things easier to remember.
Travel
Imagine a client loves to travel and shares that they want to save a certain amount for a big trip to Italy.
Basic: When they finally save the money, you congratulate them with, “Oh my gosh, that’s wonderful. Congratulations! We’re so excited for you. You’re going to Italy!”
Surprise and Delight: Send them a Rick Steves guide to Florence and Tuscany from Amazon.com with a note saying, “Hey, we saw this and thought of you. We love Rick Steves guides. This will help you plan some unique and exciting things for your vacation.”
Shock and Awe: Find out where they’re staying and have a bottle of wine waiting for them at check-in with a note saying, “Hey, you worked really hard to save up for this vacation. Have a wonderful time!”
We want clients to have moments where they think, “Oh my, we arrived at our hotel and there was a bottle of local wine from our financial planner. How incredibly thoughtful!” That’s the kind of jaw-dropping experience we aimed to create for clients.
Retirement
Basic: Send a card with a handwritten message, “Congratulations! We’re so happy for you.”
Surprise and Delight: For clients nearing retirement, invite them to ring a “retirement bell” during an office meeting. Capture the moment on video, send it to them, and share it on social media, tagging them.
Shock and Awe: Throw them a retirement party at their home, covering all the food and drinks. Show how much you appreciate them and how much you enjoyed helping them reach this milestone.
Note: You can do something similar for clients earning a PhD or clergy members getting ordained. Let’s celebrate our clients in a way that makes them think, “Wow, that’s amazing!” Whether it’s taking your client and their friends out to dinner or hosting a party, you want to make it special.
Sports
Imagine you have a client who’s a huge University of Michigan football fan.
Basic: Send them emails with interesting articles, game highlights, or news about the team. It’s a simple way to show you remember their interests.
Surprise and Delight: At the beginning of the season, send them a Michigan mug with a note saying, “Hope this is a really great season.”
Shock and Awe: When Michigan wins the National Championship, send your client a Michigan National Championship hoodie and two kids t-shirts with a note saying, “Hey [Client’s Name], Congrats on Michigan’s big win! Enjoy this hoodie to celebrate. And here are two T-shirts for your grandkids. Go Blue!”
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Basic: Send a card. It’s a simple gesture that shows you care.
Surprise and Delight: Record a personal video of your team wishing your client a happy birthday. Clients love these! You can batch-record all your birthday videos at the start of each month using apps like BombBomb or Loom, and then email them on their birthdays.
Shock and Awe: Book a table at your client’s favorite spot for their anniversary. Drop them a note or give them a call to say: “Hey, we know your anniversary is coming up soon. We’ve reserved a table at (restaurant name) for 7 pm on your special day. Feel free to use it or not—just a little something we like to do for our valued clients.”
You don’t need to cover the meal, just making the reservation is enough. Or, you could arrange for a bottle of wine or a special dessert to be waiting for them. Clients love these reservations because many tend to put it off until it’s too late.
Now that we’ve covered some creative and unexpected ways to enhance client experiences, let’s talk about how to make it happen.
Third, How to Deliver Shock and Awe
Creating a shock and awe experience for clients is a fantastic way to truly set you apart in a competitive industry. However, it’s crucial to ensure that your foundational financial-planning process is rock solid before attempting to dazzle clients with extraordinary experiences. It’s like building a house; you need a strong foundation before you can add the impressive finishing touches. Once the basics are secure, those extra touches can truly shine and leave a lasting positive impression.
“Double-Click” to Gather Client Info
Assuming your financial-planning process is top-notch, start by gathering detailed information about your top-10 clients using what I call “double-clicking.” By double-clicking, I mean when you get a bit of intel from a client, you don’t just stop there. You inquire further to get more details.
For example, let’s say a client walks into your office wearing a University of Michigan hat. You ask them about it, and they say, “Oh, yeah, I’m a huge Michigan fan.” Double-click on that by asking, “Did you go there? Or do your kids go there?” Find out what makes them a big Michigan fan.
This approach helps you uncover cool stories, like, “Growing up, my dad was a big Michigan fan. He went there. I grew up going to games with him.” You hear your client’s fond memories of their dad, and they want to make new memories with their grandkids. By getting to know your clients’ experiences, emotions, and connections, you can make your gestures more personal. For instance, as in the earlier example, you could send a Michigan sweatshirt for their dad and a couple of extra T-shirts for their grandkids.
Be Intentional
To do this well, you need to be thoughtful about your approach. Shock-and-awe touches feel like a surprise to clients, but they require careful planning. They’re not just something you randomly think of; you need processes in place to deliver them. For example, you might schedule shock-and-awe touches for your top-10 clients once a month. (It’s probably not realistic to try to deliver these experiences for all your clients.) Your team can brainstorm by asking, “What do you know about them? What do you think they would enjoy?” As a team, agree that the next time one of these top-10 clients visits, ask questions to gather shock and awe intel, such as their anniversary, favorite sports teams, kid’s college, etc., so you can send them something special.
Don’t Use Items With Your Logo
Realize that anything with your logo on it is not a gift, it’s marketing. So, when a client has celebration of some kind, avoid sending them a gift basket with your logoed pens, paper, and coffee mugs, because that’s not a unique customized gift for them. That’s marketing for you.
To Summarize
First, in today’s experience economy, being a good financial planner might not be enough to differentiate your practice. However, if you’re a good planner and deliver an exceptional client experience, you can expect more referrals and better retention. Second, there are three levels of client experience. Strive for shock and awe with your best clients. Third, to deliver shock and awe, you can’t wing it. Be intentional, e.g., our team will deliver shock-and-awe experiences to our top-10 clients in the next 12 months.
Shock and Awe Can Make Your Practice Unstoppable
Soon after we started using shock-and-awe tactics, our referrals went through the roof. Client retention was amazing too. Over the 16 years I ran my practice, we only lost one client.
I coach a lot of financial professionals on enhancing their client experience, and I keep hearing the same thing: They get more referrals and have better client retention when they use shock-and-awe strategies. A friend of mine in the financial sector started using shock-and-awe techniques for her clients and was blown away. She said, “I got money from clients I didn’t even know had extra accounts. It was incredible how we started consolidating more assets.”
Next step
Determine how you can begin providing a shock-and-awe experience for your clients.
