Share this Mister Wong Digg Del.icio.us Slashdot Furl Yahoo Technorati Newsvine Googlize this Blinklist Facebook Wikio Hear this text Print E-mail Tags practice management

Client service constantly needs to change to keep in touch

Michelle Möller

“The future is not what it used to be,” according to the old adage. The same can be said for the service industry. We live in a fast-changing world and those who are not changing constantly and reinventing how they do things are, in fact, falling behind.

This means keeping up with not only new technology, but also the changing needs and expectations of one’s client base.

In the early days of the investment industry, clients would purchase a policy and remain with the company for life. This is no longer the case.

Clients and investors look for companies with which they can identify and will not hesitate to cancel a policy and move elsewhere if their needs are not being met.

Lifestyles are changing and overlapping, and it is far more beneficial to consider your clients’ life stage rather than age, when evaluating their needs.

Today, we have people in their 40s who are spending more on entertainment, socialising and travel than they are on saving; conversely, we have people in their 20s and 30s who are getting married and ensuring that their life assurance and retirement savings are in order.

Post-retirement lifestyles are changing, too. We see more and more people travelling and studying again after they retire.

This means that saving for retirement is not merely about avoiding financial hardship, but rather about being able to fund the lifestyle to which people aspire.

All this needs to be taken into account, as it impacts the advice that intermediaries give to their clients.

The way we communicate with each other has changed substantially over the past five years. Most communication with clients was paper-based. A faxed request receiving a reply three or four days later was fine.

Today, clients demand same-day replies to their e-mailed requests and queries.

The Internet is a way of life for many. This has influenced the way that they interact with intermediaries and service providers.

Information is readily available and clients often will do extensive research on products before asking for, or accepting, advice from an intermediary.

Furthermore, modern client communication is a two-way conversation. The Consumer Protection Bill has seen the demise of jargon and financial services companies, in particular, are under pressure to communicate in plain, simple English.

The global financial crisis in 2008/2009 is an example of clients not understanding the complexity of the products they have purchased. Clients should be presented with accurate, transparent, in-depth information which is clear and easily understandable. This is in stark contrast to the communication of the past – where companies spoke ‘at’ their clients rather than engaging with them in a meaningful dialogue.

With increasing access to real-time information, clients are better informed than they were a few years ago, and this is particularly evident in the affluent market.

Telling clients what they require versus engaging with them to find out what those needs are, simply will not work.

Clients have more choice now than ever before of products for both discretionary and contractual investments. Locally, investors can choose from over 900 collective investment schemes alone.

Even when armed with information, clients, however, still require the guidance and advice of a qualified professional.

The evolving needs of clients, together with constantly changing legislation, have an impact on how intermediaries staff and run their business.

To be truly effective, your employee base should reflect your client base. It needs to have an understanding of the servicing preferences of your clients and adapt to it.

The tone and style used in written and verbal communication, and even the dress code of your team, could have a big impact on acceptance by your clients. After all, people do business with people they like and identify with.

Administrative errors can and do happen, Clients will judge you on how they are resolved. Getting things right the first time is always first prize, but when things go wrong, it provides an opportunity to show clients you have their best interests at heart by placing them in the position they would have been, had the mistake not occurred.

Partnering with companies taking service as seriously as you do, is one way to ensure success. It is often possible to adapt systems or tweak processes to facilitate clients’ requests.

For example, transacting based on faxed copies of documents (which international management companies do not), can save up to 10 days for an investment instruction.

The ability to listen, and respond to clients’ needs are probably two of the most important aspects that businesses need to focus on as we position ourselves to be a step ahead in this ever changing environment.

Michelle Möller is head of Client Services:
Glacier, by Sanlam

Write comment

Your Contact Details:

Name:

Email: do not notifynotify

Comment:

Title:

Message:

Security

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.