5 ways to get meaningful feedback from clients

Meaningful feedback from clients helps you identify what you are doing well as their advisor and pinpoint the areas that may need improvement. But what are some of the most effective ways to collect this valuable information? The following insights shared by three industry professionals will help put you on the path to getting the client feedback you need to successfully engage with your clients.

1. Prioritize listening: Susan L. Combs, with Combs & Company, said that in general, salespeople love to talk. However, if they can learn to prioritize listening over talking when interacting with clients and prospects, they will have a more successful experience. “I learned a long time ago, back in my Paychex days, that clients will “sell themselves” if you let them,” she said. “Our approach has always been to be warm and friendly and basically start with a question like: “So tell me, what’s going on?”

“It’s amazing how, when you ask a more casual question, people will open up to you,” Combs added. “We do not work from an agenda or a blueprint for our presentations, because we always keep the client in the driver’s seat and let them talk.”

After Combs and her team have understood what their clients’ concerns are and the issues they are facing, it is easy to discuss what would be the best path forward for them.

2. Use a client advisory board: As a practice management consultant and financial advisor, Adam Peak, AVP, advisor experience and advocacy at Axtella, said that he has seen firsthand the impact that meaningful client feedback can have on improving services.
One of the most effective methods that can be used to obtain this feedback is to use a client advisory board, Peak said. “These sessions are incredibly insightful and can offer a unique opportunity to connect with clients on a deeper level,” he added. “We hold advisory board meetings once or twice a year and use them as an open platform to discuss our services. We typically offer a casual setting where ideal clients can have lunch and tell us what works for them and where they think we can improve. We like both spouses to attend, even if one is usually less involved. Having both partners present can uncover topics that one partner might be unaware of.”

Approach feedback as a collaborative effort

Brian Haney, founder/CEO of The Haney Company, said that customer service really falls under his firm’s values, which are to facilitate exceptional financial experiences. “We therefore approach feedback as a collaborative effort with our clients, listening to them and learning from them so that we can achieve that goal,” he said.

Here are some of the methods that Haney and his firm use to accomplish this goal:

3. Request client preferences: Asking about customer communication preferences when onboarding a new client. “We want to foster an environment where feedback is a part of the client journey with us, and it is important that we find out HOW clients prefer to be communicated with,” Haney said. “The last thing we want to do is “spam” our clients, nor do we want to over- solicit their feedback because in many respects, that has become such a part of the “Customer Service/Sales Culture” that it lands as disingenuous and fails to provide meaningful feedback.”

Most people, Haney added, can think of other experiences they have had when they have been “primed” to provide “5- star reviews” during the sales/purchasing process. He thinks that this conditions people to care less about what is happening and more about giving just a “check-the-box” response, which, as long as the company didn’t do something horrible,
“people essentially say “5-stars” when, what it can really mean is, “you did fine, you met my expectations… now leave me alone,” Haney added.

4. Periodic check-ins: In addition, Haney and his firm try to call and email clients periodically throughout the year to intentionally check in and ask them how things are going. “These are not additional “cross-selling” calls,” he pointed out. “Their entire purpose is to listen, understand, learn, and grow. If we happen to be doing excellent, then great! We simply thank them for being honest, ask them if there is anything more we could do that perhaps we have not yet done, and let them know that if their feelings about their experience ever change, they should notify us right away so we can take immediate and corrective action in a timely manner.”

5. Assign a “Director of Customer Experience”:  Haney and his firm have also assigned the title of “Director of Customer Experience” to one of their employees and have empowered her to run the show and be diligent about ensuring that the firm is delivering what it has promised. “It’s something we take very seriously, and we want our clients to know we have someone responsible for it in our practice,” he said. “While we all have various titles or functional roles, this is one title we want to be visible and valid so that our clients see it, feel it, trust it, and confidently participate in helping us do what we both want: deliver an exceptional experience. It’s truly about thinking win-win and then carrying that through in action.”

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