There are at least seven elements to creating the Ultimate Client Experience.

Everyone believes that clients will judge them based upon their ability to produce results. That is absolutely correct – however, it is not solely financial results that clients seek. Clients also judge us based upon other “abilities” the create Ultimate Client Experiences.

So, how do you stack up in providing the “abilities” that your clients really want? 

• “Access-ability” 
• “Approach-ability” 
• “Reli-ability” 
• “Customiz-ability” 
• “Deliver-ability” 
• “Remark-ability” 
• “Enjoy-ability” 

Ability Number One: “Access-ability”
In today’s channel-zapping, media-frenzied world there is a time factor that is vitally important for any organization to understand. What is the time factor by which your clients are served? Are you easy for them to get to? 

Your team must ask, “How accessible are we to our clients?” Strategically analyze your accessibility – and determine what is necessary to make you more accessible to your clients.

Ability Number Two: “Approach-ability” 
Clients shy away from products and service they find intimidating. They want products that are easy to use, locations that are comfortable, financial instruments that are easy to understand and Financial Advisors that are approachable.

Approachability does not mean, however, that a product or service cannot be “upscale.” Naturally, you are seeking a market segment -- and a segment that is becoming more competitive -- for high net worth investors. The approachability factor merely means that doing business with you, at whatever level you seek, is not intimidating and that your service is “in tune” with the audience you are targeting.

Do your clients feel relaxed doing business with you? Are you doing all you can to make them comfortable – the way your service is designed, the appearance of your locations and, most importantly, the way you treat them? 

Ability Number Three: “Reli-ability”
The third of the “abilities” that clients really want is reliability. What reliability essentially means is consistent, high-quality performance over an extended period of time. 

Clients want reliability, in part, because in these rapidly changing times anything that is hassle-free has added value. By providing a service that is reliable, you eliminate much of the guesswork involved in client decision-making. 

Another side benefit of being reliable is that you make yourself easy for a client to recommend. To receive the kind of reputation – and recommendations – that your business wants from customers, you must become a reliable provider. Are you a consistent performer providing excellence? Honestly? Would your clients agree with your assessment?

Ability Number Four: “Customize-ability”
The vital principle here is that you must fit the experience to each client’s situation. If the service and financial advice you provide is not customized to fit the unique circumstance your client is experiencing then you are, in essence, inviting them to go someplace else.

When I check into any Four Seasons Hotel, invariably the front desk clerk says, “Welcome back, Mr. McKain.” Our egos want to believe they remember us from a previous stay – “I’m so important, they haven’t forgotten.” The truth – as you probably know – is that the computer tells them we’ve been there before, and even lets the desk clerk know whether we like a smoking or non-smoking room, king or double beds and what newspaper is preferred in the morning.

If Four Seasons can know all of that, then you can gain the information necessary to customize your client’s financial service experience. Begin immediately to re-design your approach so that you are custom designing content for your clients! 

Ability Number Five: "Deliver-ability"
The next ability you must provide your customers is “deliver-ability.”
Deliver-ability as it relates to financial service clients really means that you will deliver on your promises. This is similar to reliability, but “deliver-ability” takes the next step. It says that not only are you reliable in terms of the execution of your product or service responsibilities, it also means that you do what you say you will do – and more. 

While “reli-ability” focuses more upon performance, deliver-ability (in a sense) speaks to ethics and values. If you make a promise, either directly to a client or through your marketing, you had better be able to deliver on your commitment. A Financial Advisor that cannot deliver on his or her commitments will not succeed in the long term. Have you seriously discussed in your organization whether or not you “walk your talk”? Do you do what you say you will do? Really? Are you certain?

Ability Number Six: "Remark-ability"
Today’s high net worth client not only wants -- but also demands – that their Financial Advisor is remarkable. How do I define remarkable? There must be something about you, your products, your services, and the experience you create for the client that is unique. The only way to be unique is to differentiate your product, service and – most importantly -- YOURSELF in the minds of your clients and prospects.

If you can’t tell me what makes you unique, then you do not deserve my business.

When you are perceived as remarkable, clients are very willing to invest more in what you have to offer. If you don’t believe this, then please explain why we are standing in line to buy coffee at three dollars a cup from Starbucks. Is Starbucks really that much different or better then their competition? The answer is that it doesn’t matter! Customers believe there is a differentiation -- they believe Starbucks is remarkable -- and therefore, they will pay the price.

Notice, too, at Starbucks, it is the total experience they have created that is remarkable. If Starbucks had looked at their business as merely coffee, they would not have created the kind of store they have – one that has become more of a “hip” neighborhood gathering place that encourages you to return frequently. You cannot limit your view of what you do to be merely the product that you sell. In financial services, your “remark-ability” will be found elsewhere…it’s found in YOU.

Ability Number Seven: “Enjoy-ability”
When I talk about the fact that “enjoy-ability” is one of the key factors in terms of what clients really want, it is not as simple as “sell the sizzle with the steak.” In today’s culture, the sizzle IS the steak! The enjoyment factor must be woven into the fabric of your presentation so seamlessly that it becomes an intricate part of what you have to offer.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House makes certain that you hear the steak sizzling when it is delivered to your table. The presentation is not OF the product – the presentation IS the product! The sizzle, the steak and the server are all amalgamated in our minds and emotions as a customer into a meaningful whole. In other words, an experience.

If all else fails (and usually it does before anyone follows this next step), ask your customers what would make the experience more enjoyable for them! To create an enjoyable experience in financial services, you should not create one that provokes laughter. What you must do, however, is create one that clients want to repeat. Why would we want to be loyal to ANYTHING that isn’t enjoyable?

The Seven “Abilities” again are:

• “Access-ability” 
• “Approach-ability” 
• “Reli-ability” 
• “Customiz-ability” 
• “Deliver-ability” 
• “Remark-ability” 
• “Enjoy-ability” 

So, how do you stack up in providing the “abilities” that high net worth clients really want? 

The exclusive process we have established  is based on a time-tested method that consistently produces successful results. If you can see how this program might benefit your company, contact us -- we'd love to talk with you about your project.