Top financial services businesses that have deep relationships with satisfied customers are able to successfully weather changing economic conditions. Customer satisfaction is a foundation for their successful businesses. Happy customers recommend you to friends and family, seek your advice year-round, trust you as their financial liaison, and become lifelong loyalists who bring substantial recurring revenue.
As a busy financial professional, you can use these tips to invest in customer happiness as your best new financial services business opportunity that will put you ahead of your competitors, help you generate new leads, and ensure that you keep your business booming during any economic storm.
1. Research Your Market
Market research identifies who your customers are and what they want from your product or service, also referred to as a product-market fit. Many small businesses make the mistake of going with their gut instead of diving deep into the facts about the market they serve. Do the research to get facts about who your customers really are and what services they need from you to make them happy.
Gain market insight by:
- Keeping up to date on industry publications and market research reports on sites like Modest Money to see if there are regulatory challenges ahead that will affect your clients’ satisfaction and the services they need.
- Creating a database that tracks the frequency of booking for each of your services and take steps to promote those with the highest value.
- Creating an exit survey for clients that ask for a company score on a scale of one to ten. This direct feedback gives you the chance to follow up immediately with an unhappy client and learn how to improve.
- Use digital tools from the Census Bureau to create an outline of the important client qualities that dictate their unique needs. For example, stay-at-home parents and student loan cosigners have a definite need for life insurance.
Reach out to clients to get feedback, ask for referrals, and share economic knowledge to help them live the best financial life possible. Direct communication and big picture research are the financial services business opportunities that will remind clients of your financial knowledge and value.
2. Get to Know Your Clients on a Personal Level
You know your market, but now it’s time to get to know the clients on a more intimate level. Customers need to be treated how they want to be treated. Each person comes to you with different needs and in order to increase their overall satisfaction with your business, take the time to develop a personal relationship with them and learn to speak their language.
Step 1 - Determine Financial Goals
Look at your clients and identify their motivation for seeking out your services. Are they looking to stabilize a small business? Are they worried about having enough savings and interested in investing? Do they need guidance about improving credit to secure a loan?
Step 2 - Investigate Challenges
After listing the client’s goals, you can hone in on the problems they need help overcoming. Do they lose track of goals and need help staying organized? Do they think life insurance isn’t a worthwhile investment? Good financial services business opportunities start with a clear picture in mind of the challenges customers face. Your business will have more success in meeting and exceeding client’s needs.
Step 3 - Tailor Financial Services Solutions
Armed with knowledge about needs and specific hardships, you can create real changes to your business that will provide for clients needs and increase their overall satisfaction.
Think of this process like creating a pathway. You begin with assessing where a client is and where they would like to go. Next, you identify the obstacles in their paths and devise financial services solutions that will help clear the way for them to reach their goals.
When clients begin to think of you as a trusted advisor, they are more likely to come back to you when they need help. Tailor the services you offer to ensure that you are meeting each client’s true needs and wants.
- Offering a bundle of services. For example, invoicing and bookkeeping are perfect matches to serve clients with small business needs.
- Most individuals and small business owners have credit score issues. Client’s with low credit scores have trouble investing, qualifying for a loan, and developing a savings plan. Credit repair business is a great way to increase overall client satisfaction.
Understanding clients can be a long process with ongoing benefit. Not only will you be able to direct your digital marketing services and advertising for financial services to clients for the services they need, but also they will be more likely to remember how helpful you are.
3. Sell Your Unique Value
Time to assess your unique value proposition or UVP. The cornerstone of a successful business with happy clients is to offer something truly unique.
Take time to imagine yourself as a potential client who is searching for financial services help online. A quick Google search results in dozens of possibilities. Your best financial services business opportunities offer something valuable and different to stand apart from the competition and increase client satisfaction.
Make your business more desirable for new clients and increase current client satisfaction by:
- Creating a message that highlights your niche services. For example are you a pro with life insurance or retirement investments?
- Tailoring your financial services marketing materials to appeal to your target market. Email is a no-brainer digital marketing strategy for financial services for recent grads.
- Adding credit repair business services to make your business stand out from the crowd by improving your client’s financial well being.
Great customer service takes intimate knowledge about your customer and the economic conditions they live in. Building trust with clients takes time, but when you decide to take a vested interest in them and fulfilling their needs, they will be more satisfied and spread the word about your financial services business.
Discover how to become a trusted professional in financial services and deliver the services that make clients truly satisfied.
