According to Complete Super Solution chief executive Martin Morris, surveys he conducted in the past have found that, generally, clients are very happy with their adviser, but by contrast very few have or will provide a referral.
Mr Morris explains this is due to the client engagement process not being “tangible”, and the client not seeing a lot of what advisers do for them.
“The majority of work completed by a planner is invisible to a client and often tangible benefits take a fair time to become visible,” Mr Morris said.
“Only a few of our prospecting meetings are driven by how our services can enhance client engagement or address it in any detailed sense at the least. This seems to show that many advisers are not fully versed with the power and opportunity of a robust, tangible client engagement process. We believe that by doing so will increase referrals substantially.”
Mr Morris explained that he believes technology, and in particular robo-advice will provide the avenues for advisers to increase their touch points with clients and improve client engagement.
“This is a real problem for practice principals.
“Connectivity opportunities between client and advisers are higher than ever and increase daily as new solutions are introduced to the market,” he said.
Engagement is key for successful financial planning businesses to survive – it is not about the best tax strategy, the best product – its about engaging them on the journey to their goal destination.