Knowledge. Shared Blog

November 2019

The Fabulous Five Steps to Create an Extraordinary Client Experience

Imagine losing your car in an accident. Your insurance company offers you a rental vehicle, but you have no way to get it. When you call the car company, the customer service agent says, “We’ll pick you up.”

Or perhaps you’re buying your college junior a replacement laptop, and she’s majoring in architecture. When you walk into the store, the specialist greets you warmly, listens to your needs, looks up the architectural design program your daughter’s university uses, then offers to install it.

Knowledge Labs® defines these as WOW experiences – unexpected, thoughtful gestures that make clients realize you offer a level of service unique to them. Successful entrepreneurs and business owners know that the recipe for extreme client loyalty begins by anticipating client needs and delivering WOW experiences, consistently.

But don’t take it from me. Warren Buffett spent the entirety of his recent speech to the Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C., talking about the indispensable value of the client experience. Jim Burrell, a Senior Vice President at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, told me that complete leadership “buy-in” of client experience is imperative for any initiative to delight clients to take off. Or consider the immortal Steve Jobs’ belief in the primacy of “anticipating and satisfying unstated client needs.”

How about them apples?

All three of these people highlight the importance of the client experience. Moreover, the success of their business ventures illustrates an ability to create, and replicate, truly remarkable customer interactions.

While, as a financial professional, you might not be able to always offer the immediate, tangible benefits of a rental car or a new laptop, you are the steward of something far more important – wealth management. The long-term nature of your service means that when you choose to WOW your clients, the element of surprise is on your side. Since the nature of the services you offer may not lead to frequent interactions with your office, or your product, creating WOW opportunities usually involves some initiative and planning. More importantly, it requires being aware of your clients, to recognize when opportunities to impress them present themselves.

Consistently WOW-ing clients may require you and your team to expand your capacity for delivering WOW experiences.

Here are five fabulous ways to WOW, consistently:

  • Lead the way. Your commitment to great client care will dictate how every person on your team interacts with customers.
  • The customer service agents on the floor at Apple are called specialists, and are trained on the principle of enriching lives. You want to create a similarly focused position in your office by appointing a Chief Experience Officer of your team to lead earnest efforts to WOW your clients.
  • Keep a monthly WOW calendar that highlights holidays, observances and upcoming milestones unique to your clients. These dates will open up a world of opportunities to WOW.
  • Put a sensible budget in place for expenses related to making these unique and thoughtful gestures happen.
  • Celebrate success stories of client delight daily with your team. Creating these memorable moments isn’t just about client retention; it’s about building morale in your practice.

Warren Buffett, Jim Burrell and Steve Jobs know what they’re talking about. No company can achieve greatness without a laser focus on what makes a difference with their clients, stakeholders and advocates. Now, get to work with the Fabulous Five and watch your business grow.

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