strictly confidential client insights: findings from the propensity project 2013 the advice exchange...

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

Client insights: Findings from the Propensity

Project 2013The Advice Exchange

Professional SeriesNovember 2013


Contents01 The Propensity Project 2013

02 Overall satisfaction

03 Satisfaction drivers and insights

The Propensity Project 2013A VAN Initiative to help grow your business

Measure

Survey to measure client satisfaction and attitudes

Insights

Uncover drivers that increase propensity to:• Give you more

business• Actively refer• Stay with you

Action

Use insights to develop individual initiatives

The Propensity Project 2013Following on from Propensity Project 2012, survey carried out July 2013

• 15 participating practices

• Of the 15, four participated in both 2012 and 2013

• 1,500+ client responses

Interpreting results

EXAMPLE ONLY 10% 45% 45%

1-5 6-8 9-10

Average scoresDistribution of scores

OutstandingIssue if >10%

Very strong

Expected

Need to improve

Need overhaul

Outstanding8.0+

7.5-7.9

7.0-7.4

6.5-6.9

<6.5

Overall satisfaction

VAN benchmark

VAN average 2012

VAN average 2013

0%

9%

6%

17%

42%

34%

83%

49%

60%

1-5 6-8 9-10

8.00

8.45

9.35

Satisfaction increases with age, and women are more easy to satisfy

Men Women < 30 30 - 45 46 - 60 > 60

7% 5% 10% 9% 7% 3%

38%27%

44% 41%36%

27%

55%68%

46% 50% 58%70%

Nine to tenSix to eightOne to five

Satisfaction by age and gender

Those with higher incomes are more difficult to satisfy

< $50k $50 - $99k $100 - $199k

200+ Prefer not to say

4% 6% 7% 7% 7%

24%32%

39% 45%33%

73%62%

53% 48%60%


Satisfaction by income

Size of assets has no impact on satisfaction

< $200k $200 - $499k

500-999 1m+ Prefer not to say

7% 7% 5% 5% 7%

35% 32% 32% 36% 35%

59% 60% 63% 59% 59%


Satisfaction by assets

Drivers of satisfaction

Recommendation

Share of wallet

Retention

Ability to choose financial solutions that suit my needs

Keeps me informed

Proactively manages my financial affairs

Quality of formal review

Advisers attention to detail

Satisfaction

What is NOT in the top 10 drivers?

Portfolio performance

Financial and investment knowledge

Fairness of fees

13th

16th

23rd

From 27 attributes measured

Key insight

“Manage my emotions, not just my money”


Keeps me informed




Ability to choose financial solutions that meet my needs

Top 5 drivers (implied)

Understanding your needs

Giving you confidence

Clearly explaining the strategy

Attention to detail

Proactively managing your financial affairs

0.85

0.85

0.85

0.86

0.87

Impact

Average If 9/10

Share of wallet 66% 69%

Recommend likelihood

8.5 9.4

Actual recommend

47% 58%

Intend to stay 82% 92%

Adviser influence on

my life

37% 42%

Emotion

1. Spend time upfront getting to know me, asking in-depth questions, actively listening and confirming understanding

2. Relate all recommendations and plans to my personal situation and hopes and dreams

Understand me

My adviser keeps me informed

Top 5 drivers (implied) Impact

Average If 9/10



8.5 9.3

Actual recommend

47% 56%



my life

37% 42%

Emotion

Manage my fears

1. Clearly set and manage my expectations of contact frequency and depth – and why this is appropriate for me

2. Update me on the progress of implementation and let me know when it’s done, don’t leave me wondering

Speed of implementation


Attention to detail

Ability to choose financial solutions that suit your needs


0.79

0.79

0.80

0.80

0.89

My adviser proactively manages my affairs


Average If 9/10



8.5 9.4

Actual recommend

47% 58%



my life

37% 45%

Emotion

Show me you care

1. Prove you have looked at my situation and call me immediately in the event of a trigger/requirements for change

2. Over-deliver on contact expectations – surprise and delight with a check in phone call

Giving you confidence

Understanding your needs

Attention to detail

Ability to choose financial solutions that suit your needs

Keeping you informed

0.82

0.83

0.84

0.87

0.89



Average If 9/10



8.5 9.4

Actual recommend

47% 57%



my life

37% 43%

Emotion

Respect me

1. Speak to me in plain English and don’t make me ask ‘silly questions’ that may embarrass me

2. Educate me so that we can have a peer to peer conversation

3. Respectfully check I understand your recommendations and allow me to make the final decision


Ability to choose financial solutions that suit your

needs


Quality of reporting

Quality of documentation

0.79

0.80

0.81

0.86

0.86

Adviser attention to detail


Average If 9/10



8.5 9.3

Actual recommend

47% 55%



my life

37% 41%

Emotion

Make me feel

important

1. Return my calls and emails within 24 hours

2. Be responsive in solving my smallest/annoying problems

3. Introduce me to others in the practice who are relevant and can positively impact my situation

Professionalism

Access to others with expertise in the practice

Speed of response

Follow up on queries/requests

Knowledge

0.85

0.86

0.86

0.87

0.91

Summary: “Manage my emotions, not just my money”


Keeps me informed




Understand me

Manage my fears

Show me you care

Respect me

Make me feel important

Different drivers by age

< 30 specific driversSensitivity

Professionalism from Support team“Understand me”

46 – 60+ specific driversAdviser attention to detailQuality of formal review

“Make me feel important”

Choose solutions to suit

my needs

Giving me confidence

Understanding my needs

Keeps me informed

Proactively managing

affairs

Common drivers

< 30 60+

Different drivers by income

Choose solutions to suit

my needs

Giving me confidence

Understanding my needs

Keeps me informed

Proactively managing

affairs

< $100k specific driversQuality of formal review

Quality of reportingQuality of documentation

“Respect me”

>$100K specific driversAdviser attention to detail

Clearly explaining the strategy“Understand me”

Common drivers

< $50k $299k

$300k+ specific drivers(Choose solutions to suit needs)

Professionalism (adviser)Manner (adviser)

Attention to detail (support team)Access to others in practice“Just make it happen”


Blenkhorn & Associates Financial PlanningPropensity 2012-13

Significant improvement in overall satisfaction achieved by focussing on aspects important to clients

VAN benchmark

VAN average 2013

Blenkhorn 2012

Blenkhorn 2013

0%

6%

0%

3%

17%

34%

50%

17%

83%

60%

50%

81%

1-5 6-8 9-10

Average

9.00

8.50

8.45

9.35

Understanding your needs0% 14% 86%

1-5 6-8 9-10

Focus 1: show better understanding of client needs

Your practice 2013

Your practice 2012

VAN average2013

Average

9.35 8.80 8.83

My adviser completely understands my personal financial needs

3% 8% 46% 43%

Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree

89% 58% 84%

Ability to choose financial so-lutions that suit your needs

17% 83%

1-5 6-8 9-10

9.11 8.60 8.55

Initiative: Create new client approachIssue

• Clients felt their adviser didn’t understand their needs

• Poor return on time spent on new clients

• Poor conversion

Idea: Discovery process

• First meeting: in depth (1-2 hrs +), fee to progress to strategy

• Second meeting: Present strategy, fee to proceed to SoA

Implementation

• Initially heavily scripted

• Trial and error, took some time to perfect

• Focus is on deep relationship building

Investing more time upfront helps clients feel Blenkhorn understand their needs = better ROI on new client interactionsImpact

I receive the right level of information about the progress of my strategy

My adviser is sensitive to my needs and changing circumstances

I am happy with the structure of my portfolio

I feel in control and on top of my financial affairs

3%

3%

3%

5%

11%

5%

11%

16%

54%

51%

49%

46%

32%

41%

35%

32%

0.03


Total agree

Focus 2. keep clients better informed and be more proactive

Your practice 2013

Your practice 2012

VAN 2013

78% 42% 68%

84% 58% 76%

92% 67% 80%

86% 58% 75%




24%

28%

12%

76%

69%

79%

3%

9%

1-5 6-8 9-10

8.89

8.94

7.80

8.20

8.36

8.28

8.76 8.40 8.43

Initiative: Improve review process

Issue

• Clients didn’t feel on top of their affairs or the progress of their strategy

• Clients not reviewed frequently or regularly

• Process manual and onerous

Idea: Automate process

• Build automation of review docs through Xplan

• Spend more time on client review conversations rather than creating documents

Implementation

• Took three months focus to build new processes

• Scheduled all clients for more frequent reviews

A robust review process manages clients fears, improves their confidence and provides the opportunity for broader

conversations = greater share of wallet (42-58%)Impact

Professionalism

Manner

Speed of response

Follow up on queries/ requests

15%

12%

18%

18%

85%

88%

79%

82%

0.03

1-5 6-8 9-10

Focus 3: Be more responsiveness and exude a positive attitude

Your practice 2013

9.03

9.26

9.18

9.32

Your practice 2012

8.60

8.80

8.60

8.80

VAN average2013

8.65

8.81

8.67

8.90

AverageSupport team

Attention to detail 16% 84%

1-5 6-8 9-10

9.19 8.60 8.54

Adviser

Initiative: Engage entire team to build positive, exceptional client focussed culture

Issue

• Support team result in 2012 was good

• Suspected team could have greater impact

Idea: Get the team on board

• Focussed on exceptional and positive client experience at every touchpoint , particularly new clients

Implementation

• Team session post 2012 results

• Share vision, initiatives

• Weekly team meetings

• Consistently positive attitude from leaders

Positive culture, exceptional client focussed service is differentiator and makes clients feel important = client

satisfaction and business growthImpact

There has been a substantial improvement in clients’ willingness to recommend Blenkhorn. Indeed, Blenkhorn set the benchmark when being compared to other advisers.

VAN benchmark

VAN average 2013

Blenkhorn 2012

Blenkhorn 2013

3%

9%

9%

3%

8%

30%

45%

8%

89%

61%

45%

89%

1-5 6-8 9-10

Recommendation

Focus 4. Gain more client referrals

Recommended

62%

25%

48%

65%

Initiative: Improve rate of client referrals

Issue

• Willingness to recommend was low, as was actual recommendation

Idea: Actively ask

• Previous referral request was contained in review letter

• Keep this AND now raise in conversation when client feeling most positive

Implementation

• Specifically ask clients for referrals on the phone after completing new business – every time

Make referrals top of clients’ mind by actively asking for them = increase in willingness and actual recommendation

Impact

My adviser helps improve my financial knowledge

3% 16% 49% 32%


Total agree

Focus 5. Improve ongoing contact, knowledge build and attract new business

Your practice 2013

Your practice 2012

VAN 2013

81% 58% 74%

Initiative: Implement marketing programme

Issue

• Improving knowledge score low as was satisfaction with frequency of contact

• Plans for monthly client newsletters and social media/local media presence

• Bottom of to-do list, never got done

Idea: Outsource marketing

• Find reliable experts to focus on and implement our ideas

• Monthly newsletters to educate clients on offering

• Social/other media presence

Implementation

• Some initial hiccups finding the right people

• Experts need to take responsibility for driving the programmes as well as implementing

It pays to outsource to experts to get focus on marketing – improved knowledge, share of wallet and 2 new clients from

FacebookImpact

Summary of lessons for Blenkhorn

Time invested upfront produces better new client relationships and conversion

More client review conversations = higher satisfaction and more share of wallet

A strong positive team culture of client service = greater client satisfaction

Actively and personally asking for clients to refer has an enormous impact

Outsource to get focus on marketing – its worth the spend

1

2

3

4

5

Perception of ‘adviser proactivity’ is the key driver in achieving positive outcomes

Proactive ManagementClosely linked to:

- keeps me informed - feeling confident - feeling in control

Driver

Referral

Outcome

Share of wallet

Retention

Actions

• ‘Improves my knowledge’ key driver of recommendation

• Willingness across the board• Younger much > propensity to

recommend – a click away

• Proactivity is no. 1 influencer of Intention to stay

• Feeling ‘confident’ and ‘in control’ also signficant

• Proactivity is no. 1 influencer of share of wallet

• ‘Improves my knowledge’ and ‘right level of info’ also significant

Impact of keeping clients informed on perception of proactivity

Adviser proactive Adviser not proactive

85%

12%8%

87%

Keeps me informed Not informed

How can advisers demonstrate they proactively manage?

81%62%

48%

7%

Rate proactive management highly

The mix of right frequency of comms and providing specific client content based on

their portfolio is enormously powerful

Communication is key to helping clients feel in control

Communicate Monthly Communicate every now and then

Communicate rarely or not at all

40% 43%26%

33%14%

9%

Agree Strongly agree

Response to statement “I feel in control of my financial affairs”

More frequent communication substantially improves their feelings of being in control

Improving knowledge has a significant impact on improving confidence

My advisers improves my knowledge My advisers does little to improve my knowledge

94%

67%

6%

33%

I feel confident I do not feel confident

Regular, relevant educational and specific comms ‘prove’ proactivity and lead to positive outcomes



Referral

Share of wallet

Retention

Regular, relevant, educational communications

• Right frequency of comms and specific client content significantly impacts perception of proactivity

• More frequent comms directly impact feelings of being in control

• ‘Improves my knowledge’ signfiicantly impacts confidence








Regular, specific communication about my situation

Driver OutcomeActions

Monthly email with quarterly personal updates is ideal for most



Referral

Share of wallet

Retention













Monthly email ++ is ideal for most

Driver OutcomeActions

Keeping clients informed impacts on understanding needs and sensitive to changing circumstances

Understands my needs Sensitive to my circumstances

91% 89%

57%

43%

Keeps me informed Not informed

Knowledge ‘sound bites’ and the ‘proactive management virtuous circle’ add to ideal outcomes



Referral

Share of wallet

Retention













The Virtuous CircleProactive client management leads easily into uptake of recommendation of further services as is likely to be seen as ‘meeting more of my

needs’ rather than cross sell

Knowledge ‘sound bites’ These act as

conversation starters leading to risk free referrals for older

clients

Monthly email ++ is ideal for most

strictly confidential client insights: findings from the propensity project 2013 the advice exchange...

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