Once you have organized your clients into segments, your next step is to define the services the clients in each segment will receive. The key is to ensure that there is a distinct difference between what is offered at each level, says Rosemary Smyth, a business-building coach and principal of Rosemary Smyth & Associates in Victoria.
All clients are not alike and their expectations vary according to their needs. (While asset level was not the sole criteria for determining clients’ status, you can assume that your “A” clients generally have the largest accounts.)
How you decide to define these service levels will depend on the time and budget you can allot. Smyth offers the following advice on the activities to consider for each client segment:
> Review meetings
Determine the number of meetings you are willing to have with your top clients. Do you feel a schedule of quarterly meetings with your “A” clients is reasonable? If so, that would guide your decision on how often to meet “B” and “C” clients. You might decide to meet your middle-tier clients twice a year and your lowest-tier clients once a year.
> Communications strategy
How often are you getting in touch with your clients?
Perhaps you can sustain a schedule of monthly phone calls to your top clients. You could then decide to call middle-tier clients on a quarterly basis through phone calls or email. Clients on the bottom tier — who would have smaller accounts and would neither expect nor require frequent contact — should be satisfied with one phone call or email annually.
Keep your communication with your top two tiers personal, Smyth says. But there is nothing wrong with delegating contact with “C” clients to your assistant.
> Client appreciation
The most significant difference in service levels enjoyed by your “A” and “B” clients will be in the amount of face time you spend with them. Top-tier clients will get most of your attention when it comes to private lunches and personal gifts on special occasions.
If you enjoy planning and presenting large educational seminars, these events would be appropriate for your middle-tier clients.
Your objective is not to ensure that your “C” clients do not receive any perks at all. You’re just looking to see that clients who generate the least value — in revenue, referrals and potential assets — are not taking up an inordinate amount of your resources.
You still might invite all your clients to some events, Smyth says.
> Meeting with clients’ other professionals
Another important service you should provide your “A” clients is meeting the other professionals who advise them, such as their accountant, their lawyer and their real estate broker.
Your “A” clients will probably be the only ones whose financial matters are complex enough to require you to work with these professionals.
This is the second part of a two-part series on client segmentation.