Offering consistent services to your clients is one of the best ways to create a professional-grade client experience, says Sara Gilbert, founder of Strategist in Montreal.
“First and foremost,” Gilbert says, “you have to establish what kind of experience you want to give your clients, based on your initial segmentation.”
From there, she says, you determine a separate level of service for each segment.
Services include frequency and form of contact as well as other issues. For example, your top-level clients might be part of your client advisory board. And they might be more likely than other clients to participate in client-appreciation events.
The level of service provided each client segment should be detailed in your service level commitment document.
Gilbert offers these tips on how you can use your service-level commitment to maximize your client experience:
> Use it as a prospecting tool
Your service-level commitment is an enticing way to attract new clients as part of your “pitch.”
You will be able to specify to prospects how and when they will hear from you, for example. Your clients will then know when to expect your communication and they will be more receptive when you do contact them.
> Digitize it
Writing out your service-level commitment is of crucial importance. The next, equally important step is to incorporate it into your customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Insert reminders and track your meetings and other client interactions as the first step toward ensuring you stay on top of your commitments, Gilbert says. It will also help you optimize your time.
You don’t need to purchase the “Cadillac” of CRMs, either, Gilbert says. Standard office software, such as Outlook, is more than sufficient to do a good job.
> Consult your team
Developing a service-level agreement is in many ways a team exercise.
Says Gilbert: “Often, the advisor just doesn’t realize how much time the team spends around an interaction.”
So, you should not draft your service-level agreement in isolation. Instead, make it part of a broader, consultative process with your team.
“The team is making the ‘magic’ happen,” Gilbert says. “So it has to be manageable. Let them guide you.”
> Expect change
Your service-level commitment is a contract to help ensure you offer consistent services across each segment of your clients. Nevertheless, as your practice changes or evolves, so too should your commitments.
If you make a big change to your practice, such as focusing specifically on a particular niche market, your service-level commitment should change accordingly.
As a rule of thumb, Gilbert suggests, review your commitment every year to make sure it matches the experience you want to offer your clients.
This is the second instalment in a two-part series on developing a service-level commitment.