Chet brothers hopes that by taking care of his clients’ senses, they’ll trust him with their dollars.

The owner/operator of Brothers & Company Financial in Regina has set up his office to provide exceptional experiences for his clients’ sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

The 24-year veteran of the financial services industry starts off on the visual side. His office occupies a heritage home one block from an urban park. He describes the large, three-storey property as the “anti-bank.”

The office’s interior is filled with dark leather furniture that’s soft to the touch. Rooms feature hardwood floors and walls are painted and decorated with warm colours. During the winter, the fireplace in the lobby is always crackling; in the summer, visitors walk up a walkway lined with flowers and plants amid a meticulously landscaped yard.

Light jazz music plays in the background, and there’s a dish of Werther’s Original candies in the lobby to tantalize clients’ tastebuds.

The scent of freshly cut flowers is always in the air, which satisfies both smell and sight, as vases in the waiting room, lobby and boardroom are always full. Staff members, meanwhile, look professional but aren’t overdressed.

“We sound like light jazz and we taste like butterscotch,” Brothers says.

Brothers, who is also a shareholder in Winnipeg-based Value Partners Investments Inc., says he got the idea of appealing to his clients’ senses after hearing a speech by a branding expert in the U.S. and decided it would be a good way to set himself apart from the pack.



LASTING IMPRESSION

“I’m always looking for ways to differentiate,” Brothers says. “The office has to have a look, sound and feel, so that people leave with a sense of who we are. It makes a lasting impression, as opposed to a logo or television or newspaper ad.”

Creating a pleasant environment for clients’ senses probably makes good business sense, says Michael Ellery, a psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

“You make better decisions when you’re not emotionally or physiologically aroused,” Ellery says. “We know that as anxiety and arousal go up, your ability to think clearly and well goes down. To the extent you’re soothed and relaxed, you’re better able to make good decisions.”

The nature of the financial services industry makes the sensory experience particularly important, Ellery suggests: “People might be anxious if they’re talking about money. [The soothing environment] might help them be more receptive to what an advisor is trying to sell.”

Brothers notes that the sensory experiences would be all for naught if he and his staff didn’t back them up with exceptional financial planning.

Brothers’ firm manages $90 million in assets for 300 families, the bulk of which comprise Brothers’ book. The firm has one other financial advisor, an insurance advisor, a marketing and administration staffer and a para-planner.

Brothers points out that he’s not alone in his approach. He cites Ashley Furniture, a national chain that always seems to be baking cookies in its retail stores across the country. And many realtors recommend that people wanting to sell their homes bake muffins or a pie just before prospective buyers are brought in for a tour. Why shouldn’t a financial advisor use the same strategy?

“The brand resides in people’s senses,” Brothers says. “It gets sunk into their brains.”

The reaction to the subtle features in Brothers’ office has been positive, he says: “Our clients really enjoy coming here. You can see they’re comfortable. They like that we serve good coffee in real cups, not Styrofoam.”

The focus on the senses is for the staff as well as for clients and prospects. Brothers says his goal was to create an environment in which he and his colleagues would look forward to coming to work every day.

“We want to make it as comfortable for staff and clients as we can,” he says.

Much of the process of maintaining the environment is on “autopilot,” he says. For example, a florist delivers the flowers every week; all his staff has to do is put them in vases with fresh water.

Brothers is cautious not to overdo the sensory side of his business: “If you get too overblown, you run the risk of having sensory overload.” IE