Sample client surveys and other resources for financial advisors
Today’s successful financial advisors are adept, able to identify business initiatives, pinpoint revenue drivers, and develop actionable goals for their business or firm – in addition to serving clients and managing their accounts’ performance. This is because the connection between a solid business plan is directly tied to client satisfaction.
The Harvard Business Review once published a study measuring the purchasing behavior, defection rates, and profitability of two groups of financial services clients: one group that received a customer survey and the other group, which had not. In the end, clients who were surveyed were three times more likely to open new accounts and add assets. They were also half as likely to defect or leave.
The numbers show how largely beneficial it is to add an ongoing financial advisor client survey to supplement your business plan.
Documented processes: Client survey strategy
Your business plan should address the following elements to support your client satisfaction survey:
- Measure your clients’ satisfaction with financial advising services
- Identify any weaknesses or opportunities in your client service model
- Identify new or changing needs of your clients
- Establish an actionable plan for incorporating your clients’ feedback
- Provide the framework for increasing your word-of-mouth referrals
Client engagement: How to introduce the survey to your clients
The best financial advisors know that it is not only about the frequency or volume of their communications, but also a focus on valuable advice and personalized touchpoints. A client survey is no different.
If the survey is shared by email, your communications should be personalized and include the following:
- Explain why excellent client service is important to you, personally, as a financial advisor
- Estimate the time it will take to complete the survey (“This survey is only five questions long” or “Please take five to 10 minutes to complete…”)
- Explain what you will do with the information gathered
- If you make any changes to your business based on the information, be prepared to follow up in your communications strategy to make the initiative visible (if appropriate)
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Sample financial advisor client survey questions
Client surveys not only collect valuable internal data, but they can also identify referral opportunities and show clients that their experience matters. General satisfaction questions include:
- How likely are you to recommend our financial planning services to a friend or family member?
- What is the primary reason for your level of satisfaction described above?
- What do you like most about working with us?
- What is the one thing you wish you could change about our products or services?
Questions specific to financial advisors can also include:
- Do you feel that your advisor understands your needs and goals?
- Are there enough investment options available to you?
- How well do you understand your statements and presentations?
- How often do you use (client portal) and why?
- How fair or competitive are our fees?
- How satisfied are you with the overall performance of your investment portfolio?
- Do you receive statements in a timely manner and are they easy to understand?
- How frequently do you want your financial advisor to communicate with you (by email, by phone, by meeting)?
What do you want to achieve this year? Take your business plan a step further by incorporating a client survey to help advisors and firms identify actionable goals, avoid attrition, and build a great relationship with your clients.
Want to learn more on how NaviPlan can help improve client service satisfaction and engagement? Click here to request a free trial and more information.