5 Ways to Help 'Cheat-Proof' Your Client Relationships

It’s no secret Financial Advisors have long struggled to attract and retain customers. You sell a product that many consumers consider to be a commodity, but unlike Apple, Coke or Lowes Home Improvement — you don’t personally possess an unlimited marketing budget with which to create “brand love” for "brand you". So what can you do to build this “brand love” for yourself – and help “cheat-proof” your relationships with current clients?

Psychologists tell us, that when partners cheat- it’s most often because they feel unappreciated and misunderstood. A Bain & Company Report, Customer Behavior and Loyalty in Insurance: Global Edition, September 14, 2017, reveals this may be true of the financial industry as well. The report shows that insurers who focus on building loyalty can gain considerable ground—as much as 20 percentage points in Net Promoter Scores over a three-year period. Conversely, insurers that lose focus on current customers can ?nd their loyalty scores slipping by similar margins.

What if Advisors took a bit of old-fashioned relationship advice and applied it to marketing communications? For instance: Was there anything more intriguing than your partner when you two first met? In those early days, you wanted to know everything about him or her… Where did they grow up? How did they spend their summer vacations? You'd stay up night talking. Ahhhhh.....

Now — if the days of doing anything just to spend an extra hour with your love are long gone, it likely means a “real” adult life full of responsibilities has taken over. This is understandable to a degree — but if either or both of you are too busy to simply listen to the news of one another's day — you need to reprioritize. The same is true for your client relationships. Since you sold John Smith his policy, how often have you met, emailed, or spoken with him?

Well, there are plenty of websites that can help you plan more date nights, etc. to fix a personal relationship— but I can tell you that, this client relationship thing — is really easy to mend! Here’s how:

1. Reach out & touch them 12+ times a year [with emails, silly!]

If you want any relationship to last, you have to keep it going. Always — in all ways. Employ a cost-effective e-Marketing tool to continually reach out to your clients and prospects 12+ times a year (as supported by LIMRA stats) to ensure clients & prospects KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST "brand you".

2. Be engaging, but not pushy.

As a rule, don’t use a subject line you wouldn’t fall for on a dating site. Would "ACT NOW OR MISS OUT FOREVER” get a date with you? No. Unsubscribe. Please. No one wants to be told what he or she has to do, especially when it comes to money. Find an e-Marketing tool with proven, compliance-approved subject lines and content. (e-Relationship is an excellent choice due to their powerful e-Storyboard and e-Video modules.)

3. Check in from time to time — ask how they are doing.

What changes have taken places in their lives in the past 90 days? A move? A new child? The e-Checklist is one of 10+ e-Relationship modules which automatically goes out 4 X year, providing updates on life experiences, client needs — and thus, sales opportunities for you.

4. Show you really do care about more than just the sale.

When it comes to client & prospect communication, absence does NOT make the heart grow fonder. Saying “Happy Birthday”, “Congratulations”, the unexpected “Happy Groundhog Day” and “Happy Independence Day” are simple ways to let your clients & prospects know you’re thinking about them — without a sales agenda. Over 100 e-Cards, most with animation and music, plus e-Inspirational Messages, and e-Photo Albums are 3 e-Relationship “Likability” modules with which to show your appreciation.

5. Offer services and events beyond insurance.

Seminars are important- and you should definitely host them! But clients and prospects are savvy, understanding there will be a measure of sales involved. Sponsoring events that are purely charity-minded, such as food-drives, child & pet ID days, family movie nights, etc., reveal your heart for giving back to your community. When you offer participants the opportunity to sign up for further events, you also gain access to a rich stream of customer data, which can help you hone your overall offerings further — for charity and business. E-Relationship’s e-Invitation module provides dozens of enticing templates you can easily customize, from your event title to directions. (Many are designed for seminars as well!)

So, there you have it- creating "brand love" for "brand you", is as simple as keeping in touch with both heartfelt and business-minded emails. And while every relationship takes work- it doesn’t have to be hard work! In fact, e-Relationship makes it super-easy. Check out the only e-Marketing tool proven to increase production by 43% - 68%*!

[*Data provided by 3 top U.S. Insurance companies.]