Can high quality service go hand in hand with retail sales Holiday sales. The answer is yes. In the right stores and you pay for it. Just go shopping at Costco vs Sears vs Nordstroms. Now compare that experience of in retail to your experience in Financial Services . Full Service vs discount vs no service. What is that service guarantee at your full service firm? At your discount and no service firm. Does it exist? The biggest problem with retail service is expectations? You go to Sears you expect courteous informed salespeople. What do you get? Nothing. You can't find anyone to help you. When you do find them they are stressed out by having to handle too many clients. Cost cutting at Sears has stressed the retail sales staff and is ruining their brand. When you go to Cosco you get what you expect. Low prices and warehouse service. Low expectations that are usually exceeded. What about Nordstrom? High expectations matched by high quality experience. The results of both Costco and Nordstrom create both a happy sales force and happy clients. Where do Financial Services fit into this mix. Clients are generally happy with Schwab due to low expectations that are exceeded What about full service firms. High expectations by the client without a clear service model= disappointment on both sides. A client came to a full service firm with $1000 and was asked by his FA what his expectations were for service and contact. He responded "I really only want to be called once..ah..ahh..week". This is Sears's problem. High expectations low margins and low service. FA's better establish a minimum profit margin and and a minimum level of service. Buy a copy of my book, The Supernova Advisor" and find a service model that will work for your business.
Great idea...you have some of my favorite people contributing to your blog. I enjoy it a great deal. I'm still working out how to do links neatly but in the meantime will keep it as a post...up now.
Posted by: gclub | October 28, 2011 at 02:04 AM