Goal 2: Client Advocacy

Updated 10 months ago by VouchedFor Team

Passionate advocacy is the Goal Metric of Elevation Goal 2: Delighting existing clients, promoting advocacy and retention

Data based on responses to the question

“In what circumstances would you recommend [adviser] to a family member, friend or colleague?”

Possible responses

I would not recommend them
I would consider recommending them to people with a specific need, or in a specific situation
I would consider recommending them to anyone who expressed a need to speak to an advisor
I would be a passionate advocate for them

Passionate Advocacy Score

Proportion of respondents answering “I would be a passionate advocate for them”

Relationship between Passionate Advocacy and Number of Recommendations per client

The relationship between Passionate Advocacy and the Number of Recommendations in the Last 12 Months per Client is highly statistically significant

Why do we ask about Passionate Advocacy?

Through our research we found that the vast majority of financial advice clients report that they would be happy to recommend their adviser. Therefore using a standard “How likely would you be to recommend your adviser from 1-10?” question gives a limited distribution of responses across clients, with most selecting 9 or 10.

This would imply little room for improvement, whereas our research indicates that in fact many advisers have opportunities to improve the advocacy they generate.

A smaller proportion of clients than those who say they would recommend actually go on to do so, and a smaller proportion still are responsible for the majority of recommendations. This last group, the Passionate Advocates, are also more likely to recommend more persuasively, so recommenders actually go on to contact the adviser.

We use Passionate Advocacy, rather than the number of times a client has recommended as the Goal Metric because it is a simple binary measure, offering better comparability across clients.

How to improve your score:

Show how you’ve helped achieve your client’s goals

Establishing clear goals. Understanding client’s motivations and establishing real goals that you can link to throughout the journey, is vital to getting your client to buy into the value of your advice and gain a feeling of comfort that they are on track to achieve their goals.

Paint a picture. Using descriptive and memorable words helps to paint a mental picture for your client, intensifying the emotion they link to their goals. By helping them achieve their goals, your work is linked to that emotion.

Link actions to plan. Reference how the activities you are completing will bring your client closer to their goals. This will enable your clients to understand why they are taking those actions and how they fit into the bigger plan, and therefore feel more on track.

Exceed expectations

Things happening as expected creates satisfied customers, not passionate advocates! To create passionate advocates, you need to exceed your client’s expectations.

Anchoring is a technique where you set an initial expectation, or anchor, as to when something will happen. Once the anchor has been set, your client will judge everything in relation to it. For example:

“You should get your mortgage offer in around 10 days” – sets the anchor at 10 days. If the offer comes through after 5 you can call them to give them the good news, exceeding their expectations."

“You should get your mortgage offer in around 5 days” – sets the anchor at 5 days. If the offer comes through on day 6, your client will probably be a bit disappointed that it’s late."

Make it memorable

Small gestures. People remember small, personalised gestures of kindness. Lots of websites let you create personalised goods at fairly reasonable prices. Personalising a card or getting a small gift you know the client will love are the little differences between creating satisfied customers and passionate advocates.

Welcome home. Why not send a greetings card and a hamper, to arrive the day after the house completes? But make it personal! The more personalised the gift or note is, the more it will mean to your client.

Make your client feel part of the club

People are much more likely to become passionate advocates if they feel part of a club. There are two reasons people love to be part of the club:

Exclusivity and status - “did you know I’m part of this club – I can probably get you in if you want”

Shared values – “They only use recycled paper and plant a tree for every client whose mortgage completes”

Extend your brand. Create some branded goods that you can pass on to your clients. A notebook, pen or even mug, can really help you stay front of mind with a passionate advocate.

Host an event. You could have an exclusive annual client party, or event. For the per delegate cost, you’ll probably get more new business through recommendations than if you spent that money on advertising.

Exceeding expectations is a sure-fire way to create passionate advocates, just as you will by making the experience personal and memorable. Creating a sense of being “part of a club” will add to advocacy, as will focussing on how you are helping your client achieve their goals. One thing is for sure, OK won’t create passionate advocates, so think how you can create an amazing, lasting impression!