The best way to future proof your brand and business is to double-down on your client relationships, to lock in customer loyalty and transition your business to a relationship-mindset, well-known Australian consumer futurist Amanda Stevens, told the 2023 MDRT Annual Meeting in Nashville.
Held in late June, the annual event attracted some 4,800 attendees from around the world and Stevens, in her address, offered the audience practical ideas and strategies on enhancing their client relationships.
Stevens says a Japanese word ‘omotenashi’ sums up the opportunity. It means to be of service, to be of service without expecting anything in return, to look wholeheartedly after your guests.
She asked that if advisers embraced and doubled down on this in the next 12 months, where could their business be in two to five years, adding that embracing Omotenashi has a boomerang effect and is the way to future proof your brand.
She says to bring this to life, you must start with curiosity and engage in a more curious way with your clients.
Stevens notes that when we ask more questions and “stay in a curiosity mindset” it gives a deeper sense of your client and their needs, and enables you to connect and to build commonality.
…the future of the client experience exists at the intersection of high tech and high touch…
While technology is revolutionising how advisers are doing business, Stevens believes the future of the client experience “…exists at the intersection of high tech and high touch – that is where you create magic in your client relationships.”
She also pointed to milestone marketing, saying that celebrating and rewarding your clients for their milestones like birthdays and anniversaries, is one of the easiest ways to connect at a deeper level.
Advisers, she says, are privy to a lot of information about their clients, the type of information other sectors would love to have access to.
She suggests advisers celebrate their clients, live in the client’s world, make a big deal of their successes and wins (if they are doing a charity run, sponsor them).
…Radical generosity… will have a boomerang effect on your business…
“Radical generosity … will have a boomerang effect on your business.”
Her final point was around ceremony. She told the audience that it’s their opportunity to create a sense of ceremony with your clients.
“There are tens of thousands of people who can do exactly what you can do, but no one can do it the way you do, and no one can make your clients feel the way you are able to make them feel.”
She says advisers should be more curious, build commonality, customise the client experience, celebrate with your clients and find a sense of ceremony “…so your clients know this is an experience they literally can’t get from anyone else.”
