"All of your customers are Partners in your mission"
It is a warm sunny Saturday afternoon, you are relaxing and fishing on a sea coast in Kerala. What would you be looking forward to? Obviously a big fish in your net. So that you can pose with your achievement, and one catch will be enough for very long. But what if you do not get the big fish, what if you get a number of poor sardines in your net? Will you ignore them and throw them back into the waters and keeping on waiting for a big shark. Or will you take the sardines back home and provide for the day's dinner. Your position as a financial advisor is similar, you may be looking forward to a big client, but you must not ignore the smaller ones who can provide you your livelihood.
In simple words, each client deserves your best. When it comes to service, the quality should be same for the richest person in the city as well as for a retired government employee. When the client is on the hot seat, he should be pampered, he should feel special, he should feel his needs are at the top, and when he steps out of your office, he must be under a spell of delight that you have cast upon him. And this applies to each client who enters, it must be a part of your business protocol.
The concept is similar to a lumpsum investment and an SIP. We all know a lump sum investment is lucrative, the amount is generally big, you get a big upfront brokerage, yet a large number of SIPs is the bread and butter of our business. You will not let go an SIP in quest of a lumpsum.
Did you know that the small sweet candies being sold for a rupee are growing at 1.5 times the overall FMCG industry. DS group's candy Pulse reached Rs 100 crore within eight months of its launch, which is equal to the record of Coca-cola's diet drink Zero, which is priced at almost 30-35 times more than Pulse. (Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/ds-groups-pulse-candy-hits-rs-100-crore-in-8-months-equals-coke-zeros-record/articleshow/51890893.cms) Such is the power of Small.
It must be arising in your mind that how can I treat a customer who gives me an investment of Rs 25 Lacs per annum in the same manner as a customer who gives me an investment of Rs 25,000 per annum. Yes, in business you have to differentiate, you have to please the former because his investment alone has a significant impact on your income. And his satisfaction is your priority to maintain a long term relationship with him. You may categorize clients on the basis of their investment. You might have Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze category clients. You may be gifting a silver coin and a box of dry fruits to the Platinum Category, yet you cannot miss sending a Diwali wish to the bronze category customers. You may be meeting the Platinum or Gold category once a fortnight, but you shall not be not responding to a call from the Bronze category.
Why is it important to be dedicated to all your Clients?
Referrals: Small clients can get you big referrals. You never know a small hardware dealer may be friends with the biggest business tycoon. The CEO of an industry may not have the time to go about telling people the extraordinary treatment you offered to him, but a small shopkeeper will definitely talk about your responsiveness, the quality of your service and the best investment products you chose for him, to his acquaintances.
Reputation: A happy customer might tell a friend, but an unhappy one will tell the world.
People like to talk about negatives more than positives. An unhappy client may tell 10 other people about their sad story, or he may even share his experience on social media. This has a risk of damaging your reputation and you may loose other present or prospective clients.
Large number of smalls make it big: The ocean is made of small drops. A large number of small clients will help you make a triple or a quadruple number of client base attached to your name and can raise your AUA from double digits to triple digits.
Today they are small, tomorrow they might be big: No one knew Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal 10 years back, today they run the biggest e-commerce success of India 'Flipkart'. So, the small retailer you are dealing with today, may be the CEO of a company tomorrow. Your service will make him loyal towards you and he might be at the top of your Platinum Category customers five years later.
Customer satisfaction plays an important role in the success of your business and none of your customers should be left unsatisfied.
