So, a key factor in not losing clients is to improve the management of the service process. How can than this be done?

The article suggests that your service center reps need to address the emotional side of customer interactions.

The research shows Twenty-four percent of the repeat calls in our study stemmed from emotional disconnects between customers and reps—situations in which, for instance, the customer didn’t trust the rep’s information or didn’t like the answer given and had the impression that the rep was just hiding behind general company policy. With some basic instruction, reps can eliminate many interpersonal issues and thereby reduce repeat calls.

One UK-based mortgage company teaches its reps how to listen for clues to a customer’s personality type. They quickly assess whether they are talking to a “controller,” a “thinker,” a “feeler,” or an “entertainer,” and tailor their responses accordingly, offering the customer the balance of detail and speed appropriate for the personality type diagnosed. This strategy has reduced repeat calls by a remarkable 40%.

I believe this research gives executives a lot to think about. What is your strategy for understanding the emotions of your clients?

Traditionally many advisors segment their clients based on tangible factors such as the type of service they will provide to clients (eg executives, family business, life planning etc) and assets under management minimums. There is business sense in this as it focuses the business to some degree. However, segmenting your clients based on their DNA Behavioral style will further increase your marketing and service delivery performance.

Behavioral segmentation will enable you to direct your communication and marketing to specific types of clients based on who they are. For instance, a Stability Need person needs to have communication which reflects safety and security. A Lifestyle Desire client needs to hear about how your solution will grow the fun side of life for them. When you segment your clients the emotional engagement with them will increase which leads to a longer term relationship with a greater share of the wallet.

Recently I was helping one of our Wealth Mentors with his client segmentation. He had all of his clients complete their Communication DNA profile. This enabled us to divide the client base into 4 quadrants of DNA style. Interestingly, because he is a Lifestyle Desire advisor this was the largest segment category. The Wealth Mentor knows having clients of a similar style to his makes relating to them easier.

However, the other key part about segmenting clients is addressing their values and life interests. The more that the clients values and life interests are similar to the Wealth Mentor’s the greater the chance of a sustained connection. The values are foundational as they will be at the core of every discussion and will be important when key decisions are being made. Having similar life interests eg sports or arts gives you something in common to relate to. In the case of our Wealth Mentor, he wanted clients who shared similar spiritual beliefs and also his interest in tennis. In his practice, other advisors wanted clients who were interested in environmental issues and football. What they found was that their relationships were much stronger with clients in these zones.

Once there are common values and interests, then whether you keep the relationship with the client will depend on natural DNA behavior. This gets back to segmentation based on behavioral style.

To learn more and to get started with implementing DNA Behavior Solutions to segment your clients, click here.