PUBLIC PRACTICE

Client Proposals

Do proposals and agreements confuse your clients? Do they lack essential information or introduce new information you didn’t discuss during the sales process? Is it too focused on the firm rather than the client?

Improving this stage of the client experience may help you win more business.

Client Onboarding

with what the firm provides? Do they have to deal with delayed replies to calls or e-mails, underwhelming client meetings, or a misunderstanding of the next steps?

You may need to revamp your processes, improve communication or create a more client-focused culture within your firm.

Growing Into Additional Services

Common Opportunities For Improving The Client Experience

The following errors are common pain points in the client experience. Review this list and consider what your clients are currently experiencing and how you can make incremental changes to improve the process.

The First Meeting With A Prospective Client

Discovery calls with clients are often unorganized, inconsistent, rushed, or missing key people. Create a process and a template for these calls to ensure you gather all the information you need about the client’s needs and have time to show them how you can help.

The client onboarding experience is often overwhelming and rushed. Clients may receive multiple requests from different people or be left hanging, wondering what will happen next.

A disorganized client onboarding process is a crucial mistake because it’s one of your first chances to show a client what it’s like to work with you once they’ve decided to become a client. Clients with a bad experience at this point might back out altogether or leave after working with your firm for a short period.

Service Delivery

When your team delivers services to the client, are client expectations misaligned

Growing clients may go elsewhere simply because they don’t recognize that the firm is equipped to handle their evolving needs. This happens when the firm doesn’t have proactive strategies and an understanding of the client’s goals.

Trying to overhaul your entire client experience all at once is overwhelming and disruptive, but small, incremental changes in each of these areas can significantly improve the client experience. When you take time to understand and improve the client experience, you’ll be able to create stronger relationships, increase referrals, and boost your bottom line.

Jon Hubbard is a shareholder and consultant with Boomer Consulting.