Do your clients see you the way you see yourself?
Today is national “Get to know your customer day”! (It’s also National Lollipop Day and National Moon Day, but I digress). I’m not sure anyone should need a special day to get to know their customers, but we thought we’d take advantage of the day to better understand our email and blog readers, specifically your view of the value proposition of your firm.
I recently spoke with an advisor frustrated by the disconnect between what he does for clients and what his clients think he does. From the advisor’s perspective, his main value is guiding his clients to make better financial decisions through financial planning, coaching and advice. But the clients think the primary value they’re getting is market-beating performance. Bluntly stated, they think that’s what they’re paying for. He, of course, tries to educate his clients, but it’s not a foolproof solution. If he pushes too hard, clients (or prospects) may simply shop around until they hear a performance-oriented pitch they like.
We were intrigued by this dilemma and wondered how general it was. So, if you’ve got a couple of minutes, we’d be grateful if you could answer a few questions telling us your firm’s value proposition, as viewed by you and your clients.
For more on this topic, check out An Index to Smartleaf's Top Blog Posts.