Journal of Financial Planning: March 2025
Kristine McManus is chief advisor growth officer at Commonwealth Financial Network (www.commonwealth.com), member FINRA/SIPC.
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There’s so much that goes into being a great financial adviser. You have to be able to help clients articulate their dreams and goals and create a plan to reach them. You develop their roadmap for saving and investing and ensure that they have the best choices for their particular needs. You help with estate and legacy planning while always remaining flexible—since life brings change, and your clients will likely need to make adjustments over time.
And that’s just for starters! While critically important to the job, these are all technical skills and tasks. You can study, learn, and gain expertise in them (which we hope you do!), but at the end of the day, it’s your relationships that will make or break your career. It’s the client connections and loyalty that truly matter, and it’s why a great financial adviser can never be replaced by artificial intelligence or a robo-solution.
How Do I Create Client Loyalty?
Many next-gen advisers are surprised to learn that one of the biggest factors that can create client loyalty is something as simple as communication—but it’s true! Good client communication can help an adviser gain more referrals, create more loyal clients, and acquire additional assets.
To create loyalty, you need to connect with clients on what’s really important to them. Research suggests that frequent, non-investment communication helps move the dial, and it also indicates that the right amount might be more than 24 contacts per year. So, how do you effectively talk to clients about non-investment matters?
Let’s be clear here. Sending someone prep documents in advance of a meeting does not count, nor do follow-up notes after a meeting. Those steps are part of the business relationship and, while necessary, don’t do much to enhance the connection. To further the relationship, it needs to be more thoughtful—and ideally, more personal.
Most advisers don’t come close to 24 non-investment touches, but take heart. First, try to track what you did last year to see what you are already doing with your best clients. Once you have a baseline of how you did last year, try to increase it 50 percent this year. If you had five contacts in 2024, try to get seven to 10 in 2025; if you had 10 contacts, aim for 15–18 in 2025. Add additional contacts gradually so that clients aren’t confused by the sudden surge in communication.
Given that next-gen advisers can be strapped for budget and time, here are a few inexpensive, easy ideas for client communication to help you get started and deepen your relationships.
Birthday and greeting cards. If you don’t currently send your clients birthday cards, perhaps you should add them to your communication plan. It’s a great personal touch, and you can include something noteworthy that would make clients comment on it to other people. Look up their birthday, and add in a few facts that might have meaning. A get-well or sympathy card can have an enormous impact, as a kind gesture means so much when someone is feeling low. Holiday and greeting cards count as a touch—but only if they are personally signed. Anything stamped from “All of us at (firm name)” doesn’t really make an impact.
Social media. Of course, you should have a strategy for social media, such as LinkedIn. This is where you have an opportunity to showcase yourself in addition to your firm. Set a schedule for how often you intend to post and what topics you might want to cover. Remember to include a mix of investment and personal posts to encourage readership.
But you have another easy and free opportunity to build your brand as well. Take the time to read through your connections’ posts and see what’s going on with them, too. Perhaps someone has accepted a new job or is fundraising for a charity event. Liking their posts, reposting them, or adding comments in support of their efforts will go a long way to building a relationship. You can also do this with prospects as a soft way to introduce yourself. Remember, the key is to add a personal note or an encouraging comment.
Handwritten notes. Your parents likely made you write thank-you notes when you received gifts as a child (and you probably hated doing it!). But writing those notes can stand you in good stead now. Think about the mail you receive: very little of it is handwritten or personal, and the same is true for your clients and prospects. By sending a handwritten note, you have the opportunity to stand out and shine. Plan to succeed—purchase a set of high-quality stationery and find a pen you like so that you are prepared. Block out your calendar for a specific time and set a goal to write at least three handwritten notes a week to clients, prospects, or centers of influence. You can send a note to congratulate someone, wish them well on an upcoming trip or surgery, offer support or sympathy, or simply say you were thinking of them. It’s all but guaranteed that a handwritten note will be read—and appreciated.
Phone calls or texts. If you work with a lot of retired clients, a quick phone call could be a nice way to stay in touch. Explain that you were thinking of them, hoping that they were doing well, or that you came across something that reminded you of them. Add in something seasonal (enjoying the holidays or getting ready for summer vacation), and then just listen. Pay close attention to what they tell you, as this is often valuable information to remember for the future.
For younger clients, consider sending a text with the same ideas as above. Make sure to follow any compliance guidelines when texting, but an unexpected, thoughtful message can have just as much impact as a phone call. And it might be more guaranteed to be seen by busy clients!
All of these ideas are simple and either free or low-cost. And no matter what the markets do, these activities are all at your disposal and easily within your control. By implementing a client communication plan today, you’ll start creating more loyal clients in 2025.
Please consult your member firm’s compliance policies and obtain prior approval for any ideas discussed in this article before moving forward.