A report jointly published by Spectrum Group (a consulting & market research firm based in US) and Vanguard has revealed some interesting insights on how advisors can improve their communication with ultra-high net worth individual clients.
The company conducted online interviews with 1,500 mass affluent, 1,000 millionaire and 500 ultra-high net worth households in 2014. Although the research covered US residents, its findings could be relevant for India also.
In the previous article, we discussed how UHNWIs can fire advisors if they don’t receive a prompt reply from their advisors. Read here. In this article, we will discuss how swiftly advisors should respond to their ultra-high net worth clients.
The survey revealed that more than one-quarter of millionaire and one-third of UHNW respondents say that they want a response to a phone call in two hours or less.
This means that advisors should respond to their clients, at least by acknowledging their emails or phones very promptly. Advisors say that if the query is complex, they can take up 24 hours to respond.
When asked if it is acceptable to hear back from someone else in the office, majority of ultra-rich clients do not seem to mind to hear from an advisor’s colleague.
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Is it acceptable to hear back from someone else in the office? |
|
|
Mass affluent |
|
|
Yes |
56% |
|
No, I want to speak to my advisor |
44% |
|
Millionaire |
|
|
Yes |
55% |
|
No, I want to speak to my advisor |
44% |
|
UHNW |
|
|
Yes |
61% |
|
No, I want to speak to my advisor |
39% |
The report suggests that advisors should develop a firm communication policy so clients know often how often they’ll hear from you, how quickly they’ll receive a response to inquiries, and whom they may be interacting with in your stead. The report recommends that you should consider a written commitment that you actually sign and give it your clients.
