In 25 years of gathering client feedback for institutional investment managers, Eager, Davis & Holmes has gained valuable insights about client
satisfaction, asset retention and cross sales. Some likely apply to your firm:
- Not surprisingly, clients’ overall satisfaction with their investment manager is highly correlated to satisfaction with investment performance
- But, many service-related factors including thought leadership, understanding clients’ needs, and communication of investment strategy also
significantly influence overall satisfaction
- Normally, a significant minority of clients can’t explain the investment process of the products in which they invest. Clients who can explain the
investment process, as a group, are ALWAYS more satisfied overall with their manager
- Managers get good marks for being responsive. But, they frequently receive low satisfaction ratings for “being pro-active.” “They need to pick up the
phone and call us more often” is a typical request
- Managers can’t have a rigid one-size-fits-all client service model. Clients’ preferences for the way they receive information, how quickly they need
it, how often they want to meet, etc., vary greatly from client-to-client. Managers need to know and respond to each client’s preferences if possible
- Many clients are interested in learning more about products their managers offer that they don’t use
To improve our understanding of industry client survey practices, Eager, Davis & Holmes recently polled 40 investment managers on that subject.
Here are some key findings:
- Half of the 40 managers polled have conducted a client survey within the past four years
- Of those who conducted a survey, 65% used an outside third party
- Managers who used an outside third party gave their survey higher usefulness ratings in almost every area
- 65% said surveying was “Highly Useful” in learning each client’s servicing preferences
- Finally, of those using a third party, 36% said their survey was “Highly Useful” in expanding “share of wallet” compared to 0% of firms who conducted
their own survey
Many firms gain feedback from other constituencies as follows:
- 41% get input from consultants
- 31% routinely conduct lost client interviews
- 28% routinely conduct “post finals” interviews
Thinking of doing your own client survey? Consider this:
- Relationship Manager and Senior Management feedback is difficult to analyze and measure for progress over time
- There is no guarantee it gets done (or done in a timely manner)
- Since clients can’t be offered anonymity, many will not participate
Using a third party offers many advantages:
- Surveys and interview guides are developed (with your input) by experienced marketing research professionals
- Interviews are conducted by trained interviewers
- Some third parties, like Eager, Davis & Holmes, understand the investment management industry and the nature of client servicing in this business
- The survey will be objective. The process does not begin with the desire to make your staff look good or have any other biases
- In the end, considering compensation rates at investment management firms, it will likely be cheaper to outsource a client survey process than do it
internally
How can you benefit from an Eager, Davis & Holmes client survey?
- Learn which servicing enhancements clients want to see from your firm
- Get an assessment of how your firm is satisfying clients’ needs in a variety of specific areas (e.g. risk management)
- Determine those same perspectives on a client-by-client basis
- Identify clients “at risk” and those that may become “at risk” if specific issues are not addressed properly
- Find out which clients are interested in learning more about capabilities you have they are not using
Eager, Davis & Holmes has conducted client surveys for institutional investment managers for over
25 years. Clients repeatedly tell us the money they spend on client surveys is “the best money we ever spent with a firm like yours”. We invite your
inquiries.