EXCEPTIONAL CLIENT SERVICE HANDBOOK

Communication excellence

Client communication

Relationships are built on trust – trust is built through good communication

Clients often care more about whether they feel valued, prioritised and understood than short-term performance
Every touchpoint with our clients should leave them feeling informed, reassured and cared for
Whether reactive (e.g. responding to an email, taking a call) or proactive (e.g. pre-emptive comms during a period of market volatility), communication with our clients should be relevant and personal
Tailoring communication to each client’s preferences – e.g. frequency, level of detail, format – shows respect and attention to detail
Clients have limited bandwidth – communication should be relevant to them and easy to digest

Availability – clients should expect their client team to be always available to them within normal office hours
Coverage – there should always be a team member available to pick up and respond to incoming client communications – whether via phone/email/Microsoft Teams – between the hours of 8.00 and 18.00. Ensure this is regularly reviewed by your team
Response times should be prompt and consistent across the floor – responsiveness demonstrates respect and attentiveness
Teams must be conscious about everyone not taking breaks together – ideally there should always be a member of the team available on the desk throughout the day
If the whole team is offsite (e.g. team offsite/team lunch), ensure there is coverage and that phones are checked regularly whilst offsite
When working from home, ensure that you notify the team/change your Teams setting when you are away from desk for an extended period
EO trades – should be acknowledged within 30 minutes and required action taken

“Building trust is a process. Trust results from consistent and predictable interactions over time.”

- Barbara M White

Written communication is often the primary means of conveying information to our clients
Style and tone should be consistent – refer to the Style Guide here
Correspondence must read well, no spelling mistakes, correct punctuation, correct grammar
Clarity: Ensure the reader can grasp key messages without confusion or misinterpretation
Tone: Strike the right tone between being friendly and approachable, but not too informal
Brevity: Be concise, use plain and simple language, short sentences (full stops are free!), avoid jargon and abstract concepts

Before you email…have you considered calling instead?
Respond to client emails ASAP and always within the day. Send a holding email if you cannot provide the answer immediately, e.g. “Many thanks for the email, we are working on this and will get back to you in the next couple of days”
If you have sent an email, this doesn’t guarantee that the message has been received and/or read. Until you receive a response, the ball is still in your court. Follow up either with an email or a phone call instead
Email signatures and ‘Out of office’ must be house style
Password protect all PDFs containing ANY client data – password to be communicated via text or phone call [refer to Password Project]

When using Marketo for communications, use a dynamic intro/ending paragraph tailored to the client. CAs should not simply outsource the comms to A&As
Carefully consider who is Cc'd – Client's spouse/JV CA /team members
Remember, Marketo is here to make us more efficient, not less personal

Should be produced in house format, using standard templates where appropriate
Should never be addressed to “Dear Client”
Correct and be consistent with addressee language, e.g. how are you addressing “Mr and Mrs” – is it appropriate nowadays? Do husband and wife have different surnames?
Where possible, handwrite a thank you letter / note, rather than email

Phone calls must always be answered

The whole team must listen out for phone calls and be prepared to pick up when a call is forwarded
Set call forwarding for when you are unable to answer – calls to be forwarded after 10 seconds (check your settings)
Consider who should be in your call forwarding group so that the calls are always answered by one of the team
A client having to leave a voicemail on Teams is a failure of proper team coverage
Please refer to the Microsoft Teams Guides for further information on setting up Teams (delegates / call forwarding)

Unless in a meeting, answer your phone promptly
Return missed calls as soon as possible, preferably within the hour, and always within 24 hours
Only have your mobile phone on silent when in a meeting so it can be answered when you are at your desk

Set a voicemail and use voicemail script (see the 'Useful resources' section of this handbook)
Different message for different situations
- Standard for when you’re unable to answer a call but are working
- Standard for when you are away on holiday

Content: Do you know what the client is being sent? Check and review the documents
Address: Is all material being sent to the correct address?
Naming convention: Are portfolio/account names helpful – could they be better?
Grouped reporting: Are valuations being grouped in the most helpful way? E.g. kids’ portfolios vs. personal portfolio vs. charitable trust, etc
Post: If the client has eAccess, do they need or want postal valuations? (consider environmental impact)

eAccess: All clients are set up with eAccess
- At the outset call the client to check they have managed to access eAccess successfully
- If not, a team member should call the client to talk them through the process – even better, visit them at home or have the team expert join the client meeting at the office to help get them set up
- Check-in with client at portfolio reviews whether their eAccess is working correctly/any help needed?
Tax sensitivity: Is the client tax sensitive and do they need a sense of CGT and income before the tax year end? If so, add them to the "What if" report
Performance updates: Some clients like a quick email update on performance rather than wading through quarterly valuations or logging into eAccess
CA should check at each review meeting whether clients are receiving what they need?
Are you up to date with who their professional advisers are? And, if appropriate, did you explore potential referrals?