“Value what you have, but seek for more”
Socrates 4BC
Ann Monks and Barbara Hamilton, Smith & Williamson
Client careClient care3pm-3.30pm, 18 October 20073pm-3.30pm, 18 October 2007
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
About usAnn Monks• Marketing Director for the
Smith & Williamson Group• 17 years’ experience in professional
services marketing• Chartered Institute of Marketing,
Associate in Promotional Practice • Former chair of Professional Marketing
Forum in London• Alumna of KPMG• Responsible for overall marketing
strategy • Member of Nexia International’s
European Marketing Committee
Barbara Hamilton• Associate Director within Marketing
and head of Business Development for the Smith & Williamson Group
• Chartered Marketer, Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, BA (Hons) in Retail Marketing
• Chair of Professional Marketing Forum in London
• Alumna of Herbert Smith, Allen & Overy, PwC, Sun Microsystems
• Responsible for business and client development programmes at Smith & Williamson
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Today we will cover
• What client care means
• Why we need it
• What our clients expect from us
• Client care at Nexia International
• What we’re doing at Smith & Williamson
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
What is client care?
Client care is the way we deliver our services, it is our approach. We have to remember that our clients are people not businesses.
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
What do our clients expect from us?• To meet their expectations• Provide accurate and well informed advice• To be interested in them• Understand their issues• Be flexible and treat each client separately• Pass on our knowledge• To charge a fair price
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Why we need client care • Our clients have a choice and will work with more than one
professional adviser• To protect our future revenues and avoid complacency• Deliver consistency across our business and manage our
reputation• We operate in an increasingly competitive market• We are growing as a business and new people are joining us• Everyone needs to know what quality we are trying to achieve
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
What good client care looks like• The client knows who is looking after them• There are clean lines of communication• Information is shared appropriately• Everyone knows what is expected of them• Work runs smoothly, on budget and on time• The client feels happy to pay the fee
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
What bad client care looks like• The team changes constantly• The client is asked the same questions twice• The director/partner is not available• Simple mistakes keep being made• The fee is not the same as the quote• The director doesn’t seem that interested• Things seem a bit rushed
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Good client care at Nexia International• As much as possible the service is
seamlessly delivered• Expectations are set early and both
sides know what they have to do• Reporting is coordinated so what
the client sees is consistent across borders as much as it can be
• Information is shared amongst the different teams
• Cultural differences are understood and outputs adapted
• The focus is on what the client wants and what they expect
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
What gets in the way of good client care• Language and cultural issues• Relative experience and maturity
of markets• Project management is not owned
centrally so deadlines are missed• Different perspectives on what is
good quality• Different resources and experience• The client’s status differs across
markets• Nexia is not the same as one firm
but the client treats it as if it is
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
At• New project across Tax & Business Services to
launch client care standards across the business• Follows a review of our lead director and key
client programme and some client feedback• Recognition of a need to embed what we do well
and change behaviours where service can improve
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Our dilemma• Who a client is varies enormously across the business• The nature of the relationship varies
– Same client your whole career– Never the same client twice
• The nature of the work varies– Primary and secondary adviser roles– Transactional, compliance and advisory work– Project versus cyclical assignments
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
What we have done
• Put together a steering group to make sure that what we do is relevant across the business
• Created objectives and some simple standards for client care
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
The objectives for client care at Smith & Williamson
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
We want to be recognised as:
ResponsiveEfficientProfessional
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Professionalism• Invest in our technical
expertise• Innovative services• Recognised by clients for
our reliability• Appropriately qualified
staff on each job• Work well with other
advisers
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Efficiency• Good project management• Every job is appropriately
planned and scoped• Seamless delivery of
multi-department services• No wasted resources• Minimal disruption• Profitable assignments
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Responsiveness• Demonstrate an interest in
clients
• Change our behaviour to fit clients needs
• Obtain feedback on our performance
• Adapt to and initiate change
Barbara Hamilton
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
And finally …• Client care is not a separate process but a part of
what we do every day• Client care relates to everyone in a firm not just
fee earning members of staff• Barriers to change are lifting so it is more
important than ever to be good at service• Start with what you are already good at• Involve clients it is them that you have to please
Ann Monks
Ann Monks & Barbara Hamilton Nexia International Conference
18 October 2007
Q&A
Ann Monks and Barbara Hamilton, Smith & Williamson,
Client careClient care3pm-3.30pm, 18 October 20073pm-3.30pm, 18 October 2007