Client Satisfaction Survey Revamp: 15% Higher NPS for Santos Group

Client Satisfaction Survey Revamp: 15% Higher NPS for Santos Group

Executive Summary

Santos Financial, a leading RIA managing over $750 million in assets, faced stagnant Net Promoter Scores (NPS) despite conducting annual client satisfaction surveys. The surveys, while well-intentioned, yielded limited actionable insights, hindering the firm's ability to proactively address client concerns and drive growth. By redesigning the survey with a focus on targeted questions, sentiment analysis integration, and streamlined feedback routing, Santos Financial achieved a 15% increase in NPS, demonstrating a significant improvement in client satisfaction and advocacy, ultimately contributing to higher client retention and acquisition.

The Challenge

Santos Financial prided itself on its client-centric approach, but their existing client satisfaction survey wasn't providing the necessary intelligence to maintain their competitive edge. The annual survey, a lengthy document with broad, open-ended questions, was perceived by clients as cumbersome and time-consuming, resulting in low completion rates (averaging just 28%). The collected data, while voluminous, lacked the specificity required for targeted improvements.

For example, a common piece of feedback was, "I'm generally happy with the service." While positive, this provided no actionable information. Was the client particularly pleased with the portfolio performance, the responsiveness of their advisor, or the firm's educational resources? Without knowing the specific driver of satisfaction, Santos Financial couldn't effectively reinforce those strengths or address potential weaknesses.

More critically, the lack of actionable insights impacted client retention. In 2022, Santos Financial experienced a client churn rate of 6.5%, representing a loss of approximately $48.75 million in assets under management (AUM). While not all churn was directly attributable to dissatisfaction, the firm recognized that a proactive approach to addressing client concerns could significantly reduce this figure. Furthermore, their stagnant NPS score of 45, which they'd maintained for 3 years, was becoming a barrier to attracting new clients. Prospective clients often ask about NPS as a proxy for service quality. A low score could be a significant deterrent, costing the firm potential revenue. It was estimated that improving their NPS by just 5 points could lead to a 5% increase in new client acquisition, representing an additional $37.5 million in AUM within a 12-month period. Finally, the data analysis was time-consuming. It took the marketing team approximately 40 hours to process and analyze the survey results, time that could be better spent on client acquisition strategies.

The Approach

Dr. Santos, recognizing the limitations of the existing system, spearheaded a complete redesign of the client satisfaction survey, guided by a data-driven and client-centric framework. This involved three key strategic shifts:

1. Focused Question Design: Dr. Santos replaced the broad, open-ended questions with targeted inquiries designed to elicit specific feedback on key areas of the client experience. These areas included portfolio performance, communication frequency, advisor responsiveness, financial planning services, technology platform usability, and educational resources. For example, instead of asking "How satisfied are you with our services?", the revised survey asked, "How satisfied are you with the frequency of communication from your advisor?" with a numerical scale and an optional open-ended comment box. Furthermore, the questions were tailored based on client segments (e.g., high-net-worth individuals versus retirees) to ensure relevance.

2. Sentiment Analysis Integration: Recognizing the power of AI in extracting meaningful insights from textual data, Dr. Santos integrated a sentiment analysis API (MonkeyLearn) into the survey process. This allowed the firm to automatically analyze the sentiment expressed in the open-ended comments, categorizing them as positive, negative, or neutral. This eliminated the need for manual review and provided a more nuanced understanding of client sentiment. Specifically, the API was trained on a dataset of financial services-related text to ensure accurate sentiment detection within the context of investment advice.

3. Streamlined Feedback Routing: To ensure that feedback was acted upon promptly, Dr. Santos implemented a system that automatically routed survey responses to the relevant teams. For example, negative feedback regarding advisor responsiveness was automatically routed to the advisor's team lead for immediate follow-up. Similarly, feedback on technology platform usability was routed to the technology team for review and potential improvements. A service level agreement (SLA) was established, requiring all negative feedback to be addressed within 48 hours. A custom dashboard was created to track feedback volume, sentiment trends, and response times. The dashboard also allowed the firm to identify recurring issues and prioritize improvement efforts.

The overall strategic goal was to move from a reactive, data-dump approach to a proactive, data-driven approach that enabled Santos Financial to continuously improve the client experience and foster stronger client relationships.

Technical Implementation

The technical implementation of the redesigned client satisfaction survey involved a combination of readily available tools and custom integrations.

1. Survey Platform: Qualtrics was chosen as the survey platform due to its robust features, including customizable question types, skip logic, and reporting capabilities. The survey was designed to be mobile-friendly and accessible on various devices. A/B testing was conducted on different question formats to optimize completion rates.

2. Sentiment Analysis API: MonkeyLearn's API was integrated into the survey workflow to perform sentiment analysis on the open-ended comments. The API was chosen for its accuracy and ease of integration. A custom script was developed to send the survey responses to the MonkeyLearn API and receive the sentiment scores. The script also performed data cleaning and pre-processing to ensure the accuracy of the sentiment analysis. The API returned sentiment scores ranging from -1 (very negative) to +1 (very positive). These scores were then categorized into three groups: negative (score < -0.2), neutral (-0.2 <= score <= 0.2), and positive (score > 0.2).

3. Data Integration & Dashboard: The survey data, including the sentiment scores, was integrated into a custom dashboard using Tableau. The dashboard provided a real-time view of client satisfaction, allowing the firm to track trends, identify areas for improvement, and monitor the effectiveness of improvement initiatives. The dashboard included various visualizations, such as bar charts, line graphs, and heatmaps. It also allowed users to filter the data by client segment, advisor, and survey question. The dashboard was designed to be user-friendly and accessible to all team members.

4. Automated Feedback Routing: A custom workflow was developed to automatically route survey responses to the relevant teams based on the content of the feedback. The workflow used a rule-based engine to identify the appropriate team based on keywords and phrases in the survey responses. For example, if a response contained the word "portfolio," it was automatically routed to the portfolio management team. The workflow also included a mechanism for escalating issues to senior management if they were not addressed within the SLA.

5. Security & Compliance: The survey platform and data integration processes were designed to comply with all relevant security and privacy regulations, including GDPR and CCPA. Data encryption and access controls were implemented to protect client data. Regular security audits were conducted to ensure the ongoing security of the system.

The total cost of the technical implementation, including software licenses, API usage fees, and development costs, was approximately $15,000.

Results & ROI

The redesigned client satisfaction survey yielded significant positive results, demonstrating a clear return on investment.

• NPS Increase: The Net Promoter Score increased from 45 to 52, a 15.5% improvement. This indicates a substantial increase in client advocacy and loyalty. This was measured three months after the new survey was released and compared to the average of the previous three years.

• Client Churn Reduction: The client churn rate decreased from 6.5% to 4.8%, representing a reduction of approximately 26%. This translates to retaining approximately $12.75 million in AUM that would have otherwise been lost. This was calculated by comparing the churn rate in the year following the survey redesign to the previous year.

• Increased Completion Rate: The survey completion rate increased from 28% to 45%, indicating that clients found the revised survey more engaging and less time-consuming.

• Actionable Insights: The sentiment analysis provided a wealth of actionable insights, allowing the firm to identify and address specific areas for improvement. For example, the analysis revealed that clients were particularly pleased with the responsiveness of their advisors but were concerned about the complexity of the firm's technology platform. This led to a targeted effort to simplify the platform and provide additional training to clients.

• Improved Response Time: The automated feedback routing system significantly reduced the time it took to address client concerns. The average response time to negative feedback decreased from 72 hours to 24 hours.

• Estimated ROI: The financial benefits of the survey redesign, including reduced churn and increased client acquisition, were estimated to be approximately $150,000 in the first year. This represents a 10x return on investment. The calculations include the retained AUM from reduced churn generating revenue based on the firm's average management fee of 1% of AUM.

Key Takeaways

The Santos Financial case study provides several key takeaways for other RIAs looking to improve their client satisfaction surveys:

1. Focus on Actionable Questions: Design survey questions that elicit specific feedback on key areas of the client experience. Avoid broad, open-ended questions that provide limited actionable information. Use a combination of quantitative and qualitative questions to gather both numerical data and nuanced insights.

2. Embrace Sentiment Analysis: Integrate sentiment analysis into your survey process to automatically analyze the sentiment expressed in open-ended comments. This can save time and provide a more nuanced understanding of client sentiment.

3. Streamline Feedback Routing: Implement a system that automatically routes survey responses to the relevant teams for prompt action. Establish service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure that feedback is addressed in a timely manner.

4. Regularly Review & Refine: Client needs and expectations are constantly evolving. Regularly review and refine your survey to ensure that it remains relevant and effective. Conduct A/B testing to optimize question formats and improve completion rates.

5. Close the Feedback Loop: Demonstrate to clients that you value their feedback by taking action based on their suggestions. Communicate the changes you've made as a result of their feedback to show that you're listening and responding to their needs.

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