Retaining clients is critical for the continued success of financial professionals today. When you develop your client retention strategy, it is important to include client appreciation activities. A client who feels appreciated will be more likely to continue working with you and recommend you to their friends and family.

There is no shortage of ways to express your gratitude towards clients. If you’re looking for inspiration, explore our examples of ways to surprise and delight clients, as well as ideas for client appreciation events.

3 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Clients

Surprising and delighting your clients is when you go above and beyond your clients’ expectations to show that you appreciate them. These unexpected rewards and gestures will strengthen your relationships by showing your clients that they are seen, understood, and valued by you.

Here are a few examples of ways that you can surprise and delight your clients throughout the year.

1. Celebrate their milestones: Keep track of your clients’ milestones and goals. When they achieve one of their goals, such as purchasing a home or entering retirement, send them a congratulatory card or gift to celebrate.

2. Send a thoughtful gesture: If your client is going through a difficult time, such as the loss of a loved one, sending a card or another thoughtful gesture is a way to show them that you care and are thinking about them.

3. Gift intentionally: Not every occasion needs a gift, but there are times when a thoughtful gift will help enrich your relationship with your clients. A welcome gift is an ideal way to show your appreciation to your new clients. If you keep track of when each of your clients started working with you, you can send a gift to celebrate another year of working together. The holiday season is another time where you can send a gift to say thank you for their business.

5 Client Appreciation Event Ideas

Client appreciation events are another way for you to express gratitude to your clients. They also give you the opportunity to meet with your clients in a more informal setting and foster deeper connections with them face to face. Here are five examples of different types of events that you can host for your clients.

1. Client appreciation dinners: Appreciation dinners can be held on a small scale or a large scale. You could invite a couple out to dinner and suggest they invite another couple to join you, which allows you to build a relationship between you, your client, and prospective clients. Another option would be to rent a room or hall and cater a meal for a large number of clients.

2. Special interest events: Bring people together for a fun gathering that is tailored to their interests. Sports events, paint nights, cooking classes, and wine or beer tasting events are all examples of special interest events you could host for your clients.

3. Family-friendly events: If many of your clients have children, consider hosting an event that the whole family can enjoy. An ice cream social, a summer BBQ, and a movie night are all examples of events you can host for your clients and their families.

4. Educational seminars and workshops: Consider partnering with another local professional, such as an estate planning attorney or an accountant, to host a workshop. In addition to giving your clients the opportunity to learn about a new topic from a professional for free, you get to establish and strengthen your relationships within your referral network.

5. Practical events: Hosting an event that offers a useful service to your clients is another way to show that you appreciate them and understand their needs. For example, you could hold a document shredding event to help your clients declutter and ensure that their sensitive documents are properly destroyed.

Tips for Successful Client Appreciation Events

If you are putting in the time, effort, and money to host a client appreciation event, you want to ensure that you maximize the benefits you get from it. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when you are planning your next client appreciation event.

1. Know your audience: You want to host events that your clients want to come to. Take the time to evaluate your clients’ demographics, lifestyle, and interests so you can create events that will resonate with them. If you have a large number of clients who have children, consider hosting a family-friendly event. An appreciation dinner or a wine tasting event may be more suitable for childless couples or older couples whose children are no longer at home.

2. Give your clients open invitations: Encourage your clients to bring along their significant other, a family member, their children (if the event is appropriate for children), or a friend. This will help your clients feel more comfortable and at ease.

3. Mingle with all of your attendees: Client appreciation events provide opportunities for you to build relationships with your clients. Be sure to move through the crowd, speak to everyone, and focus on getting to know your clients and forming new relationships with their guests.

4. Avoid having sales conversations: Keep your events focused on fun, client appreciation, and/or education. Your goal is to deepen your advisor-client relationships and show gratitude, not ask your clients to give you more. If your clients arrive expecting a fun event and have to listen to a sales pitch instead, they will be disappointed and feel betrayed.

Enhance Your Client Retention Strategy

By surprising and delighting your clients throughout the year and hosting client appreciation events, you can strengthen your advisor-client relationships, build trust, and boost retention and referrals.

In addition to your client appreciation activities, there are a number of other strategies you can put into place to retain the clients you have. To learn more about how you can boost client retention, explore four reasons why clients leave their financial advisors and get four strategies for combatting them.

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.

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