3 things we learned from the Acumen Client Satisfaction Survey

Thank you to everyone who took part in the inaugural Acumen Client Satisfaction Survey. It was an extremely enlightening experience for us and we were thrilled by your overwhelmingly positive responses. So much so, we wanted to share the results with you and tell you the three things that we’ve learned from your feedback.

Here at Acumen, we always strive to give you the best possible service. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and we like to think that shines through in our products and services. The proof is in the pudding though, as they say. Therefore, it’s vitally important that we gain honest feedback from you, our valued clients, for a true gauge of how we’re performing.

Here are the headline findings from the 2018 Acumen Client Satisfaction Survey:

1. We have extremely engaged and loyal clients

We are incredibly grateful that we have both highly engaged and incredibly loyal clients. Distributing a survey of any sort is fraught with uncertainty. Not with Acumen’s client base. We called and you answered! An impressive 49% opened our survey and, of those who clicked through, 65% completed the survey in full. To put that into context, Smart Insights recently reported that the average worldwide email open rate for SME businesses in the Financial Services industry was 27%.

We are fortunate at Acumen that our clients trust our advice enough to stick with us for the long-run. Of our respondents, 43% have been accessing our services for seven or more years, compared to 23% who have been with us for four to six years and 26% who joined us within the last three years. Innumerable things can change with your finances over the years. If we didn’t keep abreast of industry trends, products and advice we know that the first thing to change would be your IFA. So, it’s humbling and gratifying in equal measures to have such loyal and engaged clients.

2. We understand our clients’ needs and provide an accessible and personalised approach

According to our financial planning client survey, a remarkable 97% of clients feel that Acumen understands their needs either ‘extremely well’ (51%) or ‘very well’ (46%). We attribute this near universal recognition to the amount of value we place on getting to know you, your financial goals and the things that keep you awake at night. Our entire team is highly trained to listen to your needs and provide a tailored service that comprehensively meets your needs as a result.

Of course, to truly understand your needs, we need to spend plenty of quality time with you to discuss your aspirations in detail. At Acumen, it has never been our business to charge our clients extra for consultations. We believe that creates an unhelpful barrier. Rather, we provide a genuine open door policy that gives you access to your dedicated IFA whenever you need them. This is a policy that resonates with our clients, with you telling us that you enjoyed personal access to your adviser and the wider team.

3. Clients would recommend our very high quality and comprehensive services

Our client satisfaction survey also revealed that 97% of our clients rate Acumen’s services as either ‘very high quality’ (59%) or ‘high quality’ (38%). A further 97% of respondents said that Acumen’s services provide everything they need for their financial planning. We are incredibly heartened to hear how satisfied you are with our services and are buoyed by the fact that we are delivering to the high standards you expect and deserve.

As well as the encouraging results we’ve reported so far, a major marker of how much you value our services is your willingness to recommend our services to those closest to you. A resounding 97% of respondents to our survey said that they were either ‘very likely’ (71%) or ‘likely’ (26%) to recommend Acumen’s services to a friend or colleague. We appreciate that referrals are reputational and reflect on you. Therefore, it means a great deal to us that so many of you are willing to stake your reputations on our services.

What you said about us

We value all of your feedback. It genuinely helps us to identify where we are strongest, as well as areas where there is room for improvement. From the 2018 Acumen Client Satisfaction Survey, your personalised comments are far and away some of the most illuminating sources of feedback that we could wish for. We’d like to assure you that we’ve taken your feedback on board and will take appropriate measures to implement all of the constructive suggestions you gave us.

To give you a snapshot of some of the anonymised comments we received, you told us variously:

• “I have total trust in the advice I receive from Acumen. I wouldn’t consider using anyone else!”
• “Highly knowledgeable well informed Advisers and Admin staff, all offering an excellent professional and friendly service.”
• “Excellent service provided in an informative and friendly manner.”

Once again, thank you sincerely from the entire Acumen team for taking the time to complete our survey. It’s crucial for us to receive your feedback to continually improve our services and keep delivering to the highest standard. Far from resting on our laurels, we will endeavour to keep evolving, improving and – crucially – listening, to give you exactly what you need.

For more information on Acumen’s services, contact us today on 0151 520 4353 or email info@acumenfinancial.co.uk.