With the holiday season in full swing, financial advisers couldn't be busier. If you aren't pre-paring year-end reviews or pushing to reach your yearly goals, you are scrambling to schedule those last few client meetings before getting to enjoy some time off with family.
It is hard to imagine finding time to do anything else, but there is one activity that advisers can and should squeeze in: reaching out to clients and prospects to tell them how much you appreciate your relationship.
Many advisers do this by sending holiday cards.
But do you remember everyone who sends you a card in December?
I am not a fan of impersonal holiday cards. When I receive a card with an embossed stamp of the person's name or company, I often wonder why they bothered.
Over the past several years, I have received several beautiful holiday cards from a professional colleague, but I know the cards were signed and addressed by the colleague's assistant. Although I am sure that my friend spent a significant sum on the cards, they had absolutely no impact on me.
Before I suggest some ways that social media can be used to make your clients feel special, let me say that I am still a fan of old-fashioned cards (surprised?), as long as you take the extra time to write a personalized note. Better yet, send handwritten cards at other times of the year such as New Year's, Independence Day or Thanksgiving when they are less likely to get lost in the shuffle.
When using social media to show your appreciation to clients at this time of year, here are a few tips that may help:
Share information. Let's face it — holidays can be stressful. Try using status updates to share information about relaxation tips and other helpful items your clients may appreciate. Post an article on holiday stress busters or on timesaving strategies designed to help people get through the holidays. If your target market is executives with young children, link to an article featuring the top 10 children's gifts of the season. Think about the problems that your clients and prospects face this holiday season, then find articles that address those issues.
Promote your small-business clients. Small businesses, especially ones that offer products and services, rely on the holidays for a significant share of their annual revenue. If any of your clients are small retailers or run a business that is busy at this time of year, let them know that you support their enterprise by helping to promote them this holiday season.
In prior columns, I have talked about my one-third rule in connection with social-media status updates: A third of your posts can be about you or your business (but no more), a third should educate or share information (like those stress-busting articles I mentioned) and the final third should promote someone else. This is the perfect time of year to post a status update that toots the horn of one of your nearest and dearest clients. Not only does it share useful information with your followers, it also deepens your relationship with a client by showing your support.
Look to the new year. People get excited talking about the things they plan to accomplish. Ask them (via status updates) to share their goals for 2012, and then pay attention. Listening to what your clients and prospects say online gives you insight into how best to help them achieve their goals.
Send electronic holiday cards. Although I absolutely love and much prefer a good, old-fashioned handwritten card, some great e-cards are now available for a variety of holidays and practically any other occasion. Whether you send them to one client, a handful of clients or post them to your social-media site, be sure to personalize them for greater impact.
Whatever you choose or are able to implement within the confines of your firm's social-media policies, focus on making your clients feel special this holiday season.
This is the time of year to be thankful for all that we have. And because your clients are a huge part of that, be sure to let them know it.
Kristin Andree, who can be reached at kristin@andreemedia.com, is president of Andree Media & Consulting.
