A recent Wells Fargo survey of its clients about retirement yielded some very interesting results – Wells’ clients on average said that they would need $300,000 to retire and that they had only saved $20,000. My first reaction was that these clients are probably bank clients – as opposed to brokerage clients – so the $300,000 number seems low. But what is more noteworthy is how little the average person seems to have saved for retirement – in this case less than 6% of what they think that they will need. While the goal will be significantly higher for wealthier clients, I would venture to guess that most of them are also behind in their retirement savings efforts due to the economic events of the past two years.
I start with this story because it got me thinking about both issues – surveys and retirement. Most people are becoming increasingly worried about retirement. Hardly a day goes by that you don’t see an article about either retirees going back to work, or people extending their working years. There is little question that issues revolving around retirement will be prominent in clients’ minds moving forward.
Now surveys. When is the last time that you surveyed your clients? In many cases, I would guess the answer is never. But surveys are a great way to accomplish a number of goals:
1) Get a feel for how your clients are really feeling
2) Give clients a chance to tell you what they want
3) Make clients feel like you really consider them partners and respect their opinions
Oh yeah, you might get some real good client service and business-building ideas in the process!
Think about developing a client survey on retirement to kick-start your 2011 – at the very least it’s another “touch.” But it also might bring you some added credibility and business in the process. Oh, and make sure to include your prospects in the survey as well!
