When you turn on the television, go to a sporting event or simply read the news online, you are instantly overwhelmed with options on ways to spend your hard-earned money. Marketing wizards woo you with relaxing beach vacations. They tempt you with pancake commercials the same day you started that new diet. It is as if they knew your craving before you did. Advertisers entice you with the newest luxury technologies that auto manufacturers have concocted to make your life easier \u2026 and only for a low monthly lease of $799 a month.<\/p>\n
Last year, I fell under the spell of the marketing wizards. I took a nice vacation, bought a new car and had my share of meals I did not need to have, as my scale can verify. As I look back on those purchases, I realize now I wasn\u2019t buying products and services. I ultimately was buying an experience<\/em>\u2013 the vacation experience of looking forward to time off of work, new adventures, relaxing by the pool and not having to grocery shop that week. The experience of tasting new foods or indulging in my favorite comfort foods. That new car smell and the latest in convenience features to make my daily commute easier.<\/p>\n The experience directly ties to my emotion as a consumer. When the experience is amazing, I feel great. I feel like I made a wise choice. It builds confidence and loyalty. When a company builds an experience that shows they care, it stands out. Even now, you\u2019re probably thinking of a great experience you\u2019ve had. What was the experience? How did it make you feel? What made that experience stand out? Whether it\u2019s a vacation, software purchase or working with their accountant for tax planning, consumers are looking for the best experience possible.<\/p>\n It\u2019s critical to build not only great products and services, but also great experiences that tie back to the human element of emotion. If you were to map out your own clients\u2019 experiences, what emotion does it invoke? Is there anything that you would change in order to enhance it or simplify it? Have you pulsed them on how they feel and whether there anything they would like to see done differently?<\/p>\n As a trusted advisor, the services you provide are critical to your clients\u2019 financial success, but the emotions you instill in them are the reason they stay loyal clients, year after year. We hear from accountants and tax professionals, as well as their clients, that you\u2019re more than just a tax professional, accountant, bookkeeper or even financial counselor to your clients. You\u2019re a business therapist, you\u2019re \u00a0honest and your clients have complete and total trust in you. This level of confidence and trust is how you continue to make a difference for your clients and provide them with amazing value.<\/p>\n Here are a few things to continuously do to ensure you\u2019re keeping your clients\u2019 well-being and <\/em>emotions top of mind:<\/p>\n