Yesterday, 250 financially successful individuals, and wannabees like us, gathered at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California for the 20th anniversary session of Client University.
Diane Doolin got up and welcomed her guests to an all-day event filled with news about the economy, market trends and future thinking as well as break-out sessions that covered topics from estate planning to the impact of the tax cut to women’s heart health to multi-generational travel, to commercial real estate investment.
For 18 of the last 20 programs Dr. Richard Marston, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania gave the opening talk. He is a funny and analytic explainer of the economy and markets and paints the overall picture of what has worked for investors this year. For repeat attendees of Client University, he is a familiar presence and sets the stage for the rest of the day. While tried and true does bring a sense of comfort, it can also feel too routine.
Diane brought in a different economist in 2017 to change it up a little bit. Also, well known, I was looking forward to hearing what he had to say since I read his analysis of the markets pretty regularly. I guess he didn’t ask anyone how California voted because he brought a very partisan view of the election that put off half of the audience. Not a great start to what was otherwise a wonderful day. We were happy to have Dr. Marston back who stuck to a nonpartisan and economic view of world events.
I bring that up for two reasons. First, we can get complacent with how we treat our customers. Diane tweaked the format, the topics, and the speakers as she asked her clients what they were concerned about in her one on one meetings. She paid careful attention to their feedback while assessing for herself what these families should know as they acquire assets and their families grow up.
Secondly, pay attention to your audience. Stay current with trends outside your industry that can apply to you, from how you deliver your product to whether anyone even wants what you offer any more.
Despite Diane’s openness about how successful these programs are for her clients, I have only heard of a handful of wealth advisors who have created programs like this for their clients. I don’t get why more do not. Educating her customer is a huge part of the way the Doolin group at Morgan Stanley differentiates itself from its competition.
What do you do to clearly stand out from the next guy in your industry?