For a financial advisor and their new client, the first year working together can be a particularly intense period, typically involving multiple in-person or virtual meetings. After this first year, though, the number of scheduled meetings typically declines, often including only one or two formal meetings per year to check on progress toward financial goals and answer questions.
Beyond these formal meetings, though, advisors still often seek to create additional client touchpoints – interactions that can be either personalized (like one-on-one phone calls) or standardized (like newsletters sent to all clients). These touchpoints convey the ongoing value the advisor offers between meetings, particularly when clients are paying fees on a quarterly or even monthly basis.
In examining how these client touchpoints affect advisor productivity, the 2024 Kitces Research on How Financial Planners Actually Do Financial Planning found a positive correlation between the number of touchpoints and average revenue per client. In the study, advisory teams with less than $5,000 in average revenue per client reported a median of 14 annual client touchpoints, and those with $12,500 or more in average revenue offered a median of 20 touchpoints. Which suggests that advisors may offer more touchpoints when clients are paying higher fees, and that those clients may also expect more frequent engagement.
The revenue-per-client data also suggests that advisors aiming to move 'upmarket' may benefit from offering more frequent touchpoints – especially since clients paying higher fees often expect more engagement. However, client touchpoints aren't just about quantity – the type of touchpoint being offered also matters. For example, while personalized client phone calls require significant advisor time, standardized formats like newsletters or webinars can offer value more efficiently – and not every touchpoint format needs to be individualized to be effective.
In its examination of client touchpoint strategies, the Kitces Research Study on Advisor Productivity suggests that advisory firms tend to cluster into three broad groups based on the frequency and type of touchpoints they deliver: 1) Personalized Low Touch (about 10 touchpoints, primarily individualized through phone calls or personal emails; 2) Personalized High Touch (more than 20 touchpoints primarily individualized), and 3) Standardized High Touch (more than 20 touchpoints, primarily delivered through standardized means like client newsletters or webinars). Notably, service teams using a Standardized High Touch approach tend to report higher revenue per advisor than those using either Personalized Low Touch or Personalized High Touch approaches. This appears to be due in part to the ability to offer a greater number of touchpoints (linked to higher revenue per client) using less advisor time, freeing up staff capacity for other responsibilities.
Firms considering a shift to a Standardized High Touch approach can start by evaluating which types of client communication truly benefit from a more personalized approach – and which could be standardized without sacrificing client engagement. For instance, an advisor might hold a webinar addressing common client questions rather than repeating the same answers across several phone calls. Or, asynchronous video communication could allow advisors to offer personal responses without the need to coordinate schedules with the client. Further, firms with a high-touch offering can organize their client touchpoints into a clear, digestible format (e.g., a client service calendar) to help clients understand the full scope of what's available and what to expect throughout the year.
Ultimately, the key point is that by offering additional standardized touchpoints – in the formats that their clients find most valuable – advisors can strengthen client engagement and satisfaction (potentially leading to better client retention figures and more client referrals) without overextending themselves!
