Remember the 1980s classic Back to the Future? It’s time to take a similar journey in business processes and rediscover the importance of service excellence and customer loyalty. In a world before websites, social media, Google, LinkedIn, and email, businesses relied on the basics: phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and posted letters. These methods weren’t just communication tools—they were the foundation for building unshakable loyalty. Without them, financial businesses had to rely on local newspapers, yellow pages, and expensive sponsorships to attract customers. It was a slow and costly process.

Now, imagine if the best practices of the past were combined with today’s digital power to create a unique approach to service delivery and customer relationships. The influence available to a savvy operator who can leverage both is immense.

Back to Basics: A Missed Opportunity

If you were to assess the customer base of most financial service businesses today, you’d find a highly under-leveraged business model. Rarely do customers understand the full range of services on offer, and just as rarely does the business fully understand its customers’ needs. Most financial service businesses operate reactively, focused on compliance. If the customer isn’t actively engaged, there’s often little meaningful interaction.

In tough markets, professional services are often viewed as expensive and unnecessary—but in reality, they’re critical. This misconception often stems from poor past experiences where customers felt they received little value, both financially and personally. This leads to reluctant transactions, with customers only spending the bare minimum.

The solution is simple, but not always easy to implement. In the past, there was a strong emphasis on personal, face-to-face communication. This built trust and connection, allowing financial professionals to really get to know their customers and their businesses. Without the pressure of heavy compliance, these interactions created opportunities to explore solutions and offer advice more openly. Stronger relationships meant more receptive customers, and that trust laid the foundation for long-term loyalty.

The Opportunity for Growth

Here’s a simple exercise to assess your current situation. Start with your team. Ask them to list all the services your business offers and estimate what percentage of revenue each service generates. You might be surprised by the lack of awareness across your team. Many won’t fully understand the breadth of services or how these services are being delivered to customers. This indicates a huge gap in the customer relationship and service offering.

Next, ask your customers the same question: what services do they know about and use? The results will likely reveal an even bigger gap. One firm that conducted this exercise found that out of 32 available services, the most any team member could recall was nine. customers knew even fewer. By identifying this gap, they realised that around 35% of additional revenue was immediately available.

The problem wasn’t a lack of services but the reactive nature of customer relationships. Many team members were hesitant to offer additional services, fearing it would come across as hard-selling. But the mindset shift from selling to professional advisory changed everything. It became clear that it’s the responsibility of the professional to ensure customers are aware of all the services that could benefit them.

Don’t Assume Loyalty—Build It

Never assume your customers will remain loyal without ongoing effort. Customer loyalty is never guaranteed, and neglecting to actively nurture those relationships leaves your business exposed to risk. Building a #1Reputation means continuously demonstrating your commitment to service excellence.

The key is to identify your commitment to customer service. It’s not about being different for the sake of it; it’s about being better. Don’t just rely on technology to appear innovative—use technology to enhance meaningful customer connections.

As the saying goes, “Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.” Build a #1Reputation by focusing on service excellence and creating highly engaged, long-lasting customer relationships.