Are you able to develop your agency however need to be certain that you preserve the extent of service purchasers count on and worth from you? It could be time to take a extra strategic method to your shopper base. However the place do you begin?
Efficient shopper segmentation can improve your scaling efforts and assist your enterprise progress ambitions. To begin, we advocate 4 steps that will help you consider your shopper base, successfully categorize them, construct a devoted shopper service mannequin, and implement your technique.
Step 1: Analyze Your Ebook of Enterprise
In the case of analyzing your shopper base, you may’t measure what you may’t see. Consumer segmentation provides you clear route and perception into who your present purchasers are and what providers you may present them to assist your online business scale.
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Suppose by way of each quantitative standards (e.g., property below administration and income generated) and qualitative components (e.g., stage of belief, coachability, and referral historical past). Think about what you do for them; does everybody at the moment obtain the identical providers, similar to a monetary plan, an annual evaluate assembly, common outreach, and invites to shopper occasions? If the reply is sure, get able to shake issues up!

Step 2: Implement an ABSLN Segmentation Framework
After you have a greater understanding of your present purchasers, it is time to begin categorizing them. Commonwealth’s Enterprise Consulting crew typically recommends a holistic segmentation methodology referred to as the “ABSLN” methodology.
ABSLN Segmentation at a Look

This methodology identifies your high purchasers as “A+,” “A,” or “B” based mostly on the income they generate to your agency. For instance, your high-net-worth (HNW) purchasers fall into the A+ class as they supply a useful enhance and enhance of property. These purchasers have particular and sophisticated wants, requiring the next diploma of useful resource and time administration out of your agency.
Not like the quantitative categorization of the highest tiers, the underside tiers depend on qualitative standards. Purchasers in these segments are labeled “S,” “L,” or “N.”
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S/Strategic: People on this tier have the potential to grow to be splendid purchasers. Think about younger, excessive earners with robust financial savings, enterprise homeowners with illiquid wealth, or HENRYs (excessive earners, not wealthy but).
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L/Legacy: These purchasers could have a legacy relationship that justifies offering continued service—for instance, “A” purchasers’ kids, widows, or private mates.
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N/Non-ideal: These purchasers don’t match into another segments. For them, you can proceed providing a lowered stage of service, switch them to an affiliate advisor, or discontinue the connection.
ABSLN segmentation presents deeper perception into the sorts of purchasers at the moment in your guide, which you’ll be able to then use to establish the kinds of providers you will ship to them.
ABSLN in motion
I labored with a Commonwealth-affiliated advisor who was questioning whether or not to rent a service advisor to handle the underside half of their guide, as they had been feeling at capability with their time. Collectively, we used the ABSLN methodology to phase their purchasers, which revealed {that a} new rent would price greater than the income being managed and that many current purchasers fell into the “non-ideal” class. The advisor determined to reduce the providers being offered to that group, which freed up a few of their time.
Step 3: Mix the Energy of Segmentation with Service
As soon as you have completed the shopper segmentation train, you may construct your shopper service mannequin, the place you will establish which providers you will ship to every phase—and the way typically.
Use these questions to assist outline and information your service choices:
Your outcomes could begin to seem like the next grids, which pair providers—every thing from funding administration to shopper occasions—with shopper tiers. Remember to take into account the whole variety of hours you will spend to ship service throughout every shopper class. If it would not align with the common income earned from that class, you could want to regulate.
Step 4: Put Your Technique into Motion
You have segmented your purchasers and created a service mannequin. Now, it is time to implement your technique by systematically evaluating each facet of your online business and adjusting accordingly.
Listed below are some questions and instance eventualities to contemplate:
Consumer Segmentation: A Launchpad to Enterprise-Stage Development
Implementing a thoughtfully deliberate shopper segmentation and repair mannequin is not simply good to have—it is a must-have for advisors aiming to succeed in enterprise-level success. By following the 4 crucial steps we have outlined—analyzing your guide of enterprise, implementing a shopper segmentation framework, combining segmentation with service, and placing your technique into motion—you are laying the groundwork for sustainable, scalable progress.
*As of 11/1/2024
