Client Satisfaction Survey Checklist

Decide what the survey will measure: NPS, CSAT on the last review meeting, planning vs. investment service quality, or fee transparency. Segment by household tier (HNW, mass affluent), service model (full planning vs. investment-only), and tenure so the response data is actionable by the lead advisor and CSA team.

Anchor on the NPS question (0-10 likelihood to recommend) plus 4-6 CSAT items on advisor responsiveness, planning value, reporting clarity, and fees. Add one open-ended prompt for qualitative themes. Keep total length under 10 questions — completion drops sharply past that.

Under the SEC marketing rule (206(4)-1), survey results may become testimonials if used in advertising. The CCO confirms whether responses can be referenced externally and what disclosures are required. Document the review in the compliance file alongside the question set.

Incorporate the CCO's required edits — typically clarifying disclosure language, removing leading wording, or adjusting how performance-related questions are phrased. Resubmit for sign-off before pilot testing.

Run the draft past two advisors, the operations manager, and two client-service associates. Time the completion, flag confusing wording, and confirm Wealthbox or Redtail merge fields render correctly in the email preview.

Pull the active household list from Wealthbox, Redtail, or Salesforce FSC. Exclude households onboarded in the last 60 days, deceased clients, and any flagged for litigation or complaint. The operations manager owns the suppression list.

Set up the survey in SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, or AdvisorEngine's built-in tool. Confirm the from-address routes through the firm's archived email (Smarsh, Global Relay) so responses are captured under Reg S-P and books-and-records retention.

Schedule the send for Tuesday or Wednesday morning — completion rates run highest mid-week. Include a personal note from the lead advisor and a 10-minute time estimate.

One week after the initial send, push a reminder to households that have not opened or completed. CSAs may make a personal call to top-quartile households (by AUM) who have not responded — direct outreach lifts completion meaningfully.

Lock the survey at the 15-day window. Export raw responses to the firm's secure document store (NetDocuments, ShareFile) for archiving.

Compute firm-wide NPS (promoters minus detractors) and break down by service tier, lead advisor, and tenure. Wealth-firm benchmarks generally land in the 50-70 NPS range; anything under 30 warrants immediate triage.

Tag qualitative responses against a fixed taxonomy: communication frequency, fee clarity, performance reporting, planning depth, technology, billing accuracy. Two reviewers code independently then reconcile — single-coder analysis introduces bias.

Flag every household scoring 0-6 on the NPS question. Each detractor gets a personal call from the lead advisor within five business days — silence at this stage is the fastest path to attrition.

Summarize NPS, CSAT by segment, top three themes, and detractor count for the principal / partner meeting. Keep verbatim client quotes anonymized — even internally, sharing identifiable detractor language can chill future participation.

Match detractor households to the advisor of record. If the complaint references the advisor specifically, escalate to the practice principal or COO instead — the assigned advisor should not field their own negative feedback unsupervised.

The advisor calls each detractor, listens, acknowledges, and commits to specific follow-up. Document the call in the CRM. If the conversation surfaces a written complaint, escalate to the CCO for the firm complaint log per Rule 204-2.

Any verbal or written grievance about service, fees, or performance becomes a complaint of record. CCO logs the matter, opens the response file, and tracks resolution against the firm's stated SLA. Books-and-records retention applies for at least five years.

For each of the top three themes, name an owner (operations manager, CIO, CCO, or principal), a specific change, and a measurable target for the next survey cycle. Vague commitments — 'improve communication' — become next year's same complaint.

Send a 'you spoke, we listened' note to the household list naming two or three concrete changes. CCO reviews the communication under the marketing rule before send. Clients who never hear what changed assume nothing did.

Most wealth firms run client satisfaction annually with a mid-year NPS pulse. Set the recurring run in Manifestly so the action-plan owners review their targets before the next cycle launches.