What this outcome means for you
The Consumer Support outcome expects that our customers and your clients get the right level of support with products, services and their finances when and where they need it most – including vulnerable customers.
To meet the outcome, advisers and providers must be able to evidence that they're giving customers a consistent and high level of support, that’s easy to find and simple to access. Providers must help customers understand and have clear access to all the benefits and features that a product offers.
You should consider the type of support and customer service providers offer when making product recommendations to clients. Good, consistent customer support not only assists with client understanding – it can also represent added value.
What you need to do
- Review the support your firm offers: think about the stages of your client’s journey, how they choose to interact with you and the ways your firm communicates with them. The support your clients receive after buying a product should be as good as the pre-sale support
- Review the support providers offer: consider their customer support, their guidance, how helpful their tools are, the clarity of their communications, and additional support they offer. These factors can help you show the value of your advice and provide confidence in your product recommendation
- Explain the support that providers offer: help your clients understand the level of support they can access with their chosen provider, so they know what is available to them and what the benefits are
- Issue proactive, timely communications: customer support extends to proactively contacting clients when it’s time for a review or if there are changes to a product – this can help your clients avoid foreseeable harm
- Understand how clients feel about your support: through activities such as client feedback surveys, you must monitor if your clients feel they’re getting the support they need and make recommendations or changes where necessary.
Pensions: How we support your pension clients
In addition to our award winning service, we offer pension customers access to resources and services that help them understand their plan. This includes managing their pension with our mobile app and online service, and updating them with newsletters, webinars and in-app alerts.
Non-advised workplace scheme members can also access support from our at retirement team, which helps employees understand their retirement options.
Protection: How we support your protection clients
Our services and resources support our protection clients throughout the lifetime of their policy, including self-serve health and wellbeing support options they can use when they like.
Helping you improve your client support
We can help you offer the best support to your clients, thanks to our range of tools, webinars, customised marketing literature, and additional business support.