Every financial services leader eventually reaches the same truth: your products don’t set you apart — your client experience does.
We sat down with Glenn LaCoste, founder of Surviscor Group, whose team has spent over two decades evaluating client experience across banks, credit unions, brokerages, and digital-first financial brands.
Glenn breaks down why the client experience is far more than a slick digital interface. It’s the sum of every task, interaction, and moment of friction — and it quietly determines whether a client feels confident, frustrated, or ready to leave.
He shared how his team measures thousands of data points through ongoing mystery shopping, why most firms overestimate how “good” their experience actually is, and how internal bias, not capability, is the biggest barrier to improvement.
Along the way, he unpacked why trust is built one completed task at a time, how to avoid chasing new “rabbits,” and why consistency beats complexity in today’s competitive landscape.
Clients trust firms who help them effortlessly complete what they came to do — whether that’s placing a trade, fixing an issue, or accessing an account. Every successful task builds confidence. Every roadblock erodes it.
People start online, but the human element still matters. Younger clients eventually want face-to-face advice for bigger decisions. Older clients may prioritize phone support. The winning firms integrate both intentionally.
Glenn sees the same pattern year after year: teams assume they’re delivering excellence, even when external data shows otherwise. Improvement starts when leaders finally confront their blind spots.
You can’t out-feature big banks. You can outperform them with clarity, specialization, and a client experience that feels custom-built for your ideal audience.
AI can enhance personalization and speed, but it can’t replace human judgment, nuanced advice, or true Know Your Client responsibility. Advisors who fear replacement misunderstand what clients value most.
Glenn’s insights map directly to the challenges faced by independent advisors and growth-minded firms:
Before a prospect ever calls, they’ve already judged your website, messaging, resources, and ease of navigation.
Clients will still need experts to ask the questions AI can’t, interpret nuance, and ensure advice aligns with real life.
“Trust comes from doing. If I can complete what I came to do — and you help me when there’s a problem — trust builds. It’s that simple, and that hard.”
Joel Crampton — Fractional CMO for RIAs and Wealth Managers
LinkedIn
cmoalpha.com
Mandy MacPhee — Fractional CMO for Founder-Led Companies
LinkedIn
illuminationcmo.com