In some ways you can divide clients into two groups - those who are primarily motivated by lowest cost and those who seek value. That doesn't necessarily align nicely with retirement plan benchmarking since it's much easier to compare and report things that are more easily quantified than things like expertise and quality and the care of consulting that we deliver together.
When cost is the primary driver, benchmarking is a pretty straightforward quantitative analysis. When you're prospecting it's an offensive strategy as you invite employers to look at potential savings against their current plan costs. When it's an existing client relationship, it's a strategy to demonstrate cost efficiency and defend how you deliver real value.
We know that in many cases plan sponsors know very little about how their plans work or what it takes to deliver the services they need. Perhaps just as important, they may not have much insight into all the things that we are doing to help them reach their goals, whether that's maximizing an owner's savings potential, minimizing their current tax obligations or increasing employee participation. And we know that benchmarking reports generally don't address these things either.
We also know that much of the work we do is behind the curtain - clients don't see it. And, what they don't see, they may not value. That's why it's incumbent upon us to remind them of what we're doing and how hard we're working to help them accomplish both a highly cost competitive plan arrangement, as well as one that continuously focuses on their needs and goals. If we don't, we leave the door open to the approach of competitors.
Let's talk about how we can collaborate to support a successful benchmarking strategy that works to your advantage.