From Jack’s point of view, the value Herbein gets from surveying clients with ClearlyRated is priceless.

“We use ClearlyRated’s platform to understand how we’re doing across the board and to see how we’re perceived by specific clients. It’s rare to get information that you can use on a micro and macro level,” he says, noting that the data and client comments don’t just tout Herbein’s service excellence but also inform its entire marketing program.

“This survey tells you almost everything you need to know to inform your marketing strategy. You could say that everything tracks back to the survey,” Jack says. He notes that this applies to everything from marketing strategy and staffing choices to future service offerings and emerging expertise. “Survey responses helped us figure out where we needed deeper knowledge which helped us make informed hiring decisions. Now we’re expanding with new specialists that help us stay ahead of the market and best meet our clients’ evolving needs.”

“When people have told me that they’d love to use ClearlyRated, but just don’t have room in their budget, I respond, ‘What if you make the investment and your clients are happy – you get great testimonials. But what if you don’t make the investment, and your clients are not happy – you’re in jeopardy of losing those clients. If you want actionable feedback within a system that is user-friendly and delivered by a great support team, this is an investment that every firm should be making.”

– Jack Kolmansberger

Chief Growth Officer, Herbein

Here are just some of the outcomes that have resulted from Herbein’s client satisfaction survey program:

Saving at-risk clients. During their first-ever survey, The Herbein team identified a Top 50 client that had recently transitioned to Herbein and didn’t feel they were getting the value they expected. The Herbein team acted on this feedback immediately and successfully retained this critical client relationship.

Adding profitable new services. “ClearlyRated’s survey program has helped us find and pursue our next adventure with confidence,” Jack says. After Herbein included a question in its survey about client concerns, Jack’s team discovered an unmet need for HR advisory services. Shortly afterwards, they acquired an HR consulting practice to respond to and grow from those insights. Doing so allows them to cross-serve their clients, delivering a better CX while also boosting revenue. Jack says that year one revenue for the new service resulted in over 30% growth over the prior year.

Identifying cross-selling opportunities—and generating eager leads. In a recent survey, ClearlyRated’s account team suggested asking respondents which other Herbein practices they’d like to hear from. “We were overwhelmed by the number of people who not only wanted to learn more about our various services but asked for someone to reach out to them,” Jack said. “It was like opening the floodgates to what clients needed.”

Showing credibility in marketing materials and proposals. Herbein uses the ClearlyRated dashboard to add relevant testimonials to proposals. “Whether we’re segmenting by partner, by industry, or by service, I’m confident that our ability to offer the most relevant testimonials helps us stand out to prospects,” Jack says.

Positive morale. Herbein shares positive feedback internally, especially when specific members of the client service team receive shout outs in survey responses. “Sharing positive client feedback internally helps us to reinforce our commitment to client service while providing clear examples of the types of behaviors that create a world-class client experience,” Jack explains. “Our CEO, Dave Stonesifer, asked why he was getting so many shout-out emails where our clients specifically cited team members – and that he loved seeing each one.”

‘The Herbein Experience’—Defining it and training employees on how to deliver it. In 2021, Herbein published a new internal resource: The Herbein Experience. What started as an aspirational exercise to cover the kind of firm Herbein wanted to be turned into a printed internal resource. “Delivering service that inspires client loyalty is incredibly important to us. To help explain how we work with our clients, we pulled testimonials directly from ClearlyRated surveys. Those quotes show what our service expectations look like in practice and how that impacts our relationships with clients. Capturing what we want to achieve in this format has been transformational for us,” Jack says. Now every new employee receives The Herbein Experience as part of their onboarding.