Listen to the Podcast Episode on Your Favorite Platform
.svg.png)
How Military Values Shape Client Experience in Financial Services
.png)
One of the very first initiatives we embarked on to ensure we were customer-centric was including, in all of our employee training and onboarding, the idea that we all own the customer experience. (Kellie Richter)
(00:00-08:19)
Kellie Richter shares her journey from leading marketing and strategy roles at major financial institutions, like American Express and AIG, to her current mission at First Command Financial Services, where she serves U.S. military families.
She emphasizes the critical connection between marketing and client experience, explaining how she requested the unique title of Chief Marketing and Client Experience Officer to take personal accountability for ensuring that First Command's brand promise—being the trusted financial coach for military families—matches clients' actual experiences. Using her "three C’s" framework—Clarity, Consistency, and Control—Kellie stresses that consistency, not just avoiding bad experiences, is key to building trust with clients.
Kellie also highlights how every employee at First Command is trained to own the client experience, drawing a direct link between employee engagement and client satisfaction. She shares how military values, like dedication and service, guide their client relationships.
The conversation touches on the broader business philosophy that everyone in the company—from the CEO to the front-line staff—plays a role in creating a positive client experience. Kellie’s approach is about leadership through empathy, transparency, and empowering employees to deliver on the company’s brand promise every day.
.png)
Empowering Military Families Through Financial Coaching
We embarked on understanding what our coaching philosophy is. If our brand represents coaching, we want to provide an experience that feels like coaching, not telling clients what to do. (Kellie Richter)
(08:19-13:14)
Kellie explains that First Command initially approached financial coaching with a more prescriptive style, similar to how the military operates. The idea was to tell military families exactly what they needed to do to take control of their finances. However, over time, the team realized that this method wasn’t truly serving their clients in the best way. Military families, just like any other group, have diverse needs and experiences, and a one-size-fits-all approach wasn’t cutting it.
Instead, the company evolved its approach to emphasize financial coaching that meets individuals where they are. This shift meant that instead of dictating financial plans, First Command’s advisors became coaches, helping clients navigate their financial journeys in a way that is customized to their unique circumstances. Kellie highlights that this coaching mindset isn’t limited to advisors—it’s part of the entire company culture. Everyone at First Command is seen as a coach in some way, contributing to the overall client experience and ensuring it reflects the organization’s brand values.
A critical part of this transformation was understanding who their primary clients really were. At first, First Command mainly focused on the active-duty service member, assuming they were the key decision-makers in their families. However, through 16 years of continuous research, they learned something crucial: in most cases, it’s not the active-duty member but their spouse or partner who is managing the family’s finances.
Kellie reveals a striking statistic: four out of five military spouses are responsible for the family’s financial planning and decision-making. These individuals often stay at home, facing unique challenges such as frequent relocations due to military postings, career discontinuity, and managing the household alone during deployments. As a result, First Command recognized the importance of developing financial plans that address the needs of the whole family, not just the active-duty member.
Kellie explains how this understanding transformed the way they engage with their clients. By tailoring their services to fit the individual circumstances of military families, First Command ensures that they’re not just delivering financial advice—they’re offering meaningful, personalized coaching that resonates with their clients’ day-to-day lives.
First Command's research has been a cornerstone of this shift. Kellie shares how the organization regularly conducts surveys and studies with both military members and their civilian counterparts to stay in tune with their clients' financial attitudes and behaviors. This commitment to research has enabled them to anticipate and address the changing needs of their clients. For example, they have learned how military families view financial security, how they approach long-term financial planning, and what challenges they face in managing their money.
By continuously engaging with clients, First Command can adapt its services to ensure they remain relevant and responsive to the unique needs of military families. This research also underscores the importance of maintaining a cohesive brand experience, where the company’s mission—helping military families achieve financial security—aligns with the actual experiences clients have when interacting with the company.
Kellie also touches on the strong connection between the employee experience and the client experience. Drawing from her own leadership role, she highlights how First Command ensures that all employees, whether they are financial advisors or work in other roles, understand the unique challenges faced by military families. The organization provides extensive training and onboarding programs to help employees empathize with clients, ensuring they’re equipped to deliver the level of service and care expected from the First Command brand.
The Personal Journey Behind the Mission
(13:14-22:03)
Alex shifts gears and asks Kellie where her own ability to connect with people and understand their needs comes from. Kellie reflects on her upbringing as the daughter of two educators and how her parents instilled in her a love of learning. Growing up, her family spent summers traveling across the U.S., always finding opportunities to learn something new. This background fostered her lifelong curiosity—a quality that has been key to her career in financial services, where she continuously seeks to understand the needs of clients and how to best serve them.
Kellie shares that her early career at American Express was about proving herself through hard work and dedication. As she advanced in her career, she began to focus more on work-life balance and the impact her work had on others. This shift in perspective is what eventually drew her to First Command, a mission-driven organization dedicated to helping military families achieve financial security. She notes that many of her colleagues share the same passion for the company's mission, which is what keeps them committed to their work.
Alex makes an interesting comparison between mission-driven organizations like First Command and what he calls mercenary organizations, which are more focused on chasing the latest trends or opportunities for financial gain. He notes that the most impressive people he’s met are those who have aligned themselves with a clear mission and stuck with it for the long term, continuously learning and growing within their roles. Kellie agrees, emphasizing that First Command is one of the most mission-driven for-profit organizations you’ll ever come across.
This sense of purpose is what attracts people to work at First Command, and it’s also what keeps them there. Employees feel connected to the mission of helping military families, and this drives them to deliver excellent service. For Kellie, the mission is more than just a tagline—it’s something that resonates deeply with both her personal values and her professional goals.
Purpose-Driven Finance: How First Command Supports Military Families and Communities
Finally, and this ties back to hiring from the military or through military family members, is empathy. It’s about truly demonstrating that we know what it's like and we understand the unique challenges of their lives. Understanding those emotions and how our clients express them helps us deliver the experience they’re looking for, and that’s how we keep our clients at the center of our actions and decisions. (Kellie Richter)
(22:03-29:56)
Kellie explains how First Command operates as an employee-owned company structured under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The company has taken a unique approach by not paying corporate taxes, which allows them to donate over 7% of their profits to military-based charitable organizations and community causes. This is a remarkable commitment, especially when compared to the less than 1% of companies that donate to charitable causes on such a scale.
Beyond corporate donations, First Command’s employees and financial advisors have personally contributed by volunteering over 25,000 hours in their communities. They also provided 36,000 free financial plans to active-duty military members last year. This strong commitment to giving back highlights First Command's mission-driven culture, which attracts employees who are passionate about supporting the military community and keeps them engaged despite opportunities elsewhere.
Alex and Kellie discuss the impact that a strong sense of purpose has on both employees and clients. Alex shares how allowing employees to choose a charity or cause to support can deeply motivate them. He points out that when individuals are given the freedom to use their skills and expertise for a cause they care about, it can be incredibly fulfilling.
Kellie emphasizes that this sense of purpose resonates with First Command employees, many of whom have a personal connection to the military. Through partnerships with organizations like Hiring Our Heroes, First Command recruits military veterans and spouses, reinforcing their culture of empathy and understanding. This helps create a team that instinctively grasps the unique challenges faced by military families, fostering deeper connections between financial advisors and clients.
Kellie dives into First Command’s customer-centric approach, explaining how they’ve redefined what it means to truly serve military families. First Command’s extensive research revealed that clients are not only concerned with achieving financial goals but also deeply value how they’re treated throughout the process. Respect is at the heart of this relationship.
For military families, respect goes beyond politeness; it’s about recognizing their military rank, keeping their data secure, and having a personalized understanding of where they are in their financial journey. This attention to detail helps build a strong bond of trust between First Command and its clients. The company's goal is to ensure every interaction feels personal and that clients feel supported no matter where they are stationed or deployed. By offering virtual advisors and remote services, First Command ensures military families have access to financial advice wherever they may be.
One of the key components of First Command’s client service is empathy. Having a team that includes military veterans and spouses means First Command’s advisors can genuinely relate to the challenges faced by military families—frequent relocations, career disruptions, and deployment uncertainties. This shared experience allows advisors to build deeper relationships with their clients and tailor financial plans that reflect the real-life struggles of military families.
The Way of Building Trust and Confidence
We did research and found that our clients really want to trust and have confidence in their financial plan and financial partner, which, in this case, is First Command. The only way to build that trust and confidence is to be completely transparent about how we make money, what our fees are—upfront and clearly—and what the service model looks like, as well as the options available to them. (Kellie Richter)
(29:56-38:27)
Kellie emphasizes that First Command operates within a heavily regulated environment, which brings additional layers of complexity to communication. They are accountable to various regulatory bodies, meaning they must balance compliance with the need for clarity. This creates a challenge: how to convey essential information without overwhelming clients with legal or industry jargon.
Kellie explains that their approach focuses on understandability. They strive to make financial coaching accessible, even when face-to-face interactions aren’t possible. With 170 offices located near military installations, First Command aims to maintain a personal touch, but they also recognize the necessity of providing clear online resources for clients who may not have the option for in-person meetings.
A significant theme of the conversation is transparency. Kellie discusses how First Command prioritizes open communication about fees, services, and the company’s financial practices. This transparency is crucial for building trust with clients, especially in a regulated industry where clients often feel overwhelmed by the volume of paperwork and disclaimers.
Kellie acknowledges the challenge of balancing compliance with clarity. First Command works continuously to innovate within these constraints, focusing on making their communication straightforward while ensuring it meets all regulatory requirements.
The speakers discuss the unique struggles faced by organizations in regulated industries, where the need for compliance can slow down processes and limit flexibility. Kellie expresses her passion for these challenges, noting that they often drive innovation and improvement within her team.
Alex echoes this sentiment, emphasizing how easy it can be for startups to move quickly without the burden of compliance. In contrast, established organizations like First Command must navigate a complex landscape that requires careful planning and execution.
Finding Innovative Ways to Communicate Necessary Financial Information
Your product can be just okay, and your brand can be okay, but if you're not ultimately delivering value, none of that matters. Clients and prospective clients will hold you accountable for that, and no matter how effective your advertising campaign is, if you're not delivering, it won’t matter. (Kellie Richter)
(38:27-49:53)
Kellie starts by drawing an intriguing comparison to Jerry Seinfeld and his innovation with “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” She reflects on how Seinfeld broke away from traditional talk show formats because people were simply tired of the usual. He looked for new ways to engage. Similarly, First Command seeks to ask, “What are our clients sick of?” This question drives their continuous effort to simplify the complexities of financial services, especially for military families who don't want to be bogged down by endless paperwork and financial jargon.
She also shares an example of the Savannah Bananas, a minor-league baseball team that reinvented the sport by turning games into fun, family-oriented experiences. For First Command, it’s about finding innovative ways to communicate necessary but often complex financial information clearly and effectively.
Alex asks Kellie if humor plays a role in their communication strategy. While humor can be powerful, especially internally, Kellie explains that emotional connection is more appropriate in client-facing interactions. First Command's advertisements, such as "The Hero Behind the Hero," aim to create an emotional bond with clients by acknowledging not just service members but their families—highlighting the unsung heroes who support them. This type of empathy-driven messaging resonates deeply with their audience.
As the conversation continues, Kellie reflects on how client expectations have evolved over her career at companies like American Express and AIG. In the past, brand protection and product promotion were key, but today, clients demand more. They expect value and transparency, and they hold companies accountable. She notes that it’s no longer enough to have an okay product or a strong brand—if the company isn’t delivering real value, clients will look elsewhere.
For those starting their careers, Kellie advises focusing on two key areas:
- Understanding data: With the rise of AI and data-driven insights, knowing how to manage and analyze data will be critical.
- Building relationships: Despite the digital age, personal communication—whether picking up the phone or connecting face-to-face—remains vital for success.
Check the episode's Transcript (AI-generated) HERE.
Other Episodes
Godard Abel | CEO of G2
S 01 | Ep 6 Where You Go for Software: Reach Your Peak
Dean Stocker | CEO of Alteryx
S 01 | Ep 8 Turning Your Customers Into Your Biggest Champions
Peter Fader | Co-Founder of ThetaCLV
S 01 | Ep 10 Turning Your Marketing Into Dollars
Author
Experience-focused Leaders is the #1 Multimedia Podcast! We talk to senior business & tech leaders about the experiences that move forward organizations, customers and society at large. True to form, we mix audio, video, web and eBook formats to turn these authentic conversations into personalized nuggets you'll remember & use.
.png)
