The Road to Client Assessment: Travel Tips

This technical note is a part of the Practitioner Learning Program of the SEEP Network initiative that explores challenges facing the microenterprise field. The note aims to provides a client assessment checklist for the MFIs. It is supported by illustrations from several stakeholders. The rationale of client assessment is explained in the note with reference to market research, client monitoring and impact assessment. The objectives of client assessment are:

• Identifying potential and existing clients;
• Understanding client wants and needs;
• Tracking changes in client status (financial and non-financial);
• Understanding client exit.

As per the note, the assessment involves:

• Certain members of the MFI like the chief executive officer, senior managers, and research and marketing officers;
• Other stakeholders like the Board of Directors and the investors;
• The client whose participation can range from information sharing to contribution in decision making or designing new products and services.

The steps of carrying out the assessment include selection of the appropriate research tools, conversion of objectives into questions and assessment of human resources and operationalizing it. The research design and implementation entails indicators to be used and data collection, analysis and inference details. The note states that communication of the findings must be made to the clients and other stakeholders. The review of the assessment plan periodically would also be important including the challenges faced and lessons learnt.