As a professional services provider, it’s wise to remember that customers are calling upon you to provide something they can’t do for themselves. The very fact that they can’t do it themselves means that they are uncertain about what it is that needs to be done, how it should be done, and at what cost.
In addition to providing your services and expertise, the degree to which you can give your customers control, clarity, and confidence about the process will result in a better experience for you and the customers, as well as a greater chance that customer will be a raving fan and the source of referrals down the road.
Most customers prefer that any mystery in their life be relegated to novels and movies. As entertainment, mystery is a lot of fun; as part of real life – not so much. Your job is to demystify the journey you will be taking your client through.
Provide and Guide – From the very beginning, map out what is going to be happening. Walk your customer through the various steps and milestones. Checklists are great. They show order and progression. The first time you explain the process, the customer will probably still have some confusion and the map may seem foreign but with your patient guidance, they will begin to get clarity with each step. The accuracy of your guidance will give them larger and larger chunks of confidence. This translates to greater confidence in you and their decision to engage you.
Explain and Ask – Keep returning to and explaining the process. While it is very familiar to you, it’s brand new to the customer. Remember that your explanations serve to educate them and give them greater understanding of what is happening and why. You are also educating the customer. Short term, this education will go a long way in soothing the pain of change. But keep in mind that long term, the better educated the customer is, the better able they are to refer you in an intelligent and meaningful way. Don’t forget to ask questions and probe for areas that are still unclear to them. Again, much of what is going on in the customer’s mind is unspoken.
Review and Celebrate – Be sure to sit down and review significant milestones with your customer. This accomplishes a couple of things; it demonstrates the accuracy of the “map” you provided in the beginning, it reinforces that steady progress is being made, and it allows you to celebrate with the customer. They are closer to the completion of the change that is going to make their business better; you are closer to the finish line of your mutual success.
New customers are entering into change with many unexpressed emotions that could range from concern to fear, mild stress to anxiety, will this cause pain, will this cost me my job. Proactively addressing the unspoken worries of your new customer by providing and guiding, explaining and asking, reviewing and celebrating will give them the control, clarity and confidence to get through the process with more success and less stress. As a result they will be thrilled with you and much more likely to rave and refer.
© 2011 Dawn Westerberg Consulting, – 3 Things Your Customers Aren’t Asking For That You Must Deliver
Parabéns pelo artigo muito rico de detalhes e em síntese sobre as pretensões do cliete.
Um abraço…
Words to live by, Dawn.
I find it interesting that many big companies and their politics don’t let you do some of the things that you mention. That tends to be less of a problem with smaller outfits, though. Maybe that’s why I get in less trouble there.
First, thank you for the comments. I believe that there is unprecedented opportunity for small operations right now. If they have their house in order and have devised a better mousetrap, the technology available to them to get the word out and slay the Goliaths (or at least thrive as the Goliaths crumple as a result of atrophy).
[...] en un blog de mi amigo y también coach de Duct Tape Marketing, Dawn Westerberg, estos son tres aspectos que no debemos pasar por alto al trabajar con un cliente. Le ayudarán [...]
Hi Dawn, I liked this blog very much, I think it is absolutely important to keep the customer informed. I translated it into Spanish and shared it.
Here’s the link http://www.bienpensado.com/tres-cosas-que-sus-clientes-no-le-piden-pero-debe-proveerles/
Regards,
David
David – Thank you VERY much!
Well-said and well-written. Customers value communication and transparency. Moreover, frequent communications helps align customers’ expectation and project deliverables–which ultimately lead to higher customer satisfaction and future assignments/referrals.
Violently agree! Thank you for your comment.
Nice post Dawn, these three things are fundamentally simple to do but I’m convinced that simplicity is not simple.
[...] Maintaining/growing revenue requires a regular and valuable communications plan with customers and prospects. Most of the customers we lose are lost because of perceived indifference – we simply weren’t nurturing the relationship. How do you stay in front of your customers and provide ways to continue the business relationship? [...]
Dawn, Just found this blog post, and I love it! Your comments about new customers, and putting yourself in their place is incredibly helpful. I also think your suggestion about returning to and explaining the process is wonderful. Thanks for shedding light on the customer, and their point of view. I needed to hear that !