WorkAnswers Everything You Need to Build a Better Business
Related Articles
From childhood, we’re taught that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated. That principle still applies to best business practices, especially when it comes to how to treat your clients. By stepping into your clients’ shoes, you can see things from their perspective and figure out the best approach to maintaining your relationship with them.
We all know that the customer comes first. But what exactly does that entail? Think about a particular time when you received great customer service. What made you feel so accommodated? How did you feel before, during, and after the service? When you consider all the aspects of good customer service that you have experienced, try to take note of that and apply it to your own business practice.
On the other hand, think about a specific time when you received poor customer service. What was poor about the experience? What could’ve made it better? All scenarios of customer service you experience can be telling about what makes or breaks your clients’ opinion of your business.
Open and clear communication shows the clients how much they are of value to you in the simplest way. By generating and providing the client with an employee contact list, you are telling the client that the entire force of the company is at their disposal at any time.
Constant communication documenting workflow and company policies and procedures are vital to letting the client feel like they have an inside perspective on how their service is carried out. Ensure that these policies and procedures are consistent and that there is a recovery procedure in a worst-case scenario. Service recovery procedures will give the client ease; even if there is a dynamic change on either side of the relationship, progress and materials will be secure. Establish a service level agreement, or SLA, with the client to clarify the priority and hierarchy of different levels of urgency when it comes to needing a company response. Assure that quality, responsibilities, availabilities, and response times are agreed between yourself and the customer base. Typically in service level agreements, the following details are laid out: the type of service provided, a plan to monitor the service, responsiveness, and protocols for the unexpected. SLAs give the client a sense of transparency and security as the business relationship grows.
The other important aspect to consider about stepping into the clients’ shoes is the word-of-mouth benefits. A first-hand opinion is much stronger than an anonymous one. Let’s say you went to two restaurants this weekend. The first had speedy service and charismatic staff who delivered the correct order. The second restaurant had slow service, rude staff, and your order was incorrect. Which restaurant would you recommend to your friend? More importantly, which restaurant would you visit again? The same principle applies to business relationships. Business associates trust the opinions of their colleagues and will choose your business over others if they’ve heard good things from their friends and acquaintances.
So next time you reach out to your client, step into their shoes and think about how you would be like to be treated if you were them.