Innovation in Client-Service: Top 10 Things to Implement Now (Part 2)
Innovation in service begins with adopting a client-centric approach to everything you do. This is the second in a four part series on the topic. Read them all and get ahead of the curve.
In this blog post, I offer practical 'how-to' instructions to implement the first three of the Top 10 client service innovations I recommend.
1. Talk with them. Book a meeting ‘off the clock’ to talk with them. Visit their factories, plants and offices and meet the key players on their teams. Get them talking. Find out everything you can about their business, challenges, goals, and their concerns - now and for the future. In other words, get to know more than their legal or accounting issues.
Differentiation Opportunity: Understand what's happening in their industry by reading the content in trade publications that target those industries. Then leverage that information to initiate these types of conversations. Another strategy that works equally well is to stay current on trends in what clients want from their professional service providers. The legal industry is a good example of this. There is a plethora of data and research on what clients want from their legal services providers.
(Not current on what clients want? Download this free report that I created to summarize several sources of current thinking on What Clients Want, What They Really, Really Want from their legal services provider.)
Don’t worry about having all the answers here. Just get them to start talking. Understand as much as you can about them and trust that the ideas and solutions you need to help them will present themselves.
Worried about how you might be perceived if you ask questions you think you should know the answers to? First, you cannot possibly know more about your clients' business than they do. Second, you cannot possibly know what their thoughts are on a matter until they tell you. Third, a panel of Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA) members at a Legal Marketing Association – Toronto Chapter session in October 2008, unanimously agreed that, "Asking questions tells me you’re interested, it’s part of building our relationship. The kinds of questions you ask me will differentiate you."
It’s that simple. You can differentiate yourself from your competition with the types of questions you ask.
Real Results: When one of our clients used this approach, he not only learned a lot more about his client's business, he also learned that he was the first lawyer to ever ask the client these types of questions. It’s important to point out that this was a large buyer of legal services, with several firms providing them with service, and this lawyer was the first one to have the courage to ask them questions.
2. Ask for feedback. Ask them how they perceive your service; communication; value. Research from BTI Consulting Group shows that 63% of clients are not proactively providing their law firms with feedback so it’s up to you to ask for it.
Why ask for feedback?
a. You need to know that your clients are happy with
your services and the way you deliver them. If they are not, you leave yourself open and vulnerable to your competition.
b. It will help you identifiy your unique value-proposition from a buyer's perspective and will allow you leverage that in your marketing efforts.
And what about leaving client satisfaction feedback to surveys? According to the CCCA panel, corporate counsel is not any more forthcoming with a third party. You need to ask the questions yourself.
Differentiation opportunity: Asking for feedback is a genuine opportunity to build value-based relationships - and while your peers and competitors shy away from doing it, it will differentiate you if you do. Consider asking on an ongoing basis, and not just once a year. And think about opportunities to invite feedback at the start of a mandate and not just at the end of it. Client Feedback is discussed at great length in prior blog posts. Read those for a refresher of this Top 10 innovation in client service.
Real Results: Care to share your results with this approach? Submit a comment below and join the conversation!
3. When you've taken the time to get to know your clients' businesses and industries, when you've understood their perceptions of your service, you'll be in a better position to be first to solve your clients' needs.
There is only one first. And you get there by knowing your clients. When you ask the right questions, your clients will always tell you where you need to be next. Look no further when identifying new practice ideas or services. Being second to the table in this case doesn’t count for much.
In the next post, I cover the next three of the Top 10 client service innovations:
- Consider alternative billing options.
- Re-think how you do what you do.
- Identify first-to-market services.
Until then...
I wish you good business success.
Client-Centric Selling with the Agreement Based SalesTM Program and the LEAP Adult LearningTM System