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Can You Get Genuine Feedback From Your Clients?

My wife was reading the morning paper recently when she looked up and said, “For crying out loud!”

This is not the first time she has had a problem with something she read in the morning paper, so I calmly asked, “What is it, dear?”

She answered, “This headline says we are going to have astronomical heating costs this winter. Didn’t they say last week that gasoline was going to jump $3 a gallon by now? Didn’t they say last winter that heating costs were going to double? The paper is always trying to get me worked up about something!”

Typically this would have been the time for me to tease her about the irony of her being worked up already, but she was on a role and it felt like she was on to something. Then, as I guessed, she came up with a brilliant notion.

She said, “You know what they ought to do? They should let me look at the front page before I have to pay for the paper. If I don’t like it, I just call them up and tell them, ‘Nope! Not going to read it. Not useful to me. Better luck tomorrow.’”

“Brilliant!” I thought.

Now you know who has the smarts in our house.

True, no newspaper would do this. Besides, our daily paper is only $0.50 an issue.

Sure, “negative” headlines sell better than others, but let’s assume for the moment that a newspaper’s highest and best use is providing useful information to its customers.

Are You Serving Your Clients as Well as You Think You Are?

I heard an interview of a hotel executive recently who claimed that service was uniformly excellent among the top chains and that his challenge was to find other ways of being competitive.

Yes, you read that right.

“Top hotel chains always provide excellent service.”

Have you had an experience at a top hotel that was less then excellent? I know I have. My experience of hotel service varies greatly from trip to trip, within the same hotels, within the same hotel chains. Do you have similar hotel experiences?

I assert that the hotel executive has no idea of the quality of service at his hotels. I wonder if he has any method of getting genuine feedback from his customers.

How good is your method of getting client feedback?

If you were my daily newspaper, how would you know how well you are doing?

One method would be to submit surveys of current and prospective readers. Of course, surveys come with substantial response rate, methodological, and cost-to-value concerns. The value of the information you receive may not be worth the money you spend to obtain it.

Another method is what is known in some circles as the Law of Two Feet. People “stand” where they choose to. They provide feedback by buying what they buy, and shopping where they shop.

Our newspaper has emphasized the economic relationship by offering a discount for a long-term commitment. This is an excellent retention strategy, but provides no information about my intention beyond the terms of the subscription.

Will Your Clients Stay?

While our newspaper is unlikely to buy back the papers we do not want, there are a number of ways you can introduce the Law of Two Feet to get feedback from your clients.

Offer a small menu of service options to your clients. For instance, you can provide a client with three service options. Option #1 could include service A and service B. Option #2 could include all of option #1 and service C. Option #3 could include all of option #2 and service D and E.

If your client picks option #1 or #2, you could complete the engagement and re-offer the next service if it is still in his or her best interests.

Whether your client accepts the offer can provide feedback on the completed engagement and/or the next service option.

You can find a variety of ways of testing new service options. Offering services that may be new to a current client, engage in strategic relationships that introduce you to new clients, or select a novel distribution channel or industry.

Avoid Service Complacency

To use the Law of Two Feet to get feedback your offerings should have two characteristics:

  • There should be a choice between services.
  • Those choices should be designed to have a significant impact on your client’s business.

Then, your client’s choices are not so much a matter of what he or she likes as about what will make a difference.

Whatever method you use, the Law of Two Feet can provide valuable feedback for your service offerings. Most importantly, it is an excellent method of avoiding the complacency of the hotel executive. Don’t just ask for opinions. Let your clients make choices that are meaningful to them and their business.

This will keep you focused on your client’s needs and help you maintain vigilance with your level of service.

Happy Client Retaining,

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© 2004-2007 Jeff Simon Consulting. All Rights Reserved. Wouldn't you love to peer into your client's head and know what they are thinking and feeling? Could you have better success at keeping and choosing your best clients if you could decode their behavior? Check out the Happy Clients Newsletter at: www.happyclientsnewsletter.com.

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