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How to make and keep a client happy:


Reflections
Nathan Fisher
Starken Group
April 26, 2006


How to make a client happy, keep a client happy:

- Inspire confidence in the client that we are able to take care of their needs. The more calm the client remains during a crisis, the more confident they must be. A confident client becomes relaxed and confident when they see you. "Oh good, Dan is here." You want to almost hear in their voice "Starken is here, everything is going to be fine now.". This should apply to any circumstance, such that no matter what the problem is, they are confident that you will handle the situation. You should notice an immediate change in the client's behavior when you arrive in the midst of a crisis. The customer should be confident that even if you personally cannot fix the problem or fill the need, that someone at Starken can, and that we will get that person on task immediately with no further work on your part.

- Do not berate the clients. When a technical person is dealing with a non technical client it's a challenge to make sure you meet their needs and inspire confidence in your ability without making the client feel out of place or that you are "above" them somehow. To do this you need to properly match your use of technical terms and discussions that might confuse the client, and to use analogies and comparisons when necessary to put problems in terms the client can more easily relate to and understand. Not all clients will openly alert you that you are "burying" them in technical jargon or detailed explanation of your plans, so it's important to provide the correct level of detail to the client so they feel they are properly informed, without burdoning them with unnecessary details.

- Place the customer's needs first. Most clients will not make completely unreasonable requests, so take every request seriously and make sure that no matter what action you take, that the client's needs are met if at all possible. An example of this might be to pause your lunch or stay a little later than usual to help a client that is in need of immediate attention. Adjusting one's schedule and arranging for personal meetings with clients that require assistance or one-on-one training should be done with a very positive attitude that says "if you need my help, I will make time for you." When arranging personal meetings, don't immediately suggest a time - ask them when it's convenient for them and work out a time based on that instead. Some clients may believe that they need to change their schedule to meet the time you suggest to them, and that's inconveniencing the wrong person.

- Be available and convenient. You should make yourself as easy to locate and contact as possible. There should be a minimum of two reliable ways to contact you. If you are contacted indirectly, (phone msg, verbal message) then try to contact the client as soon as possible so they do not feel they are being ignored or that you are not available to help them. If you hear a little later that the client has solved the problem before you have had an opportunity to meet with them, meet with them anyway, just to confirm the problem is solved and the client is not still in need of your assistance for that or any other issue.

- Cooperate and coordinate with the rest of the Starken family. Everyone has their specialty and also some general talents. If someone else is better suited to work on something you are trying to accomplish, enlist their assistance. This will increase efficiency and increase the quality of the work we do, again leading to a satisfied client.

- Maintain a positive attitude. Don't berate others, don't berate other service providers or competition. Do not place blame. Making someone else look worse does not make you look better. Instead of placing a negative spin on something else, try to turn it around and put a positive spin on how Starken can improve the situation. The client should not believe that Starken has a negative opinion of other people the customer does business with, even if the customer does not have a positive attitude toward them. If the client were surveyed and asked what groups Starken had difficulty with, they should respond "none".

- Maintain visibility. It's easy to under-value a service provider when they spend a lot of their time keeping things running smoothly in the background. "Why do we need you if nothing ever needs fixing?" You might be tempted to think "if they drop us they'll find out and will come crawling back". No, that gives them an opportunity to explore other providers. Find ways to maintain visibility. Make sure clients are aware of proactive work you are doing and why you're doing it - what are the consequences of not being proactive. You will occasionally find and fix problems before anyone notices. Make sure you keep track of those "invisible fixes", and bring them up during contract renewals. If you have someone working on-site, make sure they don't just spend all their time in the back room. Get them out in the halls, mingling with the users. It's a great opportunity to develop a rapport with the end-users, find out about nagging issues that aren't getting reported, and remind everyone you're there and available to help. An annoying issue that the users have as a group come to accept as something that will never change is a diamond in the rough. Turn that into a break-fix that has very high visibility as well as unexpectedly high impact. (and there's a good change it won't even be DIFFICULT to fix, just nobody realized they could report it)



How to make Starken prosper

- See above. A happy client is one of the best things for Starken. Happy clients renew contracts, request additional services, and recommend you to their associates. The entire organization that is the client must be cared for as well as the group. You must do your best to be on the "good side" of as many of the client's people as possible. Even having one person unhappy with you can affect how the entire client views your people. Don't resign yourself to "some people just can't be made happy" - if you are thinking that maybe you are taking the wrong approach / mishandling the person.

- Mingle. If you know of a potential client, take a little time to find out what the client's needs are and see if Starken can help meet those needs. Place them in contact with Starken's client managers if there is an opportunity to serve a new client.

- Make good use of your time. No client wants to pay you to play solitaire. If the client sees you wasting their time, they will never take it well, even if they don't say anything to you. Even if you are wasting their time in a way they do not see, this lowers the level of service you provide for their dollar, and at the end of the year this will become apparent. Clients that see value for their dollar will be more willing to spend that dollar on our support.

- Make sure the client knows what you have to offer. Even if the client does not need a particular service you offer, they surely know someone that does. If you occasionally discuss the additional services that Starken can offer, the client may mention Starken in their conversations with your associates, and this may lead to a phonecall.

- Offer the client better solutions to their existing problems. Clients have tens or hundreds of people working for them, and Starken is just one of many. The client certainly has others doing work for them that Starken could also be performing, possibly better or cheaper. Be sure to communicate with the client the ways that we can meet some of their other needs that they currently have others taking care of. Encourage the client to give us a chance to show them what a difference Starken can make.




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