The podcast discusses the evolving customer experience in the 21st century shaped by online shopping giants like Amazon. Small businesses face challenges in meeting customer expectations due to lack of scale and personal touch. The hosts share their experiences dealing with difficult customers and emphasize the importance of setting boundaries and maintaining integrity in business dealings.
Filtering clients based on compatibility can save time and conflicts.
Rendering excellent service before sales build trust and set expectations.
Recognizing and addressing unreasonable client behavior early preserves business integrity.
Deep dives
Importance of Filtering Clients
Filtering clients from the initial contact is crucial to avoid working with difficult customers. First impressions and early interactions can indicate if a potential client is a good fit for your business. Setting boundaries and qualifications early on can help in selecting clients who align with your services and values. By being selective and filtering clients based on compatibility, you can save time, minimize conflicts, and prioritize working with customers who appreciate your offerings.
Managing Client Expectations
Rendering excellent service even before obtaining a sale establishes trust and sets expectations for the client relationship. Conducting client needs assessments and ensuring mutual understanding of processes and outcomes before transactions solidify can help stem potential challenges. Communicating clearly, setting standards, and being transparent about capabilities at the outset can contribute to smoother interactions and prevent potential misunderstandings.
Dealing with Unreasonable Clients
Recognizing and addressing unreasonable client behavior early on is essential for maintaining business integrity and preserving employee morale. Disqualifying clients who exhibit red flags or unreasonable demands can safeguard your business from unnecessary stress and conflicts. Prioritizing quality interactions over sheer quantity of clients, and being willing to let go of problematic customers, can contribute to a healthier work environment and long-term business sustainability.
Setting Boundaries with Clients and Balancing Pricing Concerns
Establishing clear boundaries with clients is crucial in business to prevent mistreatment and ensure fair pricing agreements. By communicating upfront about pricing and setting expectations, businesses can avoid conflicts and maintain positive relationships. Charging an appropriate price that reflects the value provided allows for managing requests for additional work effectively. Having the courage to walk away from unprofitable or unreasonable clients helps in maintaining a balanced and sustainable business model.
Continuous Improvement Through Customer Service Analysis
Regularly reviewing customer service logs and evaluating trouble or error patterns can lead to identifying problematic clients, employees, or processes. By recognizing recurring issues and addressing them promptly, businesses can enhance efficiency and profitability. Prioritizing long-term client relationships and focusing on delivering exceptional value can lead to sustained success. Establishing clear client grading systems and boundaries ensures a client base that aligns with the business's values and goals.
Somewhere in the early part of the 20th century, retailer Marshall Field famously declared "the customer is always right," underlining his emphasis on customer satisfaction as an important part of the retail experience. It's a catchy saying, and variations of it have appeared throughout the retail and customer service industries. However, as Scott points out, the 21st century customer experience has been shaped by online shopping and services. Behemoths like Amazon deliver a faceless service with a priority on rock bottom prices, free shipping, and no hassle returns. Customer expectations have changed accordingly.
This puts the small business in a precarious position when it comes to customer satisfaction. Small businesses do not have the margins or scale to compete on price and volume like Amazon, and they usually can't offer instaneous service either. The small business customer experience typically thrives on personal connection, good communication, and direct access to the owner or product designer/experts -- the things you can't get from very large companies. Consequently, small businesses need to be picky about the customers they deal with. Demanding customers with expectations well out of line with what your business can offer (or should offer) can cost you a lot of hassle, grief, and ultimately, profit if you don't identify them and create a plan for steering them away early. Mitchell and Scott talk about their own experiences dealing with problem customers and how they have defined their ideal "customer avatar" in the process.
