Giving Your Customers what they Want

On many occasions we visit a restaurant or order something online and we don’t get what we ordered.

Can I please Get what I ordered?

Let’s say you want a sandwich with extra pickles and you don’t get the pickles. How does that make you feel? Or you order a drink at a bar and you ordered Jack Daniel’s and they hand you Black Label.

Large Area for Improvement in Customer Service

Here in Puerto Rico the bad customer service in most places puts me in this situation way too often. I order something but someone else has made their mind that since they don’t have the option or maybe the other one is more profitable for them, they will give you what they feel is right not what you have ordered.

I am usually pretty quick to correcting them but on many occasions they are resistant to accept what they did wrong in trying to give me something that I did not want in the first place.

Setting Clear Expectations

One of my biggest issues I have is making sure my clients and I have a clear understanding of what should be expected.

When I set up a website I create a contract and detail the services as much as I can to make sure their requirements will be met based on the price settled. In case the client wants additional services I can prepare another estimate or quote for those additional services.

These last 3 years have helped me tweak how I prepare those quotes and estimates to make them as precise as possible. A difficult task to accomplish when some of your clients struggle to understand the services you are providing them.

Reading Your Client’s Mind

On most occasions a client has an idea of how things should be made. It is critical that in the early stages of the project you can capture those ideas. Once you have captured them it is key for you to outline a map or document what those ideas are and how you can make those ideas happen.

Explaining what can’t be done

If during the initial phase those ideas you captured cannot be completed by you, make sure you explicitly detail why it can’t be done and explain. Also have some alternative options in mind. This will help your client see that although you can’t get that done there might be more other options.

Focus on the Added Value

Make sure you also explain the process of how everything is done. In technical projects this will help your client get an idea of the value you are bringing to them. Most top firms have very detailed documentation on their processes and that is why they charge their customers more.

Solid Process less Misunderstandings

If you feel that your customers are not getting value out of what you do it is probably time to document an explain your processes at an early stage of the project so they can clearly see the value in what you are offering.

Always make sure you are giving your customers what they want. It is a simple business principle forgotten by too many now days.

How do you make sure that your clients are getting what they want?

photo credit by E Vön Zita