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www.HartfordBusiness.com • December 11, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 15 TALKING POINTS The art of quality client service By Bill Field A nyone who has spent appreciable time in a client-facing role knows that there is one immutable fact about the profession — it is flat out tough. You're often pulled in many different di- rections with conflicting agendas. It is equal parts rewarding as it is frustrating. It takes a special person to be able to suc- cessfully navigate the challenges thrown at you daily — both internally and externally. They come from every direction, often at the least expected time. Great client acumen involves balancing the wants and needs of many masters. For three- plus decades, I've been immersed in all things client service in the advertising and marketing sector. It's allowed me to have a front-row seat to witness firsthand almost every conceivable client situation that required the escape skills of Houdini and the steely nerve of a tightrope walker. The following provides guidance on mastering the role and how to elevate your client- service toolbox. Identify and understand client "careabouts" There is one common denominator with all clients — they all have "careabouts" that are deeply important to them. Oftentimes, they'll hold them very secretively. You have to get close to them and learn the pressures they're facing and what's important to them. Many times there are two wins at play — clients want to win personally as much as their brand or company needs to win. Be in it with them and for them. Be a student of your client's business Immerse yourself in not only the client's brand but their business as well. Study their competition relentlessly. Walk trade shows. Talk with sales reps. Follow the market. Knowing a client's business makes you indispensable. Having intimate knowledge often keeps you and your firm "sold in" when your client contact inevitably moves on. These insights are currency with a new client contact. Being "sold in" means they can't afford to let you go. Bring a gift You would never think twice about bringing a gift as a thank you for an in- vitation to a friend's house. Yet, many client-service people go to see a client with only their hat in their hand. The main concern is working on a project or looking for the next one. Next time, bring something of value — an idea, thought or observation. Render your impact and contribution to their business with thinking that is relevant and thought provoking. It demonstrates that you're into their business in a real way. Clients notice. Be an order maker, not an order taker The best client-service people are those who advance the position of the organiza- tion that they represent. It is a subtle skill. Much like wait staff people who truly "get it." They've progressed far beyond the "serv- er" mentality. They're selling transparently at every point throughout the meal. From my vantage point, the best client-service people are really salespeople at heart. Embrace "clients for life" mentality Too many client-service people view relationships from a transactional view- point — all about the here and now. This is short-sighted thinking. I'm still working with many clients where relationships were forged back in the '80s. Establish a bond that transcends time. The difference between serving and ser- vicing is often miniscule — a little thing here or there. It involves focusing on the service being delivered, not the source of the service — your company. Put the client first, no mat- ter what it may cost in the short term. Listen your way into a new project or engagement. Always remember to service rather than serve. These are words to live by for anyone in a client-facing role. Bill Field is the founder of FieldActivate, a Connecticut-based marketing firm. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: Bill Field NEXT WEEK'S POLL: Will an Aetna-CVS combination benefit consumers? To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS How to turn difficult clients into your best customers By Jim Pawlak "Dealing with Difficult Customers: How to Turn Demanding, Dissatisfied, and Dis- agreeable Clients into Your Best Customers" by Noah Fleming and Shawn Veltman (Career Press, $15.99). Did you promise what you delivered? If the customer doesn't believe you did, there's an expectations gap. The authors believe that any company can close that gap by being pro- active — deal with the causes of complaints before they infest the customer base. Here's their four-step proactive process: 1. Defining "Your hierarchy of (customer) horrors." Identify the things you do or don't do that creates a cus - tomer complaint. To create your list, track and categorize the type of complaints made. To do this, you will have to ask employees to keep track of customers' reasons and really listen to all of those "this call may be monitored for quality purposes" recordings. Categorize them by looking at their root cause(s) — which includes "inter - nal screw-ups." If you have multiple locations, you'll need to track each separately. 2. Measure for frequency of "horror" occurrence; the authors suggest a 30-day minimum. Then prioritize the list. While it's easy to prioritize based sole- ly upon frequency, consider cross-prior- itizing horrors that will cost the company the most money and time to fix, easy fixes, and those that create real headaches for the customers. 3. Create the solutions list. This isn't an easy process because most problems involve more than one area of the company. Differ- ence in occurrences between locations can also be valuable in pinpointing the source(s) of prob- lems and their solu- tions. Look to the areas involved for input about alterna- tives. Seek input from customers complaining about specific issues, too, because they'll rec- ognize that you're listening. 4. Solution imple- mentation. Don't address all the horrors at the same time because trying to do too much at once can destabilize many organizational processes, which will only create more customer-cen- tric problems. Instead, tackle your priorities by their rank and measure resolution by declines in occurrences. Jim Pawlak Book Review Has George Jepsen been a good attorney general for Connecticut? 20.8% No 79.2% Yes READER COMMENTS: "Yes. He has been proactive on many issues that would have had a negative impact on CT and its citizens." "He's been outstanding. He has a good track record of clearing out the old files with 'cobwebs.' " The best client-service people are those who advance the position of the organization that they represent. It is a subtle skill. Seek input from customers complaining about specific issues, too, because they'll recognize that you're listening.