Author: Renée Taylor
Published: 6 December 2024
Clients are polite, mostly. If they do complain, it’s usually because there was a serious issue, and it usually means the relationship is damaged. Perhaps terminally. Often, the first thing you hear of a rift is that your client is now someone else’s.
In professional services, it’s important to be confident in your own ability, but people often fall into the trap of assuming no news is good news and that the service they think is excellent is also seen by the client as such. Failing to check the pulse of your key client relationships means you don’t know what you don’t know, and sometimes the relationship is sickening in silence.
So, how do you make sure that relationship remains healthy? Simple, ask them. No, not you yourself, and not with a mind-numbing survey of generic less-than-relevant questions. Or with a visit from someone else from the firm who will also ask generic questions and filter the answers. And definitely not at end-of-year drinks.
Like an internal performance review, it’s not a tick-box exercise. But this type of review is best done by an objective professional who can ask insightful questions and listen, reading between the lines.
An impactful client review is not about presenting your achievements, but about creating a neutral space for candid feedback and listening so you can understand both the explicit and implicit client needs. And, of course, acknowledging areas where you can improve. It’s much more than a coffee catch-up, which is unlikely to explore what's working well from the client's perspective, specific pain points or challenges they're experiencing, or emerging needs that your current service might not be addressing. And especially their future strategic direction and how you can align with it.
This is what makes the review a positive contribution to the relationship. It’s a clear demonstration to the client of your commitment and your desire to do the best for them. Especially if you take the feedback and act on it to improve and cater to their needs pre-emptively.
The best way to make that happen is with a systematic approach to client management, which provides the ability to bring the learnings from the client review into ongoing activities. This is what turns an annual review into a cultural mindset. It helps to have leadership support, a genuine openness to feedback, and a real commitment to continuous improvement.
All of which are nice words, but the harsh reality is the competitiveness of today’s professional service market. When firms assume they understand client satisfaction they miss critical insights about changing client expectations, become vulnerable to competitors who listen more carefully, and risk losing high-value clients without understanding why. Your reputation is built not on what you think you're delivering, but on your clients’ actual experience.
Yes, the headline above was a joke, but it’s an apt parallel. The client is unlikely to tell you your bum looks big in that. But if a trusted and tactful third party asks, they’ll probably tell the truth. And wouldn’t you rather know?
Author: Renée Taylor
Published: 6 December 2024
Clients are polite, mostly. If they do complain, it’s usually because there was a serious issue, and it usually means the relationship is damaged. Perhaps terminally. Often, the first thing you hear of a rift is that your client is now someone else’s.
In professional services, it’s important to be confident in your own ability, but people often fall into the trap of assuming no news is good news and that the service they think is excellent is also seen by the client as such. Failing to check the pulse of your key client relationships means you don’t know what you don’t know, and sometimes the relationship is sickening in silence.
So, how do you make sure that relationship remains healthy? Simple, ask them. No, not you yourself, and not with a mind-numbing survey of generic less-than-relevant questions. Or with a visit from someone else from the firm who will also ask generic questions and filter the answers. And definitely not at end-of-year drinks.
Like an internal performance review, it’s not a tick-box exercise. But this type of review is best done by an objective professional who can ask insightful questions and listen, reading between the lines.
An impactful client review is not about presenting your achievements, but about creating a neutral space for candid feedback and listening so you can understand both the explicit and implicit client needs. And, of course, acknowledging areas where you can improve. It’s much more than a coffee catch-up, which is unlikely to explore what's working well from the client's perspective, specific pain points or challenges they're experiencing, or emerging needs that your current service might not be addressing. And especially their future strategic direction and how you can align with it.
This is what makes the review a positive contribution to the relationship. It’s a clear demonstration to the client of your commitment and your desire to do the best for them. Especially if you take the feedback and act on it to improve and cater to their needs pre-emptively.
The best way to make that happen is with a systematic approach to client management, which provides the ability to bring the learnings from the client review into ongoing activities. This is what turns an annual review into a cultural mindset. It helps to have leadership support, a genuine openness to feedback, and a real commitment to continuous improvement.
All of which are nice words, but the harsh reality is the competitiveness of today’s professional service market. When firms assume they understand client satisfaction they miss critical insights about changing client expectations, become vulnerable to competitors who listen more carefully, and risk losing high-value clients without understanding why. Your reputation is built not on what you think you're delivering, but on your clients’ actual experience.
Yes, the headline above was a joke, but it’s an apt parallel. The client is unlikely to tell you your bum looks big in that. But if a trusted and tactful third party asks, they’ll probably tell the truth. And wouldn’t you rather know?
