My Lessons for the Week
A couple of weeks ago I was speaking to a client on the phone about a design project that we were working together on and she mentioned her company was revising their web site. I asked if they had already contracted with a web developer and if not, could we discuss this project and submit a proposal. Well, she was surprised that we offer that service and said yes, let’s talk. She then told me they had contacted the firm that did the original site but she was very disappointed in the responsiveness of that group. In fact, she said working with us was a good experience and she had confidence that her calls would be returned and that we would pursue communication even if she were slow to respond. Sounds like a win for us, so why was I upset?
First, and most amazing, we still have clients that are not aware of all our services. Now, of course I tell every person I meet with all the services we offer. Of course our web site shows a well-rounded portfolio. Our marketing speaks to “graphic design + advertising + interactive.” And that seems to work with new clients, but with people we have been working with for years our new services and offerings seem to stick on a fairly random basis. So we need more marketing to our client base.
Second, great customer service continues to drive business. I don’t know if we’ll get the web site project or not, but I do know that the other guys are out of the picture because they didn’t listen, didn’t return calls on a timely basis and the client didn’t feel important enough to them. Price, quality and experience are all critical to attracting clients, but relationships trump everything for retaining clients.