Many of us have several client projects agreed and on the go at the same time. That is the nature of many of our businesses. We all know it is important to give the client an idea of how long an engagement will take to come to fruition. The client needs to be given a realistic expectation of delivery.
Life being what it is, sometimes not everything runs smoothly. Things go wrong. Our contractor fails to deliver their part promptly. Someone is ill. Another client has an emergency and needs to be saved from complete disaster, and we have to make a decision to delay another client’s project slightly in order to save our desperate client’s bacon.
We do need to make sure everyone knows what is going on.
- With a new project set a sensible time for expected completion bearing in mind what other work our business has and in accordance with the client’s needs.
- Keep the client up to date on how their project is going.
- Involve the client in the process to make them feel comfortable in the relationship.
- If something goes wrong or there is an unforeseen delay, keep the client informed.
- Do not make promises we can’t keep. Do not promise delivery be the middle of next week without checking we have all the resources, materials, personnel, permissions or whatever we need to make it happen.
- Apologize if we need to. The client will understand if there really is some problem beyond our control.
If we deliver late without a proper explanation we will not be given the next project our client needs to be carried out. We will not be recommended and referred. We will lose business down the line. We may end up with a fee dispute over the current project.
In the end, keeping our clients informed is part of basic customer service, and there is nothing more important in business than that, is there?
What do you think?
© Jon Stow 2010
