Client Relationship Management
Is It OK to Fire a Client/Customer?
Sally Balwin
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
Our Albany Creek Business Contacts (ACBC) member is in a pickle processing the loss of their very first client. After agonizing over what more they could have done, sharing their story raised the questions – is it OK to fire a client and, if so, how do you do it in the most positive light?
Their story goes – the nature of the business is not 9 to 5 nor is it walk-in customer service. Our member is a specialist in their industry and, although operating out of commercial premises, promotes that some of their services is by appointment only. The existing promotion has worked well to date – however, enter client who wants things done differently. This client has an expectation of service delivery when they want and, in some instances, upon very short demand. After detailed explanation that this cannot be accommodated and offered alternate solutions, the client walked with parting words of not feeling valued and not getting what they wanted. Like most business owners, the raft of guilt, emotion and questions flowed – did I not handle this correctly – should I have done what they wanted regardless – could I have done more – do I need to change the way I do things – and so it goes on.
If you are a business owner reading this, by this stage I have no doubt you are empathizing with this situation, no doubt from personal experience. Here is what the ACBC members had to share with our colleague.
Kudos goes first of all to Damian Jenkins, Australian Unity, North Lakes who gave us our first collective agreement – “The first client lost is always the hardest – so now that is behind you” he said. Damien continued to share his insight by suggesting that they ensure their business operations model is well defined and well communicated.
Small businesses tend to be more personable and relationship based but as Andrew Gallagher, Lollyworld reminded us “we don’t gel with everyone and sometimes there will be a client/customer relationship that just doesn’t work”.
The group agreed that there are common signs that a relationship maybe heading south, such as –
- clients/customers demanding over servicing – almost taking advantage,
- slow payment of bills requiring lots of chasing,
- querying and questioning everything and
- master/servant demeanor, to name a few.
It was agreed that business owners need to identify good ideal clients/customers and determine what, if anything, extra would be provided to each class of client. Nathan Dobbins, Core Computers also suggested some businesses could develop a Client/Customer Charter which sets out what the expectations and responsibilities are of both the business and the client/customer and to communicate this extensively so there are no misunderstandings or unrealistic expectations.
OK, by this stage everyone has agreed that not all clients/customers are good client/customers and that it is OK to part ways … which then raises the question, how to do it in the most positive way.
Sometimes you have to have some very difficult conversations with very nice people. You can explain that what the client/customer is after you can’t deliver but explain what you can do for them and note that you understand if this doesn’t work for them. If you can, assist or refer them to someone who could better service them which makes the client/customer feel like you are still valuing and helping them. If you decide that you will accommodate difficult clients you may need to review your pricing structure and charge a premium to them for the additional servicing.
Sandra Gilliman, Streten Masons Lawyers summed it up nicely, “If you have done, within reason, what you can, let the client/customer go and trust that your reputation will stand on its own.”
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Balanix Solutions – Accountant, Business Advisor, Bookkeeping.
Situated in Strathpine on Brisbane North, we partner with our clients to assist them in their accounting, business management and bookkeeping needs. Our clients vary in industries from professional services (such as law, vet and dentist) to the trades (mechanic, bricklaying, plasterer etc), hospitality and retail. Are clients are located in the Pine Rivers area (including Brendale, Lawnton, Albany Creek and Eatons Hill) through to Kallangur, Petrie, North Lakes and Caboolture, as well as Brisbane South, the Gold Coast and various other parts of Queensland.
Call us today … we can help (07 3264 4783)
STOP! – It May Cost You to Remove that Negative Review
David Balwin
CPA | Accountant | Business Advisor
Marketing 101 – publish testimonials and reviews to help create a positive view of your brand, to boost sales, to attract future customers/clients and to boost your website’s SEO.
It’s awesome to be loved by your customers/clients and for the love to be shared through testimonials and reviews shouted out on websites, social media and review sites. Clients/customers expect reviews to be independent and genuine. Problem is, the increase of review platforms has bought an increase in fake testimonials and reviews.
Enter the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) who have issued guidelines for managing online reviews to combat dishonest, misleading and shonky practices.
BE Warned – breaching the guidelines can result in hefty fines. The 2011, the ACCC fined a removalist business $6,600 for misleading online reviews. The business admitted to having made representations on its website that purported to be testimonials by genuine consumers when they were not.
So, generally speaking, what are the NoNos when it comes to testimonials and reviews. In a nutshell:
- You need to remove fake or misleading reviews. Testimonials/reviews may be considered fake or misleading if they are presented as impartial, but were written by:
- the reviewed business
- a competitor
- someone paid to write the review who has not used the product or service
- someone who has used the product or service but written an inflated review to receive a financial or non-financial benefit.
Reviews you know to be fake or misleading risk breeching the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
- You should not:
- encourage family and friends to write reviews about your business without disclosing their personal connection with your business in that review
- write reviews when you have not experienced the product or service reviewed or which do not reflect a genuinely held position
- solicit others to write reviews about your business or a competitor’s business if they have not experienced the product or service.
- You should only offer incentives in exchange for reviews if:
- incentives are offered equally to consumers likely to be complimentary and consumers likely to be critical, and positive and negative reviews are treated the same
- the reviewer is expressly told that the incentive is available whether the review is positive or negative
- the incentive is prominently disclosed to users who rely on affected reviews.
- You should disclose commercial relationships between review platforms and your business to ensure the relationship does not influence the overall rating of a business on the site. For example, a review platform may allow a business that advertises on the site to select a review to appear at the top of the page or prevent negative reviews from being automatically uploaded.
- Ensure the consumer review platforms you rely on disclose the total number of reviews that the rating is based on next to the aggregated rating (eg, 3 stars, 24 reviews).
- Think twice before selectively removing or editing reviews, particularly negative/critical reviews. If the total body of reviews doesn’t reflect the opinions of consumers who have submitted the reviews consumers may be misled.
For more information about the ACCC’s guidelines, here’s the link.
Balanix Solutions – Accountant, Business Advisor, Bookkeeping.
Situated in Strathpine on Brisbane North, we partner with our clients to assist them in their accounting, business management and bookkeeping needs. Our clients vary in industries from professional services (such as law, vet and dentist) to the trades (mechanic, bricklaying, plasterer etc), hospitality and retail. Are clients are located in the Pine Rivers area (including Brendale, Lawnton, Albany Creek and Eatons Hill) through to Kallangur, Petrie, North Lakes and Caboolture, as well as Brisbane South, the Gold Coast and various other parts of Queensland.
Call us today … we can help (07 3264 4783)
Privacy Please!
If you run a business, you need to know – Privacy Is A Priority For The Australian Community.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) released the results of the 2013 Community Attitudes to Privacy survey on 9 October 2013 which show that Australians are becoming more concerned about privacy risks and that they expect the organisations they deal with to take effective steps to safeguard their personal information.
48% of Australians believe that online services, including social media, now pose the greatest privacy risk. Only 9% of those surveyed considered social media websites to be trustworthy in protecting privacy.
Australian Information Commissioner, Professor John McMillan, said the survey results confirm the growing community concern about privacy risks arising from the explosion in use of social media since this survey was last run in 2007.
‘In the last 5 years we have seen a significant change in how people communicate and interact online. People’s attitude to the importance of personal privacy protection is changing at the same time,’ said Professor McMillan.
The three most trustworthy industries, in relation to privacy, were health service providers, trusted by 90% of participants; financial institutions, trusted by 74% (up from 58% in 2007); and Government, trusted by 69%.
Of great importance in the results, is that the public expects data security protection to be similar in both the public and private sectors. 96% surveyed expect to be informed if their information is lost (for both government and the private sector) and around 95% surveyed also feel they should be made aware of how their information is handled on a day-to-day basis.
Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim said it was clear that the Australian public continues to insist that their personal information is handled with the highest possible standards.
”Here is a business imperative for organisations to be transparent about their personal information handling practices and to ensure that privacy is built in to systems and processes right from the beginning,” Mr Pilgrim said.
Mr Pilgrim went on to say that “Just over 60% of Australians have decided to not deal with an organisation because of privacy concerns, which is an increase from just over 40% in 2007.”
“These results send a very clear message that people remain concerned about how their information will be handled. With a significant number of people saying that they have decided not to deal with an organisation due to privacy concerns, I suggest that business needs to listen to this and consider improving their practices,” Mr Pilgrim said.
The survey showed that Australians are increasingly concerned about the international sharing of personal information; 79% of people feel that cross-border disclosure is a misuse of personal information, and 90% have concerns about the practice.
‘This is an interesting finding given the increasing frequency with which data is being sent off-shore. New privacy laws commencing next March will increase protection around the handling of Australian information that is transferred off-shore, and it will be interesting to see how attitudes change as a result of this,’ Mr Pilgrim said.
Working From Home – Is it right for you?
Sally Balwin
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
Did you know that at least 18% of Australians work in their pyjamas when they work from home – more than any other nation.
So if you deal with a client who works from home make sure you give them a call before dropping in or be prepared to face the consequences!!
But on a more serious note, if you are considering the option of working from home be aware that it is not for all people. It sounds great, but unless you are very disciplined and well organised it can lead to disaster.
There can be many distractions that you think you can handle without too much hassle, but in reality it is not that simple.
Working from home maybe one of those things that you want to try before jumping in the deep end. It can work and be very enjoyable, but you need to look at it from all angles.
- If you have or need clients to come to your workplace how do they feel about it?
- Can you separate home from work hours; that is instead of giving you a more balanced lifestyle would it in fact take the balance away.
- Do your clients understand that simply because you work from home does not mean you are available 24 hours a day seven days a week?
- How do you feel about the isolation of working from home?
- Are you the kind of person who is energised by the interaction with colleagues and the social aspects offices provide?
The other key areas to consider, when considering working from home, are the taxation, other legal/regulatory requirements and insurance/workplace health and safety implications. I hear many comments from people who work from home about what they think they can claim in tax, relying on home insurance coverage even though they are operating a commercial business, not realising some local councils have strict rules on home base businesses etc etc. It is imperative professional advice is sought, before setting up a home base business, from an accountant, lawyer, the local council and insurance broker (to name a few) to get the facts and make sure all the right things are in place and no nasty surprises arise down the track.
If you are considering working from home, take the time to talk to a number of people who have done it or are currently doing it and ask them for honest feedback as to what the benefits and downsides are for them so your decision can be well informed.
It’s Not Just About Dollars & Cents
Sally Balwin
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
How do you measure success? Is someone successful because of the amount of money they have … their contribution to society … their strength of character … their heroic selfless act … or what?
Is a business successful because of how much money it makes … the way it treats its customers … the way it treats its employees … its contribution to the environment … its contribution to its corporate social responsibility … and so on?
A good example of the perception of success is the big 4 banks. With profits, on average, posted upwards of $4Billion each year, you could say the banks are successful. The shareholders certainly think they are and are happy as are those employees/stakeholders who gain benefit directly linked to the bottom line. But, as we are constantly hearing, customers are continuously unhappy and frustrated with services, costs and general treatment. So, in customers’ eyes – are the banks successful?
The point I am getting to is that it is important to make money in business, however, equally important to the dollars and cents, is to set and measure other goals which directly and/or indirectly lead to success.
To illustrate this point, here are some examples:
| Goal | Measure | Action to Support Goal
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| Stable Workforce | Less than 1 % annual turnover rate | Hold Exit interviews to find out why staff are leaving
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| Increase quality of service | Customer satisfaction 97% or higher | Conduct customer satisfaction surveys.
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| Increase Brand awareness | 5% increase in traffic to website | Ensure Google Analytics is set up.
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| Improve booking rates from enquiries. | Secure 5 bookings from every 25 enquiries | Train receptionist in phone sales. |
Each of these goals contribute to the bottom line. However, the measures and actions are not viewed from a monetary perspective. Remember, customers do not all rate your product or service simply on price; they can look at a lot of other things as well. Focusing on different forms of success in a business and working on them, ultimately will contribute to overall success – and isn’t this what all business owners are trying to achieve?
Call one of our professional people today to help you on your road to success (07 3264 4783)
