By Linda Julian
When Jan Carlzon wrote Moments of Truth back in 1985, he gave a name to a phenomenon we've all observed. Every moment and every client interaction matters, but some matter more than most.
In our work with law firms throughout Australia, New Zealand, and in Asia, we've investigated the moments that matter most in establishing and maintaining client relationships, and explored correlations between doing well at moments of truth and profiting from enduring client relationships.
Here are a few tips shared from our experience.
Because research about you and what you do often happens without any direct input from you, mostly before you're even aware, make certain that your web profile and information in circulation about you correctly depicts your skills and knowledge, and positions you for your target markets.
Word of mouth about you is another powerful touch-point -- it's not yours to control, but you can be pretty certain that over the long-term it will come close to the truth in terms of how others see you and what you do.
A prospective client's first personal encounter is probably the moment that matters most. Doing your best at these moments is crucially important.
Making the decision to go ahead -- the first purchase decision which crosses the line from being a prospective client to a client is another moment of truth. Make this a comfortable and easy journey, best accomplished with some "blurring" of the boundary by treating a prospective client as a client prior to the fact.
The time from commencement of work to the first bill is the next in the sequence of moments of truth. Any nervousness, uncertainty, concern or gap between the promise and the reality is likely to come to light at this point.
In most professional service relationships, the first three months or so is another moment of truth when you may find that you have a client whose eyes are bigger than their tummy or is numbered among the small group of perennially dissatisfied.
A service problem or billing problem is another moment of truth in the client lifecycle. Your behaviour and actions at these moments are exquisitely important.
The times when you seek to expand your business relationship with a client by cross selling or upselling, are moments of truth when you'll discover how you're seen, where you're pigeonholed, how far you've progressed along the trusted adviser continuum, and whether it's possible to break the bounds into a larger, longer-term and more strategically important relationship.
Frequency, extent, and strength of connection when projects are in train and complete are difficult to measure, but are telling signs of the quality and truth of your professional relationship.
Another moment of truth is when client retention is at risk for a plethora of reasons including major changes in the client's business or service needs, new management, changes to procurement processes, activities of your competitors, and changes in your own firm.
Perhaps the toughest moment of truth is when you're tasked to win back a client who has chosen a competitor.
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© Trey Ryder
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