Aaron Wall over at SEObook.com wrote a post the other day discussing a new initiative by some larger hotel chains to upgrade or reward customers that were leaving negative feedback. Aaron comments:
In essence they are spending resources trying to make the most unsatisfied segment of their market happy, and rewarding people for trashing their brands with free upgrades & other perks. And so it teaches more people to complain & to find arbitrary things to complain about.
…What if you took those same resources that were spent trying to appease the angry and spent them on making those who are happy that much happier? Does the free upgrade go further when it is given to an enraged steroid addicted customer, or does it go further when given to someone who has stayed with your hotel multiple times in the past?
The concept to think about here is that if someone is already fairly loyal it doesn’t take much more marketing or attention to make them *super* loyal. And then they spread the word.
Your Law Firm’s Customers
I’d venture to guess that very few of you are offering reward programs to your worst clients (an asinine idea of the hotels to do if you ask me). However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t wind up devoting an inordinate amount of time to the biggest complainers, whiners, and needy clients. So much time in fact, that you wind up forgetting or short-changing the clients that mean the most to your practice. The ones you enjoy working with. The ones that will tell others about you and create referrals. The ones you can actually please and develop a solid relationship with.
This isn’t to say that you should treat problem clients unprofessionally or fail to do a good job for them. Rather, it’s about prioritizing your time and efforts. Allocate the appropriate amount of time and set proper expectations once a client starts to become an issue. Just because they think the sky is falling doesn’t mean you should react as if it is.
Most important, make sure you are investing time into the clientele that will actually result in future business and solid relationships. It’s easier to ignore the people that don’t create a hassle for you. It also take very little to go above and beyond for them. These are the clients that are worth your extra time and efforts. As Aaron mentions above, it doesn’t take much more marketing or attention to make a happy, loyal client, super loyal…..and then they spread the word.
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