Can you recall a recent amazing client experience you’ve encountered recently? Maybe it wasn’t necessarily over-the-top, but it was still memorable for some reason? For me, there is one that comes to mind within the last few months. I went to a BBQ restaurant (Wright’s BBQ located in Northwest Arkansas) where you walk through the line, order your food, and then pick it up. I was with my extended family of ten, so I wanted to grab a table outside on their patio before one got snagged. One unique aspect of Wright’s BBQ is they have staff that come around frequently to check on the diners. I was sitting at the table watching a football game (not the game I wanted on). First, the gentleman asked me if I wanted something to drink while I waited, and I didn’t take up the offer. A couple minutes later, he walked by and ask me again if I was doing okay and needed anything. I asked him if he could change the football game and put a different game on. He said he would go check to see if they could put that game on. (This was during the EPSN and YouTube dispute, so I wondered if they would even be able to get my requested game.) He came back and said they weren’t able to get it. Then several minutes later, another employee came and said they had tried to look for the game but were unable because they didn’t have ESPN. Despite the outcome, I was pretty impressed with their willingness to find the game I wanted to watch.
Customer experience can be something BIG or small. I recently attended an SMPS Oklahoma training where Barry Sutherland, Henderson Engineers, and Ryan Konst, Schaefer (structural engineer), discussed customer experience as it relates to our industry. It’s a top-down approach and it’s NOT just marketing and business development staff who are responsible for client experience. The ENTIRE team is responsible for client experience. The technical team spends the MOST time with the client and this is where it really counts.
If you work for a smaller firm with one office, client experience often permeates from the principals or owners of the firm. It’s a little easier to show and tell your client experience. Regardless of your firm’s size, client experience should be discussed with EVERYONE in the firm — from the person answering the phone to the person putting together the construction drawings.
Client experience is the sum of all the touchpoints you have with a client. In the AEC industry, we have MANY touchpoints with our clients and each of these is an opportunity to make a positive, lasting impression with them. The sum of all these equates to the client experience and the client’s perception of your firm.
Barry and Ryan talked about getting leadership on board as the most important aspect of focusing on client experience. They must be engaged and committed to making this part of the company culture and communicate frequently with employees about client experience. Once leadership is on board with making client experience a strategic business effort, then the work begins.
Determining what your clients look like, feel, think, speak, and act is the next step. Knowing their personalities and behaviors allow you to better understand how to communicate and serve them. Putting multiple personas together for clients (especially if you serve different types of markets and clients) helps you deliver the client experience tailored to them.
As the technical person, you are probably thinking: ”Great… the leadership/boss/supervisor is adding another thing on my to-do-list.” However, it’s not “adding” anything necessarily to your to-do-list as much as delivering what you already do differently. How can you change or elevate something you already do? For example, every time you write an email, use the person’s name first and then write the email. It makes it more personal. That is something small that isn’t going to consume hours of your time. Another example is if you are subcontractor, you could order lunch and have it delivered to a general contractor you are bidding work for that project… because you know the team probably won’t have time to go to lunch that day. The time required to do this would probably take ten minutes. It would leave a lasting impression without costing you a great deal… unless, of course, the general contractor has a HUGE estimating team.
Client surveys and focus groups are great way to learn more about clients and their experiences with your firm. By regularly collecting a client’s feedback at all stages of the project, you’ll learn about how the project is going and what differentiates your firm and what improvements could be made. Client surveys are invaluable to help position your firm and ensure your clients are receiving the service they expect. While gathering this feedback, testimonials can also be collected for future use on various marketing materials. Learning more about what makes your clients excited and motivated helps you deliver a more personalized service to them. It’s especially positive when a client sees you implement something specific they’ve suggested to your team. They know you are listening to them and value their opinion.
Nu marketing provides client perception surveys. Almost every time we conduct these surveys on behalf of a firm, several of their clients tell us they’re only responding because they are on the phone or in person. They appreciate the fact the firm cares so much about their opinion to hire a third party to conduct these interviews. Even though your firm isn’t the one asking the questions directly, it still leaves an impression on the client because it’s associated with your firm. Make the investment in your clients. Those clients that value your service and relationships appreciate you much more.
Making BIG and small impressions with your clients over time sets your firm up for future projects and happy clients. Who doesn’t want happy clients? Create experiences they will remember and share with others. Client experience takes years to establish in a firm. Start small and work through it. With anything, there will be some setbacks and delays but forward progress is forward progress.
Client experience should be part of your strategic and marketing plan. It’s also EVERY team member’s job to make the client’s experience the best it can be with your firm. Invest and trust in the process. With some dedication and commitment, you’ll be retaining clients and obtaining bigger fees.
