1. Make sure your website is a true representation of you, your working style and your work.

When prospective clients visit your website, it’s important that they get a clear picture of what you can do for them. Anything less than that is a disservice to both prospective clients and you. Your website is there not only to market your business, but also to screen prospective clients to find those that are well-suited for you. The more information you put on your website and the more accurate and thorough it is, the more likely you are to find clients who will be very satisfied with your work. Why? They knew exactly what you could do before signing up with you.

2. Be upfront and direct.

If a prospective client does something that is not acceptable to you or requests something that you cannot provide, say so (and the sooner, the better). Be clear, open and honest about when and where you’re not willing to bend your policies and with the services you provide so that there’s no room for miscommunication or misunderstanding.

3. Clearly communicate what you can and cannot do.

With every new client, even if you feel like you’re repeating yourself, it’s important to clearly define what services you do and do not provide. Even making sure to outline what is and what is not included in your fee is important for maintaining solid relations between you and your clients, so take the time to communicate those details as early on as possible.

4. Set out the terms of your arrangement clearly.

Don’t just say what you can and cannot do or what’s included in your fee and what is not; put it all in black and white. Whether in an email, a contract (recommended), and/or on your website, it’s important to spell out in writing, not just verbally, exactly what you will and won’t do and what’s covered in the cost.

Also, if the client wants to do something that falls outside of the terms of your arrangement, be sure to communicate that fact quickly and directly so that you stay within the scope of your agreement. This is one place where you absolutely want to be a stickler for detail, because one slip could cost you considerably. If your client wants to modify your agreement and the request is something you’re willing to accommodate, say something like, “I’m happy to create a change order, but the revision will cause [x change] to the cost [and/or time frame].”

5. Explain how you work and what can be expected of you.

Create an “Ideal Service Provider Credo” and post it somewhere on your website so that clients and prospects know exactly what you’re promising to do and deliver. Include things like:

• “I will communicate with you by email a minimum of once per week to keep you informed of where we are with your project,”
• “I will notify you immediately if circumstances arise that will affect the cost or time required to complete your project,” and
• “I will respond to all emails and voice mails within [x time frame].”

By outlining what clients can expect from you, not only will you better manage their expectations, but you’ll also provide a little added assurance that you take your role as their service provider very seriously and that customer service and clear communication is important to you.

How do you manage client expectations to keep projects running smoothly and clients happy and coming back to you?

Photo by Flickr user Jeff Denberg, licensed under CC 2.0

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Recently, I stumbled across a new service called Alice that lets you buy all of your household essentials online, things like toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and so on. Alice is awesome, and as soon as I figured out just exactly how awesome Alice was, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone I knew about the service.

Identify Your Customers’ Pain Points

I hate grocery shopping, especially for household items. I can be out of aluminum foil or coffee creamer for weeks before finally convincing myself to go to the store. There are many reasons why I dislike it so much, but here are the main two:

1. I hate making grocery lists. It takes too long. I have to think of everything I’ve been running low on or out of for the past month or so, and I inevitably forget something, which means I either have to go without out the item until the next time I convince myself to do this chore, usually two or three months later, or I have to go back to get the item. Plus, the list must be organized, or else I’ll end up running from one end of a 20,000 sq.ft. store to the other (which, let’s face it, ends up happening at least once per shopping trip anyway, because of some big conspiracy going on at the big box stores).
2. I hate the experience. I have to get ready and drive out to no less than two stores, because it’s impossible to get everything at one place, unless I go to one of the really unpleasant big box stores, which is a nightmare. Once I get there, I have to deal with parking, rude people, frustrated employees, long lines, price checks, loading the cart with the groceries, unloading the cart to check out, reloading the cart after checkout, and finally unloading the cart into my car, and then I get to go home, unload my car, and put all the groceries away, only to realize that I’ve forgotten something and to be discouraged, because I spent more money than I had planned, and a week later, I’ll need to do the entire process all over again.

Remove the Pain and Make Them Love You

Enter Alice (cue sound of choir). Alice solves my problems:

1. Alice knows me very well. When I signed up for my account, I got to go through and pick out all of my favorite and commonly-used household items and put them into my own custom, always-there product shelf. When I’m ready to shop, all my favorite items and brands are waiting for me, and all I have to do is load them into my cart and check out (if I haven’t scheduled them to be delivered automatically).
2. Alice will shop for me — automatically. I can set up my products to be delivered at specific times (say, toothpaste every two months and coffee filters every three). Alice will send me my items at preset times so that I no longer run out of things. Even if I do forget something, it only takes two or three business days for delivery, which is usually how long it takes me to convince myself to go to the store anyway.
3. The price is right. Manufacturers can sell directly to me through Alice and as there are no inventory costs as with regular retailers, the savings are passed on to me. However, even if the items were priced the same, I still don’t have to take time out to worry about restocking the toothpaste. Plus, there are no shipping fees, so I save on gas, not to mention the aggravation.
4. Alice looks after me. Just before checkout, Alice offers me some custom deals and coupons that I wouldn’t have otherwise found. Even if I don’t need the items just yet, Alice will save the discounts for me for a set time so that I can use them later.

But is It Real Love?

I could go on and on about Alice, and that’s really the point: I love this service and plan to tell everyone I know about it. Rarely do I get so excited about a company that I can’t wait to rave about them. That rarity is something that, if we’re smart, we can capitalize on within our own companies.

Make sure your customers love you, and I mean really love you:

• To the point that they literally have trouble listing all of the ways,
• To the point that they can’t wait to tell friends and family about you at every available opportunity, and
• To the point that they would hate to have to live without you.

Find your customers’ pain points and solve them. More than that, turn something they once dreaded into something they actually enjoy.

What companies do you love and rave about at every opportunity, and why?

Photo by Flickr user aussiegall, licensed under CC 2.0

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Bearhug consists of four main modules:

Pulse: This module gives your customers and your team real-time status information about your product or service. You can create “pulse updates” and sync them to your company Twitter account to keep everyone updated on issues, downtime, anything that affects their immediate satisfaction. Customers can subscribe to the updates via SMS — for quick notifications if time is of the essence — or via email or Twitter.

Answers: This module is where your consumer community can ask a question and then get an answer from both other members of the community who use your product or service and from your company. Using this module, you can moderate the questions and pick the community answer that best responds to the issue. You can also craft a company response. People can then access the best of both worlds in terms of information. This section builds a robust and interactive live FAQ for your customers.

First Rate: Customers post reviews — both good and bad — all over the web. Customers can post their reviews through this module and you can respond to feedback immediately, provide advice, moderate, publish and syndicate the reviews you want to feature.

Overheard: This module is Bearhug’s listening post. At presstime, it could pull in Twitter mentions of your company, product or service with more services pending including Yelp, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Through Overheard, you can immediately reply to mentions of your company or product on the web.

The Bearhug Dashboard gives you a global view and statistics of the activity about your company. You can also access metrics such as your company’s average response time, average rating and customer satisfaction. When you set up Bearhug, you can change the header text, language and messaging to display not only your branding but your brand personality. You can have Bearhug for each product you offer and turn modules on and off depending on your needs.

There’s also a sidebar widget to place a Bearhug support button on your web site.

Bearhug helps you embrace the organic feedback your customers are providing all over the web, while also bringing some management and metrics to the mix.

Bearhug’s currently in closed beta. Use this code to try it: webworkerdaily

What are you doing to reach out to and manage your customer community?

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1. Know your policies, terms and limitations.

I believe that the biggest mistake we all make when drawing lines with customers, clients and other professionals is that we don’t have a firm grasp of our own policies and limitations before beginning to do business with someone.

It’s important to sit down on your own, when you’re not under pressure, and decide, “These are my policies. This is how I do business. This is what I will accept. This is what I won’t accept.” That might include things like your rates, how you handle rush jobs, your availability and working hours, how you handle late payments, etc. Figure out your terms and then stick with them. If someone tries to push your policies and limitations, simply say, “That’s not how I do business,” and then outline your terms.

2. Lose the need to be liked.

Our need to be liked can interfere with our ability to run our businesses effectively and profitably. If we’re constantly allowing clients, customers, and service providers to dictate how we do business, simply because we’re afraid of making an enemy or making someone angry, we’ll never get anywhere. I’m not saying that you need to go around being a flaming jerk, but if someone is going to write you off because you won’t allow him/her to run over you, that’s not a friend you’d want anyway. Be willing to walk away from toxic people and relationships and know that you’re not always going to be liked, and that’s OK.

3. Know your value and be confident in that.

I think a lot of times it’s unnerving to stake a claim and say, “This is what I’m worth.” However, it’s necessary to establish that value and know that we don’t have to accept less than that. Sometimes you will come across people who want something for nothing, and there will be times when people who see that you’re succeeding will try to get a free ride on your coattail. If you try to cater to those types of people, you’ll never get anywhere. It’s OK to say, even just to yourself, “I’ve paid my dues to get here. I’ve worked hard, studied hard, and applied myself to make the progress that I’ve made.”

You can be willing to help other people (if they’re willing to help themselves, of course), but you have to always remember to be conscious about how you spend your time. Every minute that you give to something or someone is a minute you can’t get back and is a minute that isn’t going to something or someone else, so always think, “Is this a wise investment?” If you’re giving away your time to someone who constantly takes advantage of you, is always looking for ways to nickel and dime you, or isn’t your ideal client, then you no longer have that time to give away to someone who values it, pays you what you’re worth, and is better-suited for you.

4. Follow a modified “3-strike” rule.

Inevitably, you will come across people who will try to take advantage of you and push your boundaries, and inevitably, there will be times when you try and try (and try again) to work with these people, even though you know they’re not a good fit for you, they are trying to take advantage of you, or the relationship is a one-way or dead-end street. Knowing where to draw the line is the most important thing in these situations, which brings us back to Rule #1.  You must establish your limitations, and a good place to start is a with a modified “Thee-Strike Rule.”

If you find yourself working with a client or service provider who tests your limitations or policies, try to give three opportunities for correcting or improving a situation before walking away. This will be different for every situation and business, but in these situations, keep a mental (or even physical) record of how a project or relationship has gone. If you constantly find yourself back at the same point of negotiating your terms or what you’re worth, then eventually you have to say, “Enough is enough.”

The “modified” part comes into play when your integrity or principles are at stake. In that case, one strike is all you need, so if, for instance, a client or service provider does something or asks you to do something that clearly lets you know this person is not someone you want to do business with, be willing to walk away right off the bat. In these situations, there’s no sense in hanging around for three strikes and allowing the opportunity for your integrity to be called into question.

Finding a balance between being of service and being a doormat who is constantly taken advantage of by customers, clients and other professionals can be a challenge, but by deciding upfront what’s acceptable to you in your business, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches — and be more likely to create a successful and thriving business.

In what ways do you make sure to leave the doormat at the door?

Photo by Flickr user say_cheddar, licensed under CC 2.0

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1. He wasn’t assuming. When I arrived at the dealership, the salesman (who very much reminded me of Sammy Davis, Jr., which probably made me a little biased, I’ll admit) was not at all assuming. He didn’t have the pushy, in-your-face attitude right off the bat about me making a purchase. He introduced himself casually and asked how he could help.
2. He didn’t push his agenda. When I told him what I wanted, he didn’t try to steer me any other way. He let me be the guide and call the shots.
3. If there was an issue, he said, “Not a problem, we’ll fix it.” If I wanted something addressed or corrected, he did exactly what I asked, quickly and without argument or condescension. That was very reassuring, especially with such a big purchase.
4. I challenged him, and he didn’t feel threatened. If I argued for or against something, he wasn’t at all intimidated or threatened.  Other salesmen I’ve dealt with this month became agitated and frazzled if I challenged them.
5. He stayed out of the way. He wasn’t in my face or suffocating me or not giving me room to think about my options. He gave me space without constantly talking or moving me from one car to another.
6. He was accessible and prompt. If I had a question, he was available to me right away. If he didn’t have an answer, he personally walked wherever he knew he could find the answer (say the service department) and quickly returned with a response.
7. He trusted me. If I said something, there wasn’t any sign of doubt or suspicion. We were very much on the same team.
8. He didn’t haggle over price. An offer was made, and he took it back and forth to the manager until an agreement was reached.
9. The manager didn’t haggle over price. He was straightforward and didn’t try to nickel and dime the situation. Negotiation was completely finished in a very short period of time, especially compared to my negotiation experiences with the other dealerships a month or so ago.
10. He didn’t hover. I spent a lot (a lot) of time at the dealership, and when I needed time to take a break from it all, he went about other business, while the manager and other people tended to paperwork and other details. I could sit down and watch TV or read without him staying around all the time. He’d drop in every so often, but he didn’t overstay his welcome.
11. He got things done. I had to bring the car in today to get a few things done to it. Unfortunately, I’ve been a complete scatterbrain for the past several days because of splitting my time among holiday gatherings and preparations, car shopping and work, and I forgot to call ahead so that he could line things up for me. When I showed up, he didn’t make a big deal about it. He jumped in my car and drove it around to the service department. I left for a bit with some of my family, and he called me while I was gone to let me know that the big item couldn’t be fit in today (since it was so late, completely my fault), but that they would get to it first thing tomorrow. They did, however, go ahead and detail the car today (which they’ll have to redo after the additional work).
12. He was genuinely friendly. It was easy to see that he takes great pleasure in his work and in making sure his customers are completely satisfied. I greatly appreciated his tireless energy and spirit. It made the entire process much more pleasant and less nerve-racking.
13. The entire staff was helpful. If I needed something, they got it, no questions and no aggravation.

Thanks to this one salesman and the supporting efforts of the dealership team, I actually had a positive car-buying experience. I was so dreading starting the process over again, but it was such a relief to walk away pleased with the entire process. They did an exceptional job, and I will be sure to remember their efforts when it comes time to purchase again or refer someone I know. Other car salespeople of the world, take note. That’s how you get a life-long customer.

Have you had a positive experience purchasing a car? What helped make it that way?

Image from Flickr by christian.senger

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1. Don’t rush your customers. Pouncing on them as soon as they arrive is not enticing to customers and can come across as a bit desperate. Give them space to consider their purchase. Stay accessible, but don’t smother them.
2. Don’t hound your customers. Give them room after they leave to evaluate their options. A phone call or email a day is fine, but don’t go overboard (calling an hour after they leave the showroom is a bit excessive).
3. Don’t argue with your customers. You obviously have strong opinions for and against certain features relating to your product, but if your customers have opposing opinions, it’s best to disagree respectfully — and gently.
4. Don’t downgrade the competition. Berating your competitors won’t win you any points. By showing respect for the competition, you demonstrate a quiet confidence in your own product.
5. Listen to your customers. Are you paying attention to what your customers are saying? Are you listening to what’s important to them? Be fully present and listen to the needs, desires and frustrations that your customers are sharing. This is invaluable when it comes to fitting the right product with each person, and the ability to recall minor preferences is even more impressive.
6. Focus on your customer’s needs, not yours. This may be surprising, but the customer doesn’t care about your bottom line. They’re not worried about making this work so that you benefit. They don’t care about your timetable either. Instead of worrying about your needs, focus all your effort and attention on doing an exceptional job.
7. Don’t be condescending. Don’t patronize your customers. Consider the possibility that they may have actually done their homework and know what they’re talking about. Your customers understand that you have “inside” knowledge, but don’t talk down to them or be dismissive. It’s insulting, and that alone could cost you the sale.
8. Know what you’re talking about (and find the correct answers when you don’t). Here’s an example. I went into one dealership this week and had settled on colors for the interior and exterior. When I went to another dealership, they said that color combination wasn’t available. (Yes, it was. I had seen the car myself.) It turns out that the combo was available, but the person relaying the incorrect information knew that they’d have to get it from the company’s other dealership, which was an hour away. That’s three strikes. One of salesmen didn’t know the facts about his own vehicles and suggested that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and the other lied for the company’s benefit.
9. Don’t just say what you think customers want to hear. “What? You need a certain price? No problem. We can do that.” Yet when the customer shows up with checkbook in hand, that price no longer exists. Puffing and bluffing isn’t going to impress your customers, and if you’re only trying to appease them, eventually that will surface, leaving customers feeling very frustrated with you.
10. Shoot straight. If you can’t do something, you can’t do it. Period. Say so. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Be direct and upfront and never skirt the truth.
11. Communicate clearly. Go over things slowly and carefully (and then go over them again). Be thorough and detailed with your responses to avoid misunderstandings.
12. Stay cool under pressure. When you’re dealing with other people’s money, there will inevitably be tension. Proceed with caution. Take breaks. Take a few breaths. Keep things in perspective and consider the other side. Do not, under any circumstance, lose your composure. Talking too quickly or loudly and seeming frustrated or agitated will only risk evoking the same response from customers.
13. Keep your promises. Call when you say you’re going to call. Have what you say you have. Do what you say you’re going to do.
14. Know what’s really going to impress customers. Take cars, for instance. Customers want the best in safety, and a good-looking car with low gas mileage is important, but what about reliability and how about some proof? Rather than going on and on about how super awesome your brand new cars are (they better be), show me one with 500k miles on it that’s still rolling. Paying $30k seems much more appealing when I can think about driving that car for twenty years.
15. Make things easy on your customers. In general, making a big purchase (buying a car, hiring a VA, etc.) can be a stressful experience, so find ways to make things as easy and painless as possible for customers.

I have not been impressed with three-fourths (or more) of the salespeople I’ve come across this week, and if things don’t get better quickly, I might be the customer who simply drives her car to 500k miles — that’s the final lesson. I actually had a salesman tell me that their goal is to wear customers down, until we eventually give up and give in. I will, but it won’t be the way they expect. I’ll go home and keep rolling in my faithful car, because they forget (or weren’t listening when I told them) that I work from home.

So, Lesson #16, don’t treat your customers as opponents to be beat. If you do, they’ll eventually think of you that way, too, and eventually move on to someone who’ll work with them instead of against them.

I’m amazed at the treatment I’ve received this week from car dealers, but it’s made me appreciate exceptional customer service even more. How do you ensure that your customers are impressed rather than appalled?

Image from Flickr by thebig429

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Besides, wouldn’t you rather solve your problems instead of waiting for a live support person to pick up the phone and sweeten you up, telling you how important you are and how the company wants to provide you with the very best service possible. Yadda yadda … just ask me what my problem is already!

Here are 10 steps to becoming your own Mr. or Ms. Fix-it:

1. Reboot or power off/on. This applies to computers, mobile devices, printers, routers and other electronics. It even works on my DVR when it freezes. For PCs, shut them down before rebooting, if you can. If the computer freezes and won’t budge after enough time passes, turn it off for a few minutes before turning it back on.
2. Run anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and keep it up to date. For some of you, this is probably a no-brainer. Sadly, I’ve heard stories of people with problems who were many updates behind, or they forgot they turned off the software and never turned it back on. Most standard anti-virus apps can run a full-system scan at least once a week. Make sure yours does.
3. Check cables and switches. Just last week, my son told me his laptop wouldn’t work. I checked the adapter and it was fine. It turned out the surge protector wasn’t switched on.
4. Know how to save and import files in different formats. When Office 2007 was released, people in my community emailed me because they couldn’t open the .docx, .pptx and .xlsx files it uses. Easy fix: download the free Office Compatibility Pack from Microsoft. Those with Office 2007 can change the default save file format back to .doc, .ppt and .xls. There are some fairly standard formats, like vCard and CSV files, that you can import and export into many different applications: Outlook, Gmail, Apple Address Book, Excel and more. Make “File > Save as” your friend. You can almost never go wrong in converting files to Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format as virtually everyone can open and view them. Many free sites and apps can covert your files.
5. Visit manufacturer and developer web sites. Software not behaving? Hardware acting wonky? Go to the web site of the developer or manufacturer to search the knowledge base or support pages. You can often find the answers here without having to call support. Or if you can’t find the answers, email support. It’s often less time consuming (if you don’t need an immediate answer) because you don’t wait on anyone or sit through long questions. But before you do that, try #6.
6. Search the web for a solution. Bloggers often receive emails from people asking for help with a problem, just because they once blogged about the product or service — don’t be tempted to go down this route! Save yourself a step and go straight to the resource or an already published answer. If the manufacturer or developer web site doesn’t have the answer, search the web. I’ve found many solutions on other web sites. Make your search as specific as possible. If you receive an error message, copy/paste the error text (if possible) or write it down (or take a screen shot), and use it in your search query, along with the name of the application or other relevant information.
7. Rule out other possibilities. Tech support people and programmers do this all the time. Let’s say you keep receiving a pop-up message that your USB drive could perform faster on a USB 2.0 port, as happened to me recently. A few things come to mind: The USB drive is broken; the USB port is broken; the drivers need updating. Now, I could still open the files on the USB drive, so I didn’t think it was broken. For this same reason, I knew the USB port wasn’t broken. Before trying complicated debugging, I located another USB drive and plugged it in; the error message didn’t show up. Problem solved: it was the  cheap USB drive causing the problem. I switched to a newer one and haven’t had a problem since.
8. Watch Wi-Fi use. Keep your credit card and other personal information off public Wi-Fi connections, which have little security. Limit what you log into while on Wi-Fi. In other words, checking your bank account can wait until you find a more secure connection.
9. Uninstall and reinstall the application. Sometimes an application can become corrupted. After exhausting all other options, re-install the app.
10. Sync and backup everything. I recently lost a file (yes, just lost it). Luckily, I had a back-up on an external drive, so I just copied it back to my computer. I sync my personal information manager with Google Calendar and Contacts and my BlackBerry. When someone’s contact information disappears from one of the resources, I had it on another. With many syncing tools and options available, you can make sure never lose any data. Not only do I have an external drive, but also I use an online backup services.

While a phone call to tech support sounds faster than finding the answers yourself, it doesn’t always work out that way. You can solve many problems within a few minutes using these steps. The best parts? There’s no waiting, no working through someone’s idea of a script, no redoing the steps you’ve already done, and no listening to awful hold music. You’re your best tech support person.

What tech support tricks do you use?

Photo credit: Joe Zlomek

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Is tech support or customer service the web working career for you?

Types of Tech Support and Customer Service Careers

Tech support and customer service jobs don’t just involve working directly with customers using a product or service. Brian Roberts of nesaru consulting, for example, acts as the focal point for communications between his clients and their U.S. customers, service centers, sales groups, distributors.

Here are three general careers in tech support and customer service:

Customer service: Provides support for products and services including set up, repair, training, distribution and other logistics.

Tech support: Solves technical problems, remove malware, and provide help with applications. Jobs may involve specializing in several areas, depending on the business and its products or services.

Trainer: Show users how to use business applications. Training may be included in the responsibilities of someone working in tech support or customer service. In addition to offering tech support to clients, tech “go to” guy and WebWorkerDaily writer Scott Blitstein conducts training.

How to Qualify

Tech support pros often begin learning the job by taking care of their own computer problems and becoming the “go to” resource for family and friends. “I have been a technology innovator for almost 30 years. I love learning about new technology; it was fun to roll up my sleeves and learn about VoIP long before it was easy (like 10 years ago),” says F. Andy Seidl, president and co-founder of MyST Technology Partners, Inc.

In his role as founder and president of eSeMBe Technical Services, Scott Blitstein provides technical support services for clients. His experience comes from a combination of formal training, self-teaching and collaborating. “I do a lot of reading and internal testing to stay up to date and comfortable with current technology,” he says.

These jobs often involve interfacing directly with customers, so people skills matter. Managers often say they’d rather hire those with people skills first than those with tech support knowledge, because you can’t teach people skills. Another important trait is patience, as customers often feel frustrated or aggravated and take it out on the first representative they speak with from the company. Representatives not only deal with the physical problem of a product or service, but also the customer.

Tech Support and Customer Service Tools

People in this career rely on specific applications that help them review and identify problems. For example, computer tech support workers use remote control software such as LogMeIn, CrossLoop and NTRsupport Pro to access a customer’s PC to see and fix problems. Of course, a fast Internet connection is a must and headset comes in handy so you can free your hands for heavy-duty keyboarding and mousing. Customer support staff often also rely on a support ticketing app.

They also use many of the common web worker tools: Skype, instant messaging, Basecamp or other project management application and online meeting tools like GoToMeeting.

Find Clients

Word-of-mouth marketing continues to be the leader for lead generation in these fields. F. Andy Seidl finds his company’s primary sources for leads come from the company web site, and via resellers and value-added resellers (VARs).

Cold calling still works, as Brian Roberts attests, and so does face-to-face marketing. “We network a lot in international trade events to identify potential clients and have developed a community of companies and people with complementary skills and services we can offer to our clients,” says Roberts.

Would you consider a tech support or customer service career?

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Many technology companies have come to the end of the line on providing personal customer service. I won’t point any fingers, but some of the biggest names in software, web sites and online services have no way for customers to contact them by phone or even online chat; even email forms go unanswered. Instead, users must rely on volunteer help on bulletin boards, discussion groups and the like.

We should be taking advantage of our “end-of-the-line” position. Web workers and small businesses can maintain professional relationships with customers in ways that large companies cannot. Clients should know that they can get help from us, and we should make clear what support services we offer. Service is how we can differentiate ourselves, compete with larger businesses, and thrive in difficult economic times.

Unfortunately, saying “we provide outstanding customer service” has become a cliche. It’s up to us to convince current and potential clients that the service we provide is worth the added cost.

• Provide ways to connect with us. Many of our clients prefer to talk to a human being. As the founder and co-owner of a three-person web development and hosting company, I spend what sometimes feels like an inordinate amount of time assisting customers. But I’ve concluded that providing excellent customer service is the only way that a company like mine can survive.
• Provide self-help options. In a recent talk, Chip Lackey of J.D. Power and Associates (the people who do the well-known ratings) said that customer satisfaction goes up when self-help options are provided. You don’t need to be a big company to offer such options. My company offers status updates (available on two separate web sites, on Facebook, on Twitter and as recorded phone messages), a knowledge base/FAQ, and a blog. We’re also experimenting with offering technical support through Get Satisfaction.
• Maintain reliability and responsiveness. We try to answer phone calls immediately during business hours, even when we’re out of the office, thanks to call forwarding. And we respond to emails within 24 hours. We’re also on call after hours; we’ve found that most clients don’t abuse our availability.
• Stress creativity and uniqueness. Our customers come to us because they don’t want a web site that looks like a tired template from a stock source. And despite our small size, we have the content development, graphic design and programming skills matching those of larger companies; we also have arrangements with others who offer services that we don’t.
• Make the cost as painless as possible. We have found that most clients don’t want to pay extra for a service contract, so we include the cost of service in the project fee. But we make clear which services are included, and spell out rates for services that are not part of the project cost. We also take credit cards, and set up payment plans when needed.

Like Darrell, I’m not a big fan of personal branding. I have a journalism background, and am skeptical of advertising/marketing jargon. But, unlike Darrell, I do think that it’s important to be visible, so I’ve used the above strategies to stand out in the crowd.

Share your customer service tips in the comments.

Image by sxc.hu user thadz.

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When one of your more difficult clients contacts you for a new project, how do you work with them again, without repeating the problems you previously had?

Points to Consider

Before you sign up to work with a previously difficult client, there are some issues you need to address.

Refer to the paperwork. If your client is contacting you for support on a previous project, it helps to go over your signed contracts and documents to see whether the new request is within your area of responsibility.

Understand their position. Oftentimes, I’m the only go-to person that these difficult clients have worked with. This is usually because they’re not that tech-savvy or they have a hard time convincing other professionals to take on their projects. With their situation, they just want to get things done as fast as possible. Keep this in mind if they sound frustrated or in a rush when they’re contacting you.

If you’re going to help them out, know why. In my experience, guilt is never a good reason to stay with difficult clients. This is especially true if they are verbally abusive, need 24/7 hand-holding, and don’t value your work. If they’re immature enough, they might try to appeal to your guilt. Just remember not to give in.

Help out your difficult clients only if you believe in the project and if you’re confident that you can learn to foster a better, mutually beneficial working relationship.

Rebuild Your Relationship

Once you decide to work with a difficult client again, make sure that you’ve learned from your previous mistakes and won’t be likely to repeat them. Use the insights you’ve gained from your experience to make the relationship work this time around.

Improve your contract terms to forge a more balanced relationship. Go over the last contract you signed with this particular client. Are the terms clear and easy to understand? Are there any clauses you need to add or modify to protect yourself from being exploited?

Discuss the things that didn’t work out last time and propose solutions for them. If you had to “fire” a client before, they’re probably aware that your working relationship wasn’t smooth to begin with. It’s best to express your concerns and propose ways on how problems can be avoided this time around — without blaming each other for previous mistakes, of course.

Train your client to be more self-sufficient. I used to provide solutions to my clients’ simplest needs even if they were outside the project scope. While there’s nothing wrong with going the extra mile from time to time, constant support for even the most irrelevant tech issues can be a drain on your time and energy. Instead of providing solutions yourself, point them towards the resources that can best empower them to help themselves.

As freelancers, we see ourselves improving and becoming more professional as we gain more experience. Our difficult clients are the same way. It’s reasonable to expect that they, too, can become easier to work over time.

Have you ever had a difficult client go back to you for more projects? If so, did you avoid working with them again or were you able to establish a healthier working relationship?

Image by danzo08 from sxc.hu

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In cases like those, it’s important to take calculated steps in fixing what went wrong.

Don’t panic. Your client is probably emotional the first time they contact you about a problem.  Since that’s the case, it’s your job to be calm and logical.  No good can come from having a shouting match about who’s right and who’s wrong.

Of course, this is easier to say than it is to do – especially if the client calls you on the phone.  It’s easier to be calm and collected (or at least to seem that way) when you’re communicating via chat or email.  On the phone, it takes more willpower.

Read (or listen) between the lines. Oftentimes, when your client is saying something, that’s not what they really mean.  “This isn’t what we talked about” could mean “I understood your proposal differently”. A phrase like “I could easily replace you with a high school student” usually means “Fix this as soon as possible” with a dash of “I have no idea how difficult your work is”.

In other words, take the time to truly listen and interpret what went wrong.

Be accountable. At least a small fraction of the blame, if not all of it, should rest on you.  This is why you need to take control of the situation and start channeling both your energies into finding a solution.  You need to ask yourselves what went wrong and what could be done to repair the damage.  Speak in terms of situations and events, rather than people.  Otherwise, it will look like finger-pointing.

Remember that even if you’re at least partially accountable, this doesn’t mean you have to accept verbal abuse and enslave yourself to unreasonable requests just because you’re feeling guilty.

Provide options. Giving clients several options to choose from makes them feel empowered.  You’re not forcing solutions on them or telling them what to do.  This makes it easier for your client to accept your proposed solutions, since they know that the final decision is in their hands.

Give insurance. Your client needs to know that you’re also taking steps to avoid this particular problem in the future.  Even after you’ve resolved their problem, it’s important to send them an update about any steps you’ve made towards prevention.

Ask for a testimonial. I know this part sounds unusual, but if you actually resolve the problem and your client is appreciative and pleasantly surprised, it makes sense to request a testimonial.  Most people take perfect testimonials with a grain of salt, so nothing stands out like a testimonial that says “I encountered this problem with her service, but she was there 100% to fix it with me.  Didn’t have another problem since then.”  This tells potential clients three things: that you’re honest, you’re a reliable problem solver, and that you take their feedback seriously enough to improve yourself.

Taking care of angry clients can be an emotionally exhausting task.  Although our instinctive response is to feel some anger as well, it’s important to remember that these disappointed clients are the ones who will teach us the most about what we need to do to be better web workers.

Have you ever had an angry client?  How did you handle the situation?

Image by Charlie Balch from sxc.hu

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This post isn’t about praising Google, rather merely using them  as an example of good customer service.  Google is a large corporation with thousands of employees focused thousands of products/initiatives.  Yet, they take the time to reach out their customer base to enhance their products and gain feedback from users.

In another example, Netflix has experimented with online customer service but has recently launched an effort to handle customer service requests over the phone.  According to the IndyStar newspaper, online retail outlets rank higher in customer service satisfaction than brick and mortar stores.

We all have customers, whether we are freelancers who have to consult with clients on a project or every-day employees who have to keep in contact with teammates and bosses.  How do you keep customer service at a high level when you’re located hundreds if not thousands of miles away?  The key is communication.  In fact sometimes it might mean over-communication and dialogue.

Luckily web workers have cheap (if not free) tools such as email and VoIP to help us keep in touch with our customers.  Largely good customer service just requires dedication to “reach out” to your stakeholders to seek feedback and build trust.

How do you ensure good customer service to your “customers”?  Which tools to you employ to accomplish this goal?

(photo credit: Flickr user striatic)

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