The Single Best Way to Retain Clients
A valued client I’ve worked with for years recently shared information she receives every week from one of my competitors. It was a stark reminder that our clients will always be someone else’s prospects.
When times are tough and job orders are harder to come by, every client is gold.
It’s easy to get hyper-focused on winning new accounts in a down economy.
While new business development is always a priority, if all your energy goes into acquiring new clients you may inadvertently be taking those you already have for granted.
The good news is if you keep doing a great job your clients have no reason to look at other options.
The best way to guard against losing a client to a competitor is to provide consistently great service.
Providing consistently great service starts with executing the service basics flawlessly.
Now is an opportune time to audit the service basics in your staffing firm.
Topping the list is being available. It’s fine to use automated communication tools provided there isn’t an overreliance on technology to do all the heavy lifting. We’re in the people business after all. Are you responding to your client’s emails and texts within the hour? Is the office phone answered by a human? While efficient for us, automated attendants can be a turnoff when your client needs to talk now. Be easy to reach.
Are you taking thorough job orders? Sometimes we think we know what our clients want after we’ve worked with them for a while. Ask if anything has changed since the last time you filled the position. Consistently providing qualified candidates is easier when you have the latest details about the requirements.
Is providing status updates during the search a best practice in your firm? This is especially important when positions are hard to fill. Hiring managers left hanging about the status of their job order are likely to go elsewhere the next time they have a need.
Do you consistently perform quality checks on your employees? Even if your temps and contractors have been working for the client for a while, don’t assume no news is good news. The employee who was off to a great start three weeks ago may have lost her enthusiasm for the job. Beyond just satisfied, you want your clients delighted. Delighted clients are loyal clients – and loyal clients refer others who become loyal clients.
Are you consistently asking your clients what else you can do for them? Making this question a part of your quality check reminds your clients how much you value them. And you just may get another job order during the call!
Great service from their staffing partner tops the list of what clients value most.
By executing the service basics flawlessly, those treasured clients will stay.
