Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Welcome to The Happy Client! Written by our Director, Anna Lake, this monthly newsletter shares insights, ideas and inspiration to help you build stronger client relationships and create move value for your business. If you're not already subscribed, click here to never miss an issue! This month’s edition of ‘The Happy Client’ contains some tough love. I’ll be looking at what happens when things don’t go according to plan and asking you to reflect on how you respond in those instances. 

Sorry (not sorry) 

If you or one of your team makes a mistake, own it, and apologise properly. Three words are enough, “I’m sorry.” Not, “I’m sorry if you feel we didn’t meet your expectations...” This isn’t an apology, it puts the emphasis on the client’s feelings, not on your actions and can be seen as insincere.  Or not, “I’m sorry we missed the deadline, but it’s year end and we’ve had a lot going on…” Your busy period is not your clients’ problem. When you have annual peaks, you need to plan for them and put mitigations in place, so they don’t impact on delivery. 

Reflection point: Do you and your team know how to have difficult conversations with clients and colleagues? The ability to do so is an often overlooked but a crucial skill when moving into roles which require relationship management. 

Deal with things decisively 

One of the common grumbles we hear from clients is issue resolution. Not taking decisive action when a client isn’t happy about something - or someone - erodes trust and credibility and can damage relationships. 

If you’re not happy with a product you’ve purchased, or it’s not working as it should, you would expect the retailer or manufacturer to replace it or refund you. In services businesses, that can translate to taking people off engagements if they’re not working out for the client, for whatever reason. You will need to dig into the reason, and you might be able to resolve it. But, where resolution isn’t possible and a client just isn’t clicking with a team member, don’t leave them on the project and hope things will resolve themselves. 

Reflection point: What protocols do you have in place for dealing with issues? Are they understood by your clients, and your teams? These procedures form a key part of your client experience plan and not having them in place is at best shortsighted and at worst, complacent. 

Respond, not react 

All feedback is personal, that’s a fact. When something impacts us on a personal level, it evokes an emotional reaction. It’s important to respond to the matter in hand in a considered way rather than react to it emotionally. That’s not an easy thing to do and we are all human! Emotions are completely natural. They should be acknowledged and given the attention required, but they shouldn’t creep into dealing with tricky client situations. 

Reflection point: Do you know how to give and receive constructive feedback? Although feedback is a gift, it needs to be delivered with care or it can cause damage at a personal and interpersonal level. 

Create psychological safety 

Mistakes happen – we’re all human. And turning to AI is not always the answer. People want to deal with other people: warts and all. When someone in your team does make a mistake, and it will happen, they should feel able to speak up and flag their error early on. It’s always better to surface and deal with an issue, rather than let it escalate and risk losing a client altogether. Role modelling is important here – ‘confession sessions’ where more senior or experienced members of the team share their own stories of when something’s not gone according to plan can create a culture where people feel able to raise their own mistakes without fearing the consequences.  

Reflection point: Do your team feel psychologically safe to admit mistakes? If not, exhibiting the behaviours you would like to see from your people is a good place to start. 

I hope this has been a useful opportunity to reflect on how you handle client dissatisfaction. If not, I’m sorry you feel that way (joking!). 

Great client relationships aren’t built on perfection, they’re built on honesty, accountability, and the courage to do better. So, if you’re ready to stop papering over the cracks and start building something stronger, let’s talk.