As you continue to build your business and gather more clients, it becomes necessary to add more people and delegate tasks to create the best structure for the firm. However, while you develop your own and your employees’ skills in delivering top-notch service to your customers, it’s also vital to spend some time drafting a strategy for how you will deliver on individual clients’ demands.
Have you ever stopped to think about your clients’ development? In addition to offering them value, what value do they serve for you in the mission to expand your operations and revenue potential?
While some of your older business relationships may have seemed like the perfect fit at the time they were fostered, your company has changed its direction and focus in terms of products and services. You may have a new vision of what your ideal prospect looks like.
When that happens, it’s time to reassess how you serve each of your clients and prioritize tasks in a way that optimizes your time and their level of satisfaction. In The Entrepreneurial Journey, Norm Trainor explains the importance of “doing the right activities for the right clients.”
Essentially, it’s smart to think about how much a certain group of people contributes to your firm’s overall revenue, and serve each demographic accordingly. As Norm writes, “segmenting your clients and providing different service levels” will help you reach your own and your company’s full potential.
A entrepreneur who is just starting out may be happy to get any client, never mind being picky about who he or she works with. However, that state of mind is not sustainable. Think about the strategy for finding your target market, and divide that market into your ideal, middle-range and “non-ideal” (or low-value) groups.
After you have segmented your clients, what are you going to do with each of the groups? Cutting the less-profitable ones is a short-sighted and potentially disastrous option: What if those clients someday develop into ideal prospects? How would your friendships and relationships with those people be damaged? How would the move impact your business reputation?
Rather than ending business relationships with less profitable clients, consider handing over the responsibility for their accounts to a junior advisor. If an additional employee is not feasible, investigate your technology options. Are there solutions that could allow you to deal with all your “non-ideal” clients much more quickly, freeing you up to work on the bigger clients? Ensuring that everyone continues to enjoy the high level of service that they’re accustomed to will help you retain your clients.
