| Three ways to uncover client dissatisfaction |
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One way of reducing
resistance to
benchmarking is to
present it as something
many people do. For
example, it might not
occur to me to
deliberately go to the
doctor and ask for a
test for a particular
kind of cancer because
it is almost like asking
for trouble, but if I
get a letter telling me
that everyone in my age
group is being invited
to take a test, I am
more likely to feel that
it is just routine and
comply.
As well as making it
normal, it is helpful if
benchmarking comes with
a stamp of authority.
For example, certain
standards might be
endorsed by a particular
trade association or a
government department.
It is sometimes possible
to create a niche market
in this way. The
benchmarking is free –
it’s the solution you
pay for.
Get the client to
remove the constraints.
One of the principal
barriers to the
expression of
dissatisfaction is
self-censorship. The
client is not going to | |
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| | say that he or she wants
to improve their
customer service,
because they don’t think
they will be able to
find the resources to
invest. They will use
phrases like ‘more
pressing priorities’
which can be a cover for
‘I don’t want to think
about that right now’.
This can be a real
problem if you have an
innovative solution with
a potentially good
return on investment.
There is little point in
emphasising the
advantages if the client
won’t engage with the
topic. So you have to
find a way to get
clients to remove the
barriers themselves.
It takes a certain
amount of audacity but
you could try asking a
question such as, ‘What
would you really like
your customer service to
be like if finding the
resources was not a
problem?’
If the client starts
to say things like, ‘I
would really like to do
this, but limited
resources make it
impossible to consider
it’, you have started a
productive conversation,
particularly if you
continue to the flight
of fancy by asking, ‘So | |
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| | what would happen then?’
This technique,
sometimes called
‘laddering’, enables you
to take a relatively
pedestrian statement and
explore the true
payoffs, putting the
resource constraints
into perspective, given
the client has one of
those ‘aha moments’.
So, to conclude,
think about the meeting
you have just left and
consider:
• the questions you
could have asked about
the past, which would
have allowed you to move
into discussing the
present situation;
• ask yourself in how
many ways you could have
made benchmarking seem
the normal and right
thing to do; and
• think about how you
could get the client to
suspend disbelief and
discuss what they would
really like to do with
their business if
resources were not a
problem.
Each of these is a
tried and tested route
for getting clients to
talk about their
dissatisfactions and
their desire to change
the current situation. | |
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