CRM Magazine (December 2009)
“Experience” takes on many meanings in a professional services business:
- The years of experience you have in your chosen trade of consulting, accounting, law, marketing, and engineering.
- The experience you have with specific industries and niches.
- The client experience you provide through the relationships you forge.
- The success your clients experience as a result of working with you.
“Experience” is a powerful word and a concept that can make or break a professional services business. “No Substitute for Experience” (CRM Magazine, December 2009) references a study released earlier in the year, “Customer Experience Boosts Revenue,” in which Bruce Temkin, a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, modeled the potential impact of even modest improvements in customer experience:
For a company with $10 billion in annual revenue, Temkin determined benefits might total $284 million to $65 million in additional sales, $116 million in the reduction of customer churn, and $103 million boost through word-of-mouth recommendations.
In professional services industries where client retention and referrals are king, client experience becomes all that more important. Even if your annual revenues are $1 million, $10 million, or $100 million, you can see how improvements in your customer experience can substantially improve revenue.
But client experience is only half the story. You need to think about your prospect experience—the interactions we have with your prospects before they become clients. These are just as important to the health of your business and the ability to grow over the long term.
Improving the Prospect Experience: Applying Temkin’s 6 Laws
The article goes on to reference Temkin’s “6 Laws of Customer Experience”. Here I’ve taken a look at how those laws can be applied to the professional services marketing and sales process to improve the prospect experience.
Law #1: Every interaction creates a customer reaction.
All of your marketing and sales–whether it’s a newsletter, direct mail piece, sales conversation, article, email, etc.– is a representation of what it’s like to work with you and a representation of your brand. Each and every interaction works together to form an impression in your prospect’s mind. What type of impression do your communications form?
Law #2: People are intrinsically self-centered.
Prospects care first and foremost about WIIFM (what’s in it for me). They care less about your unique blend of process, people, and technology and how great your services are. And they care more about what you’re going to do for them. What value do you provide to your clients? How can you help your prospect with their unique situation? What are the common outcomes of your services on your clients’ businesses? Frame what you do within the context of your prospects’ challenges, and they’ll be more likely to listen to what you have to say.
Law #3: Customer familiarity breeds alignment.
Professional services marketing and selling is all about building relationships. In RainToday’s How Clients Buy Benchmark Report, we found that after referrals, “personal recognition” (aka brand) was the top way buyers find service providers. People buy from people they know. You can’t expect to go from first meeting to having new client overnight. It takes time. The more the prospect is familiar with you and your brand, the more trust and credibility you’ll have built up, giving you the inside track.
Law #4: Unengaged employees don’t create engaged customers.
Does your client-facing staff engage in real relationships with clients (see #6) and look for additional opportunities where your services can help? Do partners and business developers have the prospect’s best interest in mind when proposing new solutions or are they just looking to make the next sale? Are your staff members truly and sincerely committed to helping prospects and clients? All employees must put the success of your clients and prospects in the front of their mind. Let this drive your actions and everything else will fall into place.
Law #5: Employees do what is measured, incented, and celebrated.
Do you have a marketing and business development culture where everyone is expected to contribute to developing new business? Are marketing and sales supported by leadership? Billable staff won’t put the energy, effort, and commitment into marketing and sales if they are not expected, supported, and incentivized to do so. Remember, professionals at your firm did not go to school to study marketing and sales; they went to school to study accounting, law, consulting, etc. Marketing and sales efforts need to be supported by the organization. Make marketing and sales a priority in the organization and get leadership on board and the rest will follow.
Law #6: You can’t fake it. Be genuine and sincere. If you don’t really care about the success of your prospects, perhaps you should think about being in another type of business. Your clients and prospects can smell a fake a mile away.
Before you send out any marketing communication, remember it contributes to the overall prospect experience. Ask: Will the prospect find value in this (#1)? Is it prospect-focused not company-focused (#2)? Do you already have some sort of relationship with the prospect where they will recognize you and your brand (#3)? Do the employees sending these communications have the prospects’ best interest in mind (#4)? Is leadership on board with the communications and do they support your efforts (#5)? Are your communications and intentions genuine (#6)?
Answer “yes” to those questions and you’re well on your way to providing a great prospect experience. When you treat prospects like you treat your clients, more of them will become your clients.
