The Art of Project Transparency: How Not to Bait & Switch Your Clients

There are many old adages about how businesses can take advantage of a client. Last year, I found myself to be one of them, on the receiving end of a really frustrating experience. I was the victim of the old bait and switch. Not product wise – but, talent wise.

Omission not volition

In my case, the issue developed quietly during the transition from the selling process to the actual completion of the tasks at hand. The problem that I experienced,  a lack of communication concerning as to who was actually working on my project, was an important one.

Often the owner, or a senior level contact of an organization, may not be available to complete the nuts and bolts of a project – this is well-known. But if they are not at the very least overseeing the project, the client must be informed as to who is actually managing the work.  No one means to anger a client, but if there is a lack of information, frustration can and will set in.

First sign of trouble: Who was running the show?

The first contact with Company X was with its owner. She appeared well-informed and I was very interested in working with her further. There was a discussion among other things, about the steps to take in the future and how we should proceed. As she was aware of  the goals of the project, I assumed she would be running the project.

As the project got underway, I was completely left in the dark as to what was happening. I had to write the owner to determine who was actually running the project. When she offered up a project manager, I inquired as to her rate of pay in comparison to her own.  She said the employee was billed at the same rate as herself. (As a former project planner, I found this odd).

The lack of contact continued. I offered to provide guidance and supporting materials to the designated project manager, but she was difficult to contact. Suddenly out of the blue, I was told we were ready to meet. When I asked to review any materials before we spent resources on an unnecessary meeting, the owner (not the project manager) replied that the work had to be presented in person. I relented and we set a date, even though I had little idea what the “project manager” had been up to.

The big reveal

To my dismay a team (Yes, 4 of them – all billed at the owner’s billing rate) emerged at the meeting. They had done exactly the tasks that I had asked not to be emphasized and none of those that I originally had asked for help with. The biggest surprise? The team seemed completely baffled as to why I wasn’t ecstatic about the completed work. I spoke to the project manager later that day, quite concerned as to the direction the project had taken.

From that point on, the tone of the relationship changed completely. A few weeks later the owner wrote to tell me that “my limited budget” had run out and that promised pieces of the project could not be completed. (Interestingly enough, the retainer I provided was never meant to be my entire investment. It was a bit of a test to see how the whole relationship would work). As you might guess, I planned on running in the other direction, thankful I had not committed more resources.

How owners can avoid the problem

The reputation of your business is tantamount to any other goal. If you are relying on your team to carry out a client’s vision be aware of the following:

• Identify the eventual project manager to the client at the start of the process.
• Review billing rates early with clients.
• If you are handing off a client project to your team, review client notes with the them carefully. Don’t ever leave them in the dark.
• Review materials with the clients before you proceed with time-consuming meetings.
• Don’t agree to work that you really cannot deliver. For example, If your strength is in one area, don’t promise expertise in another.
• Check in with the work to be sure your team is on target.
• If you have to change the project plan, even with good reason, include the client in the loop.
• Do a post-mortem on project/client failures. Ask yourself what has gone wrong?

As a final note, when all was said and done, they were quite available to communicate with me that they gone well over the hours that my retainer allowed. I was unmoved by this admission – and I can only assume they ate the overage. I later received a note from the owner how “life was good”, but our relationship should “end”.

I am still shaking my head in disbelief.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a Workplace Psychologist located in East Lansing, Michigan. Find her on Twitter and Linkedin.

Starting the Customer Conversation – Again

No business should be in the dark about how they are viewed by customers. Because of this fact, I wrote a post a few months back called “Start the Customer Conversation”. The post held a simple message about the importance of opening a communication channel with your customers and listening closely. When I speak to businesses, establishing this channel is on the top of my “things to do” list if they really intend on growing.

Researching customer opinions

As a follow-up post, the best option is to touch upon some specific research techniques to help gather customer feedback. I began my career in research, and I have always felt that feedback was a key ingredient to a successful organization.  Information is power – and that power can fuel growth. I won’t bog you down with details, as you can explore the topics further on your own. The important message is to start somewhere.

Some of these techniques would be described as quantitative in nature, others qualitative. Choose one that seems appropriate for your business and move forward. Of course, you can always consult a research professional if you feel uncomfortable starting the process independently.

A few ideas to start

• Develop a customer “think tank”. This is a great option for small businesses. It works well because as you have questions that might impact products or services, you can pose the question to the panel. Pick a group of customers, (5 -10 or so), and ask them if they would like to serve as a resource to help foster product improvement. Make sure that the customers represent a cross-section of your customer base. Pose questions to them 3 or 4 times a year and formulate ideas for improvement.
• Harness the knowledge of a “tribe”. As discussed in this HBR post, there are always groups of people passionate about a product or service. In today’s transparent world, you can find them on various channels (such as Twitter and Youtube), speaking openly and honestly about their concerns. You might get ideas about how to improve what you do, from sources you never thought existed.
• Use an online survey site.  For a very small fee you can draft a customer survey on sites like SurveyGizmo and SurveyMonkey and have an on-line mechanism to collect customer opinions. These sites even provide tabulations for you – and you can even run updated stats every day if needed.
• Pose questions directly on Twitter or Facebook. Of course, this will limit you to only those customers who utilize social media. However,  the information is still useful – especially if you are at an early phase of changing a product or service package. Put your idea out there and ask for input – track the responses and you may be surprised at what you learn. Be sure the questions are close-ended by offering response categories (such as yes/no or agree/disagree).
• Hire a research vendor. If you are not inclined to launch a project on your own (or if your customer base is larger) there are many great research houses to help you out. Not only will they collect and analyze data – they will provide guidance concerning the questions to be posed.

One final note

If you are asking for feedback, try to report back to your contributors. You can do so through social media channels you have established like Facebook or a company blog. Let your customers know that not only that you took the time to listen – but that you are making changes because they took the time to converse with you.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a Workplace Psychologist located in East Lansing, Michigan. You can find her on Twitter and Linkedin.

Start the Customer Conversation

I’ll admit it. I am not a traditional customer service expert. I did have a stint analyzing customer trends at a major telecom company (Manager of Research & Planning). But it was a relatively brief stint – primarily because it was clear that what customers were actually saying, didn’t really matter as much as what the organization thought they were saying.

This discrepancy would actually keep me awake nights.

I received quite a few nasty calls about the shape and size of bills and how they wouldn’t fit into a standard size envelope (This is absolutely true). I never did understand why the bills were an odd shape, or how those calls ultimately reached my desk. But, the customers usually had a clear message to offer. I often agreed with them.

What customers think should be a priority

Being open to the entire customer conversation, even the potential criticism that comes along with the territory, is critical to an organization’s overall health. Ultimately, ignoring hard to hear feedback will lead to serious issues down the road. One thing is certain, if you fail to gather customer feedback, you may also fail to notice key opportunities to develop and grow.

It is never too early (or late) to start that conversation

Starting an open dialogue with your customers is truly a gift to your business. While it may seem difficult to get the ball rolling, the social media platforms that are available today can help you accomplish much of the heavy lifting. Here are a few ideas to establish a healthy dialogue:

• Embrace the concept of a “Customer Journey” -  I first noticed this concept in a blog post at the Harvard Business Review (read about it here). Essentially, it describes the notion that when an organization interfaces with customers, they meet at more than one “touch point”. So, organizations have more than one chance to build a relationship, or alienate a customer. Tracing this journey – a little like picking up bread crumbs in the forest – can highlight opportunities to enhance the customer experience.
• Listen to the whole story – You can blame a poor customer service outcome on procedures, or even the customer himself. But, guaranteed – there is another side of the story. Do a post-mortem on customer relationship problems and customer losses, and own up to the company issues that may have contributed. Always blaming the customer is definitely taking the wrong way out.
• Open a Social Media Channel – With a small business every customer counts. So, let them know that their opinions matter utilizing 21^st century methods. Open a two-way conversation through Facebook, Twitter or a company blog. Getting real-time information about what customers are thinking is nothing short of superb. Furthermore, customers are curious about the story behind your business and the passion that exists within that story – so put all of that information out there.
• Complete customer research to roll out of new products/services – Thanks to the internet, any organization has the opportunity to test ideas and products. Today, a smaller business doesn’t require a large research staff to ascertain when things just aren’t right when planning a change.  Put the ideas out there and watch the responses. Remember The Gap and their proposed logo revision?
• Commit to a Part-Time Social Media Manager -  In this case, the evolution of communication and technology has demanded a staffer who pays attention to your social media presence. Similar to the evolution of how a Chief Communication Officers addresses media for larger companies, it helps ensure that critical information concerning your organization reaches you before it can affect you negatively. Not only should the staffer monitor information coming in from channels, but should also help set a course for the information going out. Never forget to monitor your brand and its presence.

Just because your business is smalerl doesn’t mean you can’t roar. Turn the customer channel “on” and harness its power.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Organizational Psychologist located in East Lansing, Michigan. You can find her on Twitter and Linkedin.