The Indifference Difference

Recently I read a synopsis of “Why Customers Leave” that stated that 68% of customers leave because of rudeness or indifference.  68%!  That’s a huge percentage!  Now the author was lumping in all customer-related interactions including retail, but let’s look at how this scenario might apply to our interiorscape clients or “customers” as well.

 As we all know, the gold at the end of the rainbow for interiorscapers is the recurring revenue generated by monthly maintenance contracts.  And, if you realize that most clients keep an interiorscape service for many years, even though the contract covers a year at a time and then renews automatically, this long-term client retention is absolutely key to surviving and thriving.  So why do we lose clients other than from cost cutting or aggressive takeover tactics?  Let’s go back to the “rudeness or indifference” scenario.  For ‘scapers it’s the indifference factor and not usually any rudeness that probably plays a role.  And since we value our clients so much how can there be any indifference?  We have maintenance techs doing their job, so how can we be perceived as being indifferent?  Well, think back.  When you were a smaller company and just starting out, I bet you gave service, service, service.  Time passed, your company grew, and you hired employees.  You still gave good service but it couldn’t possibly have been as conscientious as when you were the sole cook, bottle washer, and service tech.  Just a fact of life and we take it in stride. 

From the Client’s Viewpoint

However, lets look at it from the client’s viewpoint.  “Joe used to take care of our plants himself and he always stuck his head in the door to say hi.  Now it’s never the same person for very long and when I call the office about something I never know whom to talk to.  Hmmm, maybe I should try some other company”.  Or, maybe you were the salesperson who sold the original installation.  You met with the client, discussed color schemes and answered his phone calls immediately.  By now the plants are in and the tech maintains them but the original contact, you, are never to be seen again.  The client feels neglected, calls the office with a problem, gets stuck in phone call hell or without a callback for several days and begins to think that the money he sends each month is not being appreciated.  Then one day, your competitor walks in the door and asks if the contact would like a bid.  Normally he would not, but he’s miffed and what the heck.  He gets the competitive quote and you get a call to cancel service.

 
Scary isn’t it?  Now understand that there wasn’t any indifference on your part at all.  But that’s not how the client perceived the situation and you lost a perfectly good client.  To top it off, you aren’t even told why the client switched so you think it is because your competitor gave them a lower bid or whatever when the real reason was that because the client perceived you were indifferent, the door was left open.  So, how do we prevent this perception?  Visit the client weekly?  Of course not, but it doesn’t hurt to anticipate this happening and set up steps to avoid it.

 How to do This?

Start with the handoff - The sale is made, the plants installed.  As a follow up have the person responsible for the sale introduce your Account Manager or the tech to the contact with assurances that if a problem arises, they can call on these people.  Some ‘scaper companies give the client a written list of numbers and contact names.

 Check out your gatekeeper - Today’s phone systems are full of stuff that ticks off the caller. Voice mail, automatic answering units that then route the caller to different departments, are not necessarily bad in their own right but they can be like tiny grains of sand.  A couple of grains doesn’t amount to much but add being on hold for a longer than an acceptable amount of time.  Add getting a human being that does not have the ability to make a decision or satisfy the caller’s needs.  What about the time delay in making the needed correction cause someone is out sick or the paper work got messed up and, by the time the problem or question is addressed you have one very unhappy client and an unhappy client is a client at risk.

 Answering Systems - Call your office sometime in a disguised voice, ask for yourself, and see how well the gatekeeper handles the call. Does he or she ask the right questions when you ask to speak to yourself?  And, since you aren’t available, does he or she offer to route the call to another appropriate person as well as offering voice mail?  If you have a message machine answering your calls, is your greeting short and sweet without a long rambling message before the beep?  Do you offer a cell phone alternative and is your cell phone turned on most of the time?  Think of all the times you’ve been on hold or been routed and rerouted through phone hell.  Make sure it doesn’t happen to your client ‘cause in this business when a client calls it is usually for a reason and not to just shoot the breeze.

Face to Face Visits - Take advantage of every opportunity you have to interact with the client contact even if it is only to stick your head in their door and ask if everything is okay.  You might be on the property to see someone else, may just be “driving by”, or you might be there for quality control.  Any chance to touch base with the client is a golden opportunity especially when it often results in a - Hey, Joe, while you’re here add-on sale.  Make sure the person your tech is always buttering up is the actual client contact and not their gatekeeper.  Time wasted if they are schmoozing the wrong person.

 Electronic Visits - In this fast, faster, fastest world, email is a wonderful tool to keep contact with clients.  I would mail to smaller groups of clients or send out messages without them being able to see who else is on that list of recipients just so it looks more personal rather than a wide broadcast contact to all your clients at one time.  Keep the message pertinent or instructive and, unless you know them really well, keep the angels and chain letter stuff out of the mix.  What could these messages say?   It could be news about the company, it might refer to an addition to their Holiday Décor Package or it might just be to say “Hi” or ask if there is anything they need from you and it might just be to thank them.  Keep it sporadic, limited and sweet but not saccharine. 

Holidays and Gifts - The year end and Holiday Season is the perfect time to make a connection.  Most ‘scaper companies give their clients poinsettia as gifts.  Good! Make sure to enclose a handwritten note thanking them for the past year’s opportunity to give them service.  Too many times we drop off the point and by the time they get it, no one knows where it came from.  Another idea, if you have the staff to create them, is to make up centerpieces of live greenery with a few ornaments, bow, and/or a candle.  The gift is live, it’s fragrant and just about everyone loves a pine arrangement in his or her space, be it at home or at the office.  Both of these options, poinsettia or greenery, avoids the problem of gifts that break diets (no fruitcakes), a personal moral decision (no alcohol), and still stays under their corporation’s dollar limits on gifts to employees (usually 25 dollars). 

Company Policy - If you don’t have standards set for response time and correction of problems known by everyone in the company, then there will be no urgency on anyone else’s part but your own.  Anticipate some mix-ups even with set timeframe standards and have a damage control response set up as well.  A “we goofed” admission of responsibility goes a long way.  Never should you be offering excuses like “the tech is sick” or “the truck broke down.”  Just admit responsibility, apologize, and fix it.  Wouldn’t hurt to follow this with a small gift plant or bloomer.

Know Thy Client - Don’t assume that every client wants handholding and attention.  Many don’t want to see you at all unless it’s for a really good reason.  As one of my early clients told me when I offered to give him a monthly report on how the 15 plants were doing,  “Barb, being a facility manager is like being Mayor of a large city.  I have to worry about snow removal, furniture storage, coffee service, paper supplies, and on top of that, 25% of our employees are moved within the buildings each year.  I haven’t got time for the green plants.  So, here’s how it goes.  I don’t need any monthly report, but if I call YOU, YOU had better take care of my concerns ASAP.  If you DO that and make sure I get no complaints that the plants look bad and I’m a happy camper.”

 And he was.  For fifteen wonderful years, we added hundreds of plants to his buildings and did extensive Holiday work until one sad day the company was sold and a new contact arrived.  Even then we continued with the job.  And the new contact wanted more contact.  Two different people with two different management techniques.  Again, know thy client.  One way to do this is to just ask the question when the client first signs on or when a new contact comes on board.  “Bob, how much do you want me to bug you?” or some such comment goes a long way to establishing the ground rules.   Mark his response on your calendar and in your file and you are well on your way to having a great long-term relationship with your client.

Client retention…a critical part of being a successful Interiorscaper and some thoughts on how to avoid the dreaded “Indifference Difference”.

 Now go out there and get ‘em Tiger!