The Next Competitive Advantage?

A client I know hired a consulting firm to develop a pilot training program and facilitate a series of workshops for one of the client's divisions. The project was completed in about three months, and the client raved about the results.

The educational materials were top-notch, the consultant's facilitation skills were praised by all, and the work was done on time--and on budget. From every angle, the project looked like a winner.

It wasn't.

After the client team huddled in a closed conference room to debrief, they agreed that the project was actually more like a train wreck. They also decided to award the remaining work to another consulting firm. The client was willing to throw away a three-month investment to start over with a new firm

The reason the consultants got the boot is simple: they created a great outcome, but a miserable day-to-day work experience for the client. They lost sight of the reality that the journey is often more important than the destination. The consultants created a toxic working environment for the client, and it cost them the job.

In an interview in MCNews, marketing consultant Suzanne Lowe advised that consultants "should intentionally provide a uniquely favorable emotional experience" for clients. And that doesn't mean just being respectful, punctual, and providing great results. It's also means understanding how the client feels about working with the consultant.

Most consulting assignments have aggressive timelines and sky high expectations. In such a pressure cooker, it's easy for consultants to lose sight of the personal impact they have on clients. Every consultant knows results matter, but don't neglect the importance of the client's experience with you.

Is the client's experience part of your project approach?

Comments

[Peter Bowerman]

You simply can't overstate the importance of deliberately crafting that "positive emotional experience" for your clients. Will you always feel it? No. Will things always run smoothly? Of course not. Will you always think your clients are just wonderful? Hardly. But, in all your interactions with them, do what you have to do to "put on the happy, positive face." Feel free to grumble internally to your heart's content, but liberally pepper your emails and face-to-face conversations with, "Be happy to," "my pleasure," "I'm on it," "Anything else you need?" Even if you don't feel it, do it anyway, and chances are, once you see the difference it makes (and trust me, people notice...), it might just start coming from the heart.

[Andrea Harris]

Client experience is everything when you're in a really small firm. If it's not there, the client probably won't call you again. I'm sure it's just as important in a large firm, but probably harder to pull off, with multiple layers and large teams. How do you address that challenge?