Are You Causing One Business Issue to Fix Another?

Are you angering clients and don't even know it?

How do your firm's engagement letters make clients feel?

What about intake forms?

Invoices?

Just wondering.

(Hey marketers, yes, I'm talking to you. Don't think standard business forms are in your purview? Think again. Of course firms should ask marketing and relationship development professionals to review documents that set the tone for client service! Think of the opportunities firms will spot, and pitfalls they will avoid, when they accept your help.)

Firms address many business needs through updates to these and other standard forms. How often do we ask our clients, though, how those updates are landing?

A Cautionary Tale From the Grocery Store

Beware of creating one business problem when you move to address another. Case in point, my local King Soopers grocery store has recently put armed security guards between customers and the exit in an effort to reduce shoplifting. Those armed guards stand in front of the exit doors and ask to see every customer's receipt.

I'm sympathetic: Loss prevention is a real threat to retail businesses. However, there are multiple grocery options nearby. I don't have to stop and let an armed guard review my purchases. Though I like the savings and selection at King Soopers (and the fuel points!), I've started shopping elsewhere.

So, one steady customer driven away by the solution to a problem. Am I the only person feeling this way? Doubtful.

It's Not the What. It's the How.

It's not checking receipts that I object to; the kindly seniors working the exits at Costco and Walmart have conditioned me to hand over my paper and submit to cursory inspection.

It's being stopped by an armed guard in a bulletproof vest. Who, by the way, doesn't even ask to see inside the zipped cooler bag holding my milk, yogurt, eggs, and ice cream. (How's that loss prevention going, Kroger?) So it feels like an affront, and not even a meaningful one.

What's more, the presence of a gun, and a martial air, changes everything. I don't want to be around that. I definitely don't want my kids around that. Just having guns present between customers and the exit seems to invite potential for trouble.

Costly Tradeoff

In an effort to stem merchandise losses, the brand risks losing something more valuable: customer loyalty. King Soopers has made me feel less important than the mascara, candy, soap, and chicken breasts it's trying to keep from losing. And the kicker is, they likely haven't even thought about it from the customer perspective.

Back to engagement letters, intake forms, invoices, etc. What measures have you seen that have unwittingly made clients uncomfortable or cooled client relationships? Even if you do feel action is warranted, so much comes down to how it's delivered.

• Has your firm introduced a 3% fee on slow-pay accounts in your engagement letter or invoice?

  • Why not recast that as an affirmative discount for quick-pay customers? It's always happier to reward behavior we want to encourage than to punish behavior we hope to deter.

• Do your engagement letters include boilerplate allowing the firm to name clients (while protecting confidential information, etc. etc.) in marketing and social media use?

  • Why not encourage relationship partners to ask the question, instead, and use a victory or favorable outcome to do joint PR and deepen the client connection?

Review standard docs through your clients' eyes. Test new language with trusted clients and ask for their reactions and input. I am not aware of any client who doesn't like being asked how they feel they've been served. Then listen for the things you didn't anticipate. A small turn of phrase may make all the difference in client experience.