What do your clients want? What is it they really want – above all else?
Another way to ask the question is, “why do customers remain loyal?”
There are lots of potential answers to that question. Could it be price, quality, skill or excellence?
In his book “What Clients Love“, author Harry Beckwith claims that what clients want most is “comfort”.
He goes on to say that “In an age of so many choices and messages with trust declining … and so many of our choices involving things we cannot see or inspect; today’s client feels uniquely uncomfortable.”
Beckwith offers these suggestions as ways to provide the comfort that clients crave:
- Perceived “Expertness” – reliance on an expert is a clever time-saving device. It relieves you of the burden of having to know and evaluate everything.
- Clarity – clarity helps people understand and gives them confidence in you. Are your words designed to impress or do they convey that simplicity and understanding matters most to you?
- Integrity – are people able to predict what you will do based what you say? That level of reliability is rare (and thus quite valuable).
- Genuine Interest in People – your genuine interest in people assures them that you will protect their interest as well as your own
- Passion – clients know that if you love what you do, you will perform well.
Do you agree that comfort is what clients want most? What’s working for you? In your experience, what are the factors that lead to loyalty among your clients?
Source: Beckwith, Harry. What Clients Love: a field guide to growing your business. Warner Books, 2003.