5 Bad Business Habits That Drive Your Clients Crazy
Business success depends on one factor: client satisfaction. You can be the best in your industry, but if clients aren’t happy with your service, your business won’t last. Even if your business fulfills an absolute necessity in life, such as healthcare, your clients can always choose to take their money to another person in your industry. Since happy clients are the backbone of a successful business, we’re going to discuss the 5 bad business habits that drive your clients crazy.
Talking Over Their Heads
Doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, engineers, and other professionals with graduate education don’t necessarily mean to talk over the heads of their clients. The professional is simply using the words that immediately come to mind to succinctly describe certain issues. The problem with this is that when your clients do not have the same education or experience in your industry, they may not fully grasp the meaning of the terminology used. It drives clients crazy to pay someone to tell them something that they don’t understand. When you talk to your clients, make sure that you do not use jargon or industry terminology. Talk to your clients in plain English to make sure that they understand you.
Patronizing Explanations
On the flip side of the coin, if you’re not careful with your tone of voice and how you explain it, you may come across as patronizing. Clients do not want to feel as if you are patronizing them. They are paying you for a service. Even if they never went to college, they may still be capable of understanding complex scenarios as long as they are explained in plain English. Use a professional yet friendly tone when you are talking to your clients. Never make your clients feel like it is an inconvenience if they have questions or need clarification.
Not Returning Phone Calls or Emails
Most clients understand that they are not the only people on your schedule. Yet, one of the bad business habits that drive clients crazy is when you do not return phone calls or emails in a timely manner. Although you may be busy or you may need to do some research in order to answer their question, you need to let the client know that you’re looking into it. Set up an office-wide policy to return all emails or phone calls within 24 business hours. Make sure that your clients know this is the policy. If you don’t have the answer within that timeframe, it’s okay. Just call and tell them that you need more time. Reaching out to let a client know that you haven’t forgotten about them is one of the best ways that you can solidify the relationship.
Not Sending Out Status Reports
For lawyers, one of the most important things you can ever be told about practice management is this: one of the biggest reasons that bar complaints are filed is because clients do not feel that they’ve been in kept in the loop on their cases. Regardless of your industry, sending out status reports or reaching out to follow up with clients is one of the best things that you can do in order to keep your clients happy.
How often your office will send out updates or whether your office will reach out to ensure that clients received proper referral information if they required a referral to another provider should be done at the beginning of the client relationship. When clients know what to expect and when service providers follow through on their update policy, there is more client satisfaction.
Inappropriate Employee Behavior
Phones not being answered, calls not being returned, and employees who behave as if answering client questions or booking appointments for clients drive clients crazy. If clients complain about how they’re being treated, be open to listening to their experience. Although everyone is entitled to a bad day, it is important that you keep in mind that your employees are representatives of you. How they treat your clients will ultimately affect your profitability.
Get Help with Your Business
If you’re looking to focus more of your time on your clients needs, Clients ARM is here to help. We provide U.S. based remote services including appointment setting, medical coding, electronic filing of health insurance claims, billing, accounts receivable, customer service, collections, and more. To learn how we can help your business make your clients happy, schedule your free consultation with our CEO. You’ll be glad that you did!
