One member approached me with an idea. He suggested inviting some of the clients
that the counsellors had worked with this year to one of our meetings to give
us some feedback on our counselling techniques -both the highs and the
lows.
Five clients were asked the first 5 questions of this Top
Ten list. We learned a lot from the
answers we got.
Perhaps you are interested in finding ways to get clients to
give you feedback about the products and services you offer. Here is a list of 10 questions you could
use. Select a few that suite your
situation. The key is to ask the
question and then allow the client uninterrupted time to answer. Your job is to
just listen!
1. What was the greatest benefit you derived from my
service? This question helps you to understand what is working. Sometimes you will be surprised by the
answer. Client panellists said the more counsellors
the better! We have now eliminated the
restriction on the number of counsellors.
2. What would you like to see more of when you work with
me? For our session, the panellists told us some counsellors introduced
themselves by telling about their business background during the sessions while
others did not. The clients said they
wanted to hear the qualifications of the counsellors who were working with
them. Are you forgetting to be
consistent when delivering your product or service to your clients? We were!
3. How could I
improve my service? Clients often have ideas that are easy to implement but
somehow you haven’t thought of. These
were face to face clients who wondered if they could get support between
sessions through email. Easily done now
that we know it might be helpful.
4. Is there anything you would like to see me stop doing?
This question gives the client the opportunity to tell you about something
that isn’t useful to him or her. It was
suggested in our session that sometimes it is difficult for the business owner
to meet with the counsellor because the owner can’t leave his/her place of
business. The clients wondered if it
would be possible for the counsellors to occasionally meet them at their own
place of business. The answer was “Yes”.
Again, not something we had thought to offer consistently.
5. Is there anything you didn’t get from my service that
you were looking for?
Here is an opportunity for the client to tell you other
services that you might provide. If you
are looking for ways to expand your offering this question is important.
6. Has my staff treated you with care, attention, and
courteousness? This would be an important question for a service provider
with administrative staff to ask.
Clients don’t always complain about their experience with your staff but
might share something significant when asked.
7. Is there an issue that I have not spent enough time on
for you? Sometimes clients allow you to move forward but are still thinking
about a previous issue. This kind of
question helps them to revisit areas they may have not understood and still
have an unanswered question.
8. Am I doing what you want me to do? Most of the time
we are doing what we think the client wants.
It is good to check once in a while to find out if you are actually
doing what the client wants.
9. Where have we been less than proactive in addressing
your concerns? It may be that the client is expecting you to move into
different areas that you think are being covered by other vendors or staff
members. “Being proactive” may have a
broader definition to the client than you are using. Asking this question might uncover new
business.
10. Is our billing clear?
Are you getting value for your money? The bill is often a source of anxiety for the
client. He/she needs to know exactly
what he/she is being billed for. Does
your bill show that? This final value
question is critical to ensuring your client is satisfied with your product or
service.
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