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Don’t play favorites with your customers, either
By Lauren | April 30, 2010
Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s address another risk that companies and, in particular, professional firms often face. Anyone who’s ever been in business knows that all customers are not created equal. Some buy more products, are nicer to deal with or offer more referrals. Others are smaller, harder to satisfy or less willing to help you build your company.
Trouble is, it can be all too easy to lavish extra-quality service on your best clients or customers while giving the others short shrift. That approach even makes good business sense … to a point. After all, you don’t want to risk losing your best customers because you were so busy trying to satisfy the worst. But if you drop the ball on meeting the needs of a small client because you devoted all your time and energy to a big one, you may find yourself facing a malpractice or negligence suit.
Luckily, different clients don’t always need you to give them the same professional services. It’s perfectly okay to go the extra mile for your best customers, so long as you give the others advice and other services that are of reasonable quality and that meet their individual needs. And be careful, when you distinguish between your customers, to do it on a neutral basis, and not to discriminate based on race, age, gender, disability, or any other protected class. Give your best work to your best customers … just be sure to give pretty darn good work to all the others.
Topics: Business Ethics, Risk Management, business communications, customer relations, ethics |