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How much do your customers know?
By Lauren | January 10, 2008
In this modern American economy, specialized knowledge is one of the most valuable assets professionals have. The reason your customers come to you is that you know how to do something they don’t, whether it’s creating a customized IT system, navigating the complexities of a corporate merger, or conducting open heart surgery. Your professional expertise is the thing that makes your services valuable to people who need you to do something for them that they can’t do themselves. By definition, there’s a gap - often a large one - between your level of knowledge and theirs.
That gap can become an unbreachable chasm, however, if you don’t make a reasonable effort to educate your customers about exactly what you can and can’t do for them. It can be challenging to explain your work, especially if you’re in a field that involves sophisticated technology or a language that’s unique to your profession. The legal profession certainly has that problem - as an attorney, I know what “res ipsa loquitur” means, but unless you’re a lawyer or you watch a lot of court TV, you probably don’t. (It’s Latin for “the thing speaks for itself,” a good concept to keep in mind.)
It can be tempting to take the “trust me, I’m a professional” approach when dealing with your clients and customers. After all, the more mysterious and complex your work seems, the less likely they are to challenge you, right? Wrong! When you make a mistake (and at some point you will, because even the best professionals are human), clients who have been lulled into a false sense of security or, worse, discouraged from asking questions or challenging your judgment may well decide that there’s no point even trying to talk to you before they find their own attorney and sue you.
The legal profession has been working for several years to ditch the Latin and move toward “plain English” writing. We have a way to go, but it’s a trend that I encourage most professionals to follow. Take the time to talk with your customers about what they can reasonably expect from you, explain alternatives, and encourage them to ask whatever questions they have. They’ll appreciate you more if they understand what you do and, if something goes wrong, they’ll be more likely to try to talk with you about how to make things right before they head for the courthouse.
Topics: Business Ethics, business communications, corporate responsibility, customer relations |