Have you ever wondered if your clients think your firm is “too busy” to successfully complete their next project?
Client Savvy co-founder Ryan Suydam recently completed a Client Empathy Mapping (CEM) workshop with an engineering firm in the Northeast. The process involves looking at the overall experience a client has working with your firm from the moment they become aware of you (and your ability to help them solve their challenges), through contract signing, project delivery, and extending the relationship. What are they thinking, feeling, saying, and doing at each of these points in the relationship.
During this workshop, the firm chose a particular client. That let their team put a specific client name to the relationship they were mapping. By the end of the session, they discovered a really interesting theme. At every point in the relationship, the client had concerns about staffing and resource availability. They had the impression that the firm was so busy their resources were stretched thin.
The impact, the client had a 3-year, $5MM project that this firm wanted to pursue but they weren’t sure they could win. Why? Because the client thought they were too busy.
During the exercise, the firm looked inward at how they were communicating to the client. They realized the client’s perception was based on how they talked about deadlines, timelines, and schedule.
Going through the CEM process let this firm see what their client might be thinking, feeling and saying. It gave them the insight they needed. Insight they would not have had otherwise. The result. They made some minor changes in the way they spoke about schedules and timelines. They created a process to notify this client when they wrapped up large projects or made new hires. They positioned themselves to be selected for the client’s 3-year, $5MM project!
How could Client Empathy Mapping benefit your firm? Is there something you don’t know that your clients are thinking that could cost you the next big project?
Join us at #CXps 2018. Ryan Suydam and Chandra Storrusten will take you on a 3-hour deep dive through an interactive Client Empathy Mapping experience. At the end, you will have the tools you need to take this back to your firm and create a Client Empathy Map for your firm. You will have a better understanding of what your clients are thinking, feeling, saying, and doing as they work with you.
Questions, contact sally@clientsavvy.com