Hello, this is attorney Hunter Cavell in Solon, Ohio, and today I want to talk about something I call the Amazon mentality and managing your customers and clients expectations. Now what do I mean by that?Today I ordered something off of Amazon and it said for an extra $3 it could be at my house in three to five hours. Now I don’t need it to be there in three to five hours because I’m at my office and I can wait the whole 24 hours for free.
So I did that. But it got me thinking. I have many clients who, it’s their first time in a lawsuit, it’s their first time needing some help. And so what we need to do is set the expectations because their mentality is okay, I’ve paid for the services. I should have them in 24 hours. That’s not the case when you need quality legal services. If you have a small business, you probably have quality services or products that rely on a supply chain. And since the supply chains are what they are today, you might not get it in 24 hours.
Now, Amazon can make this possible because they have hundreds of thousands of workers and delivery drivers that they contract out to get those products and services to you. That is their business model.
My business model is to under promise and over deliver. And what do I mean by that? Every client, when they sign up, should have a rough timeline of how long a case normally takes. Now obviously there are different specifics for each one, but I never promise my client that something will be done in 24 hours. It just does not work because emergencies happen, things come up. However, I can also realistically say this will take one month or this will take two months, and I can set the expectations to either meet or be at that goal to keep the client happy.
Now the other part of this is communication. You should always be in communication with your client. Here’s where we are. Here’s what I need. Here’s what I’ve done. That way, while your customer or your client may be used to getting something in 24 hours, or it’s showing up at their doorstep before they even get home at work, they have to understand that small businesses don’t work that way. And it’s your job to keep your clients happy because your clients are your biggest referral source. If they have a good experience, one client can turn into one and a half to clients, if they have a bad experience, it can turn into a negative Google review, which you definitely do not want. So if you need any help with this or want to talk about business formation or what to do next, give me a call at (440) 940-6441 or email me at[email protected]. Thank you and have a good day.