If you work within a professional advice or service setting, then you probably care about the quality of the service you provide within your business. Naturally there is a relationship between the quality of what you do and the fees you can charge. High quality services also should mean better service experiences for your clients.
In simple terms, there are three components you should consider.
1. Business philosophy
When was the last time you spoke about service quality in a strategy meeting? Is it something embedded into the way you think about your business? More importantly, how well do you communicate that to client facing advisors and staff? Many management meetings are accused of being ‘all hot air and no action’, but if quality matters, you need to spend some time to strategically think, discuss and define what it means to you, your management team and your business.
2. Service process
The service process provides the vehicle for the delivery of what you define quality to be. It’s fundamentally important that your advisors and staff not only understand the business philosophy on quality, but are equipped with the tools and training to deliver on those outcomes. Make sure everyone also understands why you care about quality – why it’s important to the achievement of your business goals, and what it means to clients. As a part of the service process, you should also be vocal about why it matters to them. If there is no reason for them to be a part of it, then they may not buy into your vision. Is the delivery of quality rewarded? Does having a high quality focus help provide emotional buy in to your business culture?
3. What your clients’ value
The imperative to all of this is not your business philosophy or service process, but what actually your clients want from your business. Many businesses make decisions and implement services processes without asking clients what they actually want. In a professional service setting, typically clients want someone to help them reach their goals, a service experience that’s easy to be a part of and a relationship with someone with the right level of technical ability. But until you ask them, you’ll never actually know. You might be spending time and effort on things that don’t matter to them (waste) and not enough in other areas (business opportunity).
To develop some quality pillars within your professional service and advice business, I encourage you to read Service 7. It provides 7 principles to help professionals deliver client experiences that their clients will love. For more information visit please visit www.service7.com.au
photo credit: obscene_pickle via photopin cc
