Client Feedback Tool: Do You Know What Your Clients are Saying?

When is a door not a door ... when it's ajar.

I still remember my grandmother telling me this one more than 40 years ago. I believe I remember it because I didn't see it right away. But once I did, it made perfect sense and I felt the joy of discovering the hidden meaning.

When is client feedback not really client feedback ... when it's not about the CLIENT.
If a firm is asking their clients for information, it should be "about the client." This means putting the client first in how you ask. The difference impacts the clients' answers, and how you respond going forward. 

5 Ways to know if you're getting "client feedback": 

  1. Client responses change your process. Client responses should have the ability to impact how you serve them. If you can't take specific action to a question answered, don't ask!
  2. The request benefits the client. The client receiving the feedback request must see the value (to them) of responding.
  3. It's not an autopsy. Requests made during the project while there is still an opportunity for their responses to be acted upon drive participation from your clients, and gives you time to take action when it matters most.
  4. It can be acted upon. Your client is responding to the person that has the ability to act on their request. No one else can fix the project other than the people working on it. Keep them involved.
  5. Value added - not time waster. Don't throw away any questions on 'knowable' information. "Was the project on schedule?" That question is one you should already know the answer to and asking makes you sound like you don't know something you really should. Focus on areas that will benefit the client and that your firm has the ability to influence. 

Discovering hidden meanings in life is a universal delight. Effective client feedback is a great way to uncover what you didn't know, simply by asking and asking well. 

Client Feedback Tool is a recognized expert in the feedback business, particular for the A/E/C industry. The company was founded as an extension of an architectural firm that realized if they just had a richer understanding of what their clients valued, life would be so much easier. That said, we share with you the expertise that has come through the hard knocks of learning what feedback is (and is not).