Jan 26th, 2023
Business Insights
True Partnership
Written by: Jesse LaDousa, Chief Executive Officer
A core value of Clientek has always been to provide an exceptional customer experience. It should go without saying that as a professional services company, this attribute must be very high on the list of things you and your team focus on. We spend extra time with our teams to ensure they have a good understanding of what exceptional customer experience looks like and how we, as a company, can embody the values in which we ask them to operate.
For me, great customer experience comes from acting as a partner instead of a vendor. It is true that vendors provide services and deliverables to customers, but partners go a step further and provide a connection that enables them to understand not only the customer’s business, but also their individual employee’s goals, motivations, and visions for success. Knowing the people behind the company allows a partner to bring empathy to the situation and think of the success of the project as more than just a win for the company but instead a win for everyone involved.
We have an old tongue in cheek saying at Clientek that for each person we work with, we should know their kids’ names and the color of the car that they drive. While a bit funny, there is some truth in getting to know the people you work with. We’re doing important work for these companies and spending a lot of time with the individuals driving the projects. Why would you not spend the extra time to get to know them better? Why wouldn’t you foster a relationship with the people you spend time with every day? I conjecture that it will always help you better deliver on your work if you know what motivates the individuals that you are delivering to.
There are very few projects in my decade-plus tenure at Clientek that I didn’t truly enjoy the customer we were working for. It brings me great pleasure to get to know new people, partner with them, and then exceed their expectations. Many of these people become long term customers, a testament to the experience we provide as a partner.
Take some time to evaluate your relationships with your customers, vendors, and employees. Are you fostering the right level of connection to bring about a great experience?