When someone unsubscribes from my newsletter, the system I use automatically gives them the option of saying why they have unsubscribed. Luckily it doesn’t happen often, but when it does, this feedback is great because it allows me to see what I’m doing that ‘turns people off’ as it were.
Today I received the following feedback:
I tend to buy from those that I have a synergy/relationship with; I understand that you probably have zillions of paying customers and must focus your energies on your ‘qualified leads’ but don’t forget the little guys who retweet your stuff, give testimonials and recommend you to others.
A thank you here and there wouldn’t go amiss and may convert us into paying customers.
Please note – this is neither a rant nor a moan, just feedback as requested!
At first I was angry – I wouldn’t say that I ‘focus my energies on qualified leads’ – I am lucky enough to have Shaun and Bob to do that, sales is their job, not mine.
I focus my energies on putting out free articles, news, tips and hints that hopefully help ‘the little guy’, even if they will never become a client. I always thank people for referrals and testimonials (don’t I?), and although i don’t thank everyone personally for retweets (I sometimes get hundreds a day and it would take forever, as well as tying up a lot of Twitter streams!) I do post regular thank you’s and ‘kudos’.
So yes, I was pretty miffed – how dare this person say I wasn’t helping ‘the little guys’, how dare they say I don’t thank people, how dare they say I focus all my attention on qualified leads – don’t they know how hard I work to help out other people, give away free advice, promote people who aren’t my clients etc etc?
And then I stopped. And then I thought….
This isn’t about how *I* see myself, it’s about how this person sees me. And if she sees me in this light it’s because of the picture I’ve given her of myself. Maybe she hasn’t noticed the freebies I give out. Maybe she missed my ‘Thank you’ tweets. Maybe she has recommended me to someone and I don’t know about it so haven’t been able to thank her?
It was a great reminder that no matter what image or ‘brand’ you try to put out, you’re not going to please all of the people all of the time.
I don’t recognise her description of me, but it’s right for her – and if it’s right for her, it could be the same for other people.
It’s certainly made me think more about the image I portray.
So my tip to you today is to have a think about the image you think you portray, and then accept the fact that it might not be the same as the image others see. Harsh feedback is brutal, but vital for stopping bad habits and instilling good ones.
I couldn’t agree more. I have had a very similar incident recently that has made me much more self aware in my online presence. I think what’s happened here is someone responding to you without taking time to understand you and your business, as well as your personality; the things that would normally be apparent in a face to face meeting.
But keep up the good work Nikki, I find you and your website a very valuable tool and I take time out to read your newsletter too!
This resonates Nikki especially as I got a bit of negative from someone today for whom it was claimed I’d done a “much better than expected” job a little while ago. His issue stemmed from the fact that whilst his expectations were well exceeded, he still felt something was lacking: The ability to follow up by phone, in person and via emails after a series of calls I’d already made. He assigned no-one to perform these tasks. Having tackled the calling assignment in 3 different languages, with the best will in the world, I would have struggled to compose emails that bore direct relevance to each calls in 3 distinctly different written languages, only one of which I truly master at written level. Even though it was clear that emailing was never part of what we agreed I’d do, it became clear that, as a result of his low expectation of positive results (people wanting specific email information, or a call / visit to be scheduled with this gentleman himself) the project suffered in terms of its effectiveness through lack of escalation / contingency planning. Even when you’ve been told you’re doing things right, there can still be something wrong
Great article, it’s funny but as one of the little guys I see you more as you see yourself. You share free articles, advice etc.
Whilst it’s nice to say thank you, and I do try, sometimes time escapes us.
I appreciate what you do offer for free for the little guys but can tell just from facebook and tweets how incredibly hard you work for your paying Clients.
No one likes to look at themselves too closely but I think after reading this perhaps we should all do it more often.
You make a really good point here, Nikki – and the importance of comparing what we might call business ’self image’ with client perceptions cannot be underestimated – it’s something we probably all know, really – but tend to forget (or choose to forget) from time to time.
Then we get a reminder, which is often a little slap-in-the-face-ish! We had our most recent one when a client left us a review which was positive, over all, but suggested we were “below average” in the “value for money” stakes.
We work really hard to make sure our clients get the maximum ‘bang for their buck’, so this really stang – but it transpires that this was to do with budget constraints and the fact that due to cutbacks, our project took a higher percentage of budget than expected – the cost of the project didn’t change and the client was still very happy!
Hahah, good point Nikki
I probably come across as a grumpy old man lol
In my life experiences I’ve come to the conclusion people take things for granted far too much and don’t appreciate even the free things given out so I don’t try and please everyone, it’s just not possible.
I remember something similar to the comment from Matt, I too had a client who gave just less than perfect for value for money, however they only gave that as it would look too good if they did give me the full 5 stars, well the value I give is about a 10 but that is reserved for my clients
Good point. Normal feedback comes from the people who follow you. Valuable feedback comes from those who don’t. I follow you and admire you, consequently this comment is useless, and you should remove it.