Comments on: It’s not how I see me, it’s how YOU see me…

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:14:15 +0000

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.

By: Kev Jaques

Kev Jaques — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:23:22 +0000

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

By: Matt Chatterley

Matt Chatterley — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:57:09 +0000

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!

By: Helen Stothard

Helen Stothard — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:34:14 +0000

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.

By: Shaun Gisbourne

Shaun Gisbourne — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:43:46 +0000

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

By: Cat

Cat — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:58:15 +0000

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!