August 31, 2009

Unresponsive Clients, Drawing the Line

Posted in marketing, PR tagged , , , , , , at 6:17 pm by lcochran

As a marketing and PR professional who constantly strives to give clients the service they demand and pay for, I can only do so much.  When the client is unresponsive to repeated requests for feedback, it begins to put a strain on the working relationship.  I understand clients are busy, but when they are paying for service, they need to understand they are just as responsible for their success as I am and my time is just as valuable.

We all have our days planned out, with some flexibility to respond to unforeseen emergencies.  But, when a client repeatedly ignores requests for feedback on a project and FINALLY gets back to you after weeks it was first requested, where do the priorities lie when you’ve moved on with events for other clients?

The contract spells out your company’s responsibilities to clients. Clients should also have their responsibilities to your firm spelled out and signed.  Here are a few ideas:

  • Establish a response time for both parties.  Phone calls and e-mails should be returned within, say 24 hours, except for emergencies, then say, 3 hours.
  • Comments for project deliverables should also have deadline dates. Give enough time for both parties to respond with questions, meetings if necessary, and approvals.
  • Discuss if there is a “go to” person if the main contact is out of touch (vacation, etc).
  • Let the client know the consequences of non-responsiveness (delayed project deliverables, product launches, miscommunication, etc).
  • Add an opt-out clause in the contract…if the client is unresponsive to repeated requests, why would you want to keep working with them?

Any other suggestions?  I would love to hear them!