- I may not do everything right, but will always welcome criticism and keep at it until the job is done right.
- I will put my best effort into every project, large or small.
- I will meet or beat your deadlines.
- I will keep you informed of your project’s status, even if the update is simply to say I’m still working on it.
- I will respond to emails and phone calls the same day or next day at the latest.
- I will do my best to communicate in plain English rather than confuse you with jargon.
- I will devote a minimum of 10 hours a week to the study of SEO, social media, copywriting, and marketing – it’s the only way I know to produce work that gets results.
- I will maintain utmost confidentiality of the work we do together.
Every business is different, so I’m sure your list will be different. Why did I craft this pledge? Because I think clients and potential clients deserve to know what to expect. Because these promises are what every client deserves. Because putting it in writing gives me another reason to follow through.
What’s your pledge to clients?
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Chicago based SEO copywriting, blog consulting, and content strategy consulting.
My Pledge to Clients http://goo.gl/fb/vaBV
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
A great plain English approach to this Brad – and I hear *you* in all of these. You really do walk the talk.
My Pledge to Customers
I will work with you as a partner, so the process is consultative
I will deliver something fresh, if fresh is not what you want, then I’m probably not the right person for you
I will provide progress reports so you know what’s going on
I will respond to your emails and phone calls with 24 hours
I will honor confidentiality
I am a continuous learner, which benefits my clients
Avil Beckford @avilbeckford
Hi Avil – That’s really good. Thank you for sharing!
Brad,
This is very powerful.
At some point in time, all business owners have to draw a line in the sand and set down some concrete ‘non-negotiables’ with regard to standards which clients can expect from them without fail.
If I were an owner or principle of a firm in your target market, then I would certainly imagine that I would be much more likely to engage the services of those who operate on firm business principles with clearly defined non-negotiables, provided of course that they can produce testimonials in support of their pledges (as I’m sure that you can – not least because of the half dozen or so that you list on this site).
Above all else, business owners want one quality from those who serve them – reliability. Sure, you can deal with those whose are cheapest or those who are located closest to your premises or whatever – but I would think that just about every business owner would value dependability from those who serve them above all else. And those who set down clear non-negotiables as you have would almost certainly be more dependable than those who do not.
As you know, I myself am not a business owner. But the concept of setting down non-negotiables is relevant for employees and prospective employees also. So for myself, I guess one of my ‘new year resolutions which I actually keep’ should be to define a set of non-negotiable standards which I will offer to my next employer, whoever that may be. For a guy who blogs about business ethics, I really should have done this by now (note to self: walk the walk as well as talking the talk). Thank you for setting down the challenge in this important area and leading the way by setting down an example of how it gets done.
Andrew, You’ve got a brilliant idea there, to set down your non-negotiable standards to offer an employer. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that before, but it makes real sense. And I agree: RELIABILITY is key, key, key.
This is a real nice post i also bookmarked your site and look for more updates.
Hi Brad – That is a brilliant pledge. One I’ve often used is upfront guaranteed pricing. Mind you, it has gone horribly wrong sometimes and you need to carefully consider the type of work you’re doing and what could go wrong.
I’ve had situations where folk have completely changed their minds about what they want and if you’re not careful, you can find yourself out of pocket.
This is an excellent idea and great wya to manage clients expectations. I think consistency and communication are the main points for any pledge, if people are aware of the hardwork you are putting in then they appreciate it much more.
Brad, I share many of the tenets of your pledge. I often include “what you can expect” in my contracts so that clients not only have my reputation and verbal pledge but a written guarantee of what I will do. I love the continuous learning in your pledge. We need to invest time in our craft to better serve our clients and it’s brilliant to let them know you’re committed.
Cath, Guaranteed pricing has the advantage of being a rare offering – but when it backfires, I imagine things could get ugly. I guess it’s all a matter of properly scoping out projects, right?
Jenny, I would hope consistency and communication are key points, because they are valuable to me as a customer. But not all service providers share those values.
Karen, I may steal/borrow your idea and add a “what you can expect” pledge to my proposals – it’s really a brilliant idea. As for the learning part, it struck me that I’ve invested an enormous amount of time and yet I seldom mention it. Isn’t it strange how we can take for granted our most valuable assets?