How do you prioritize your customers and/or clients? Do you work with people on a first come, first serve basis—or do you categorize individuals based on need or the value of their orders? As with many aspects of a home business, this can be a personal choice and one that affects our overall customer relations.
I tend to attend to clients and prospects in order of how they approach me. Once prospects become clients, the projects become part of my overall calendar and are generally allotted time and focus based on what they need, deadlines, etc. I am not operating a “high volume” business, however, and I can only take on the work and projects that I can handle myself. For this reason, I am careful not to take on more people that I can give plenty of attention to. Have I ever found myself in a situation where I had several “small” clients and couldn’t take on a bigger project because of my prior commitments? Sure, but I am not someone who could “dump” consistent, smaller clients for someone big and new. Sometimes, it is just a matter of restructuring in order to fit everyone and every project in.
I do know of other types of home businesses, however, that categorize clients and customers differently—keeping a certain amount of time and resources available for “V.I.P.” customers or focusing only on a certain type of customer. Others DO shift people and move some “to the front of the line” based on their purchasing or needs. To be honest, I do not think there is only one right way to prioritize customers or clients—it depends on the type of business you operate and what is best for your situation. I do think you should be clear with your customers, however, and we should work to give good customer service regardless.
Also: What’s the Big Deal About Customer Service?
With Home Business, We HAVE to Give Good Customer Service