The 5 Secrets of Hidden Innovation - Secret #4

The fourth secret is:

The hidden customer touches

There are a number of ways in which you touch customers. Some of these are obvious, such as when you send a memo with advice, or prepare a set of accounts. Others have become so commonplace you hardly notice them, such as sending out fees or the way you answer the telephone. This hidden secret means understanding each of these 'touches' and thinking about how you can make them special.

It is obvious how a new technical idea can help a client, but it is these hidden little touches that can imperceptibly move you from 'an advisor' to 'our only advisor'. You should look at all the things you do which touch a customer in any way and think about how you can make this different and more pleasurable / desirable for your clients. Questions to consider:

* Where are we just going through the motions?
* What things could be annoying customers which we are unaware of?
* What are our processes of delivery?
* Can we list every single point where we touch the customer in some way?

Areas to think about include, among others, billing, advertising, the format of how you provide advice, and how you plan with the client. I'll bet there are many more which you don't recognise because they've become so common place.

You'll probably think this won't make much of a difference, but think back to all the times a business did one little thing wrong which annoyed you for the rest of the day. Why let that happen to your firm? In fact, why not turn these potential annoyances into moments of 'how lovely!'.