By Andrea Meacham Rosal

It's quiz time. Get out your pencils, a sheet of notebook paper, and your A-game understanding of your firm's clients. Pick one particular client contact to think about, someone you feel confident that you know very well.

Now, for our first question: If you asked [person's name] to tell you why they chose to hire your firm, what would they say?

Maybe you know this one. You're pretty sure it was because of your impressive proposal, or because you were recommended by a friend of a friend.

Next question: If you asked [person's name] to tell you how they've benefited from your services, what would be their answer?

Easy...you say. You came into their company, pointed out some places they could save money, make money, improve quality, something having to do with your area of expertise. So, what's the point of this exercise?

Believe it or not, your superhuman powers of clairvoyance may not operate quite as well as you think when it comes to your clients and how they view your firm and the work you do for them. Your clients hold the key to understanding how they perceive you and your firm, your impact on their business, and how your firm compares with the marketplace of outside choices at their disposal.

So if you can't necessarily predict what they will say, why not ask them? When you think you know how your firm and your work are perceived, but you don't even ask “How did we do”, and follow it up with a “No, really… how did we do?”, you are probably missing crucial feedback from your clients. Here are five tips that will help you capture this information.

1. Make the decision to conduct interviews with your clients.
   Your clients have something in common with people who live down your street, those you see in the grocery store, those who catch the train on the other side of the platform from you, etc. They're human. For example, consider your own tendencies. When you're catching up with friends and they ask what you think about the new candy-orange trim they just painted on their house, do you tell them the whole truth and nothing but the truth? A small, cantankerous minority might go ahead and say “It's horrible, I hate it.” The more likely response is something like, “It's… very bright! It goes quite well with those marigolds in your driveway.”
   
   An interview gives you the environment and opportunity to peel back the surface niceties and ask for real information. In-person interviews are remarkably revealing, for the same reason it's compelling to watch celebrities talk on Larry King Live or even Inside the Actor's Studio. Before being interviewed, those celebrities may have prepared a little or a lot, but there's always a chance they'll say something they could never have anticipated would come out of their mouths, something fairly close to “the truth”. Make the decision to find out what that mystery moment holds for you, and commit to interviewing your clients.
   
   
2. Decide who will do the honors.
   Should you interview your own client contacts? Should you enlist the help of a colleague further removed from the client? Or should you find someone outside your own organization to do the interviews?
   
   How you make this decision might vary. The prospect of having a perfect stranger call up your contacts and invite them to spill their truest feelings about you might not seem very appealing. However, the further removed the interviewer is from you, the more breathing room your client will have to be straightforward with their feedback, both positive and negative.
   
   If you decide to contract with an outside firm to conduct your client interviews, first make sure that you are comfortable with the interviewer's level of professionalism. Find out who will be making the calls and ask for a chance to talk with that person ahead of time to give them any background information they might need. Contact the clients before the interview and explain who will be contacting them, the context of the call, and what kinds of questions they should expect. If you prepare well, your clients won't mind spending a little time on the phone with the third-party interviewer and you will have access to the most candid level of information.
   
   Sometimes time and/or budgetary constraints make it more reasonable to conduct the interviews from within your firm. If you choose this route, see if you can arrange for a colleague to conduct the calls, preferably someone entirely removed from your client relationship. In choosing this person, keep in mind the same guidelines as for choosing an outside firm. Are they professional? Are you comfortable with them talking with your clients? Make sure they have enough background information before they start, and let your clients know what's coming.
   
   Lastly, if you decide to conduct your own interviews, you will need to set the stage very clearly that you are asking for candid feedback. Expect anything from kudos to constructive comments, as well as interesting details. Listen carefully, ask follow-up questions, and be open-minded. Don't let your expectations dictate what you hear; really pay attention and explore what you don't understand until you have the detail that will help you make decisions and improvements in the future. And before you take this route, make sure you have a skin tough enough to handle surprises with grace. You asked for feedback; let them offer it openly and thank them for what they have to say.
   
   
3. Put together your target list.
   In a set of 10 to 12 twenty-minute conversations, an interviewer can gain an astounding volume of feedback. Don't put your work on hold for a couple of months to interview all 50 of the clients you've had in the past three years – instead, decide upon a sample of your client list and target about 15 people, recognizing that their busy calendars will preclude 2 or 3 of them from being available.
   
   
4. Decide what you want to discover.
   When your clients talk about how it's been to work with your firm, they are offering their perspective. And when clients have a perspective, it can't be wrong. So even if you believe one version of an order of events, the success of a project, or other topics, recognize that if your client believes something different, that's their reality. It's important information whether or not it matches what you think they should say.
   
   With that in mind, here are some tried-and-true questions that uncover a variety of topics, such as your firm's public image, how you gain clients, how your work is perceived, and the intangible strengths and weaknesses your clients see that might otherwise escape your attention.
   
   • What was going on in your business that influenced you to look for someone like us to do the work?
   • How did you go about finding someone to work with?
   • What benefits have you received from working with our firm?
   • What differentiates our firm from others you know?
     
     Add in or substitute specific topics you want to pursue, but don't let it get too long. It's easier for clients to offer 20 minutes of their day than 40 minutes or more, and they'll appreciate your respect of their time.
     
     
5. Synthesize and set goals.
   When everything's complete, you will have some interesting reading to do. If you do the interviews yourself, be certain to type up your notes so you can review them later. Look at the responses in groups by question; how are they the same, how are they different? What did you expect, and what surprises you? How can you use this information to make better marketing decisions or have better client communication on projects? How might the feedback impact your service offerings?

You've spent the time and/or the money to get the information; now put it to good use!