• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
info@creativewords.cc | 01284 774797
Creative Words
  • Home
  • Services
    • Marketing Magic
    • Customer Gold
    • Team Sorcery
    • Income Alchemy
  • Blog
  • Online Training
    • Book-Writing Gold
    • Demystifying Content
    • 60-Second Gold
  • About Us
    • Pricing and How We Charge
    • Testimonials
    • An Interview With Cate
    • Creative Words in Podcasts
    • Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
doing right
The Content Alchemist

Doing right by our clients

March 9, 2021/in Values in Action/by The Content Alchemist

It would be nice to think that doing right by clients was a value that every business honoured, but sadly it isn’t necessarily the case.

Where some might do work for work’s sake, that’s not what we do. At Creative Words we want to do right by our clients, so, if we don’t think we can help, or if now isn’t the right time, we’ll say so. If we make a mistake we’ll own up to it and do what we can to put it right. And if we see other opportunities or can make other connections for clients, we will.

Avoid being red-faced

Before launching Creative Words, my background was in consulting. At the last firm I worked for they had a rule of thumb called ‘the red face test’. In other words, you had to ask yourself if you’d be embarrassed and red-faced if a client discovered you’d taken a particular course of action.

It was an effective tool and really rubbed off on me, so now we operate in exactly the same way at Creative Words. It isn’t always easy contacting a client and admitting to a mistake but holding your hands up and being honest certainly beats them discovering it for themselves!

Let’s take a look at how this value has showed up for us…

Frances and the Alchemy Package

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent!)

Frances is an important client for Creative Words. She has one of our Content Alchemy Packages, so she pays monthly for a ‘bucket of hours’ and we take care of everything for her across blogs, email marketing, website and campaigns.

For a period of time, because of COVID and a strategic review she was taking of her whole business, Frances wasn’t using our services as much as she had previously. This meant she started to build up a credit of hours which she’d paid for but not used.

Handling mistakes head on

Unfortunately, we hadn’t been tracking Frances’s time very carefully, but as soon as we noticed the build-up of hours, we sat down with her and admitted our mistake.

Together we looked at the current content we were providing, and then reduced her monthly rate to the point where Frances would gradually use up the hours of credit.

You have an opportunity to do better

This was a big lesson for us, and not a mistake we’ll repeat. Frances appreciated that we’d brought the situation to her attention as soon as we realised, and that we’d worked with her to find a solution that she was comfortable with.

Whenever mistakes happen (and they will from time to time, however much we’d wish they wouldn’t) it’s how you deal with them and learn from them that’s important. Now we have systems in place that ensure we keep an eye on the hours consumed for every client. If we get more than three months ahead (or behind) we adjust their rate to be sure they aren’t over- or under-paying.

The simple fact is, if a client doesn’t need us as much as they expected, we won’t just take their money and hope they don’t notice. That’s not (nor will it ever be) how we do things around here!

If you’re looking for a content partner who you can trust to do right by you, book an exploratory call – we’d love to work with you.

Tags: #creativewords, adding value, business values, customer care, small businesses, values
https://www.creativewords.cc/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BlogHeader_ValuesInAction_Blog03.png 315 560 The Content Alchemist https://www.creativewords.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CW-LOGO-R-Landscape-White-300x128.png The Content Alchemist2021-03-09 11:50:212021-03-09 11:50:21Doing right by our clients
You might also like
When writing non-fiction make four decisions first
image to give the gift of time Being the gift of time
How to Write - the summary How to Write – the series summary
Getting into print
60-second gold When is cheap and cheerful good enough?
The Content Gold businesses often forget
Reuse, recycle, reinvent
Lost for words
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Articles on The Content Alchemy Blog

  • The IT crowd – content for software and technology companies February 4, 2023
  • Shout about your expertise – content for travel agents January 9, 2023
  • Looking the part – content for food and drink retailers December 10, 2022

The Content Alchemy Blog – by topic

  • Blogging (6)
  • Content for Customers (6)
  • Content for Income (5)
  • Content for your People (6)
  • How to write (7)
  • Industry Insights (12)
  • Lost for Words (8)
  • Making a Market (5)
  • Making Content Work for You (7)
  • Online membership (8)
  • So you want to write a book (6)
  • Telling Your Business Story (7)
  • The expert voice (11)
  • Tools (2)
  • Values in Action (6)
  • Websites (6)

Creative Words Ltd
St Andrew’s Castle
33 St Andrew’s Street
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 3PH

Creative Words, the ‘alchemy gold’ icon and ‘Content Alchemy’ are registered trademarks of Creative Words Ltd.

The Content Alchemy Blog

The IT crowd – content for software and technology companies

February 4, 2023/in Industry Insights/by The Content Alchemist
Read more
https://www.creativewords.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/BlogHeader_IndustryInsightsSeries_Blog06-5.png 315 560 The Content Alchemist https://www.creativewords.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CW-LOGO-R-Landscape-White-300x128.png The Content Alchemist2023-02-04 02:25:322023-02-04 02:30:05The IT crowd – content for software and technology companies

Shout about your expertise – content for travel agents

January 9, 2023/in Industry Insights/by The Content Alchemist
Read more
https://www.creativewords.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/BlogHeader_IndustryInsightsSeries_Blog07.png 315 560 The Content Alchemist https://www.creativewords.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CW-LOGO-R-Landscape-White-300x128.png The Content Alchemist2023-01-09 16:23:542023-01-09 16:24:13Shout about your expertise – content for travel agents
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

© Copyright - Creative Words | Privacy Policy | Website Terms of Use
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Make a difference to the worldbusiness for goodAccountants - do you stand out from the crowdAccountants – do you stand out from the Crowd?
Scroll to top