How do you give support to clients?

I am in a mix of a business, on the one hand I am a software company that develops and sells a software application for the web.

On the other hand I am a services company that provides a professional services, whether that be design of websites, design of online applications or advice.

Up until a year ago we did not provide web hosting for our clients, always preferring for someone else to do this for us.

But as we grew we realised that if something went wrong with their email or website, we are the first port of call not the Web Host.

So from about the beginning of 2008 we mandated that all clients had to host through us. It's good for us we have a regular income and if something does go wrong with the web hosting platform we get it fixed.

And it's fantastic for the client because they get the great service from us which is sometimes what they need.

Now this brings me onto my question, for a lot of our past clients, they are not on our web hosting platform and we have no ongoing financial contract with them.

I have a few clients from up to five years ago where their websites are still fantastic, they can manage and update the content themselves and they have no intention of re-designing their website because it works for them.

But on a semi regular basis these clients will call me and ask me to help with something. That something could be helping them set up a new email address, editing a particularly complex HTML page.

In most cases I can't charge for this stuff even though it eats up my time. Sometimes I push back and suggest that for what the client wants they will have to pay.

But I was accused by one client of not caring about the small business client, which is absurd since we sell to small business. But the conundrum I have is how do I cost effectively support clients who we have NO financial interest in from years ago who need a couple of minutes every now and then.

If they are on our hosting and support platform they are paying us to provide support, but if we completed the client years ago, and don't host them, then every minute we spend we are not getting paid.

It doesn't sound like much but if ten clients a week call in with small seemingly insignificant questions and each spend ten minutes on the phone, that's 100 minutes a week which is a huge chunk of time when we already work such long hours.

Yes sure we can potentially upgrade the client in a few years time, but that long tail approach does not help us in the short term.

It's a difficult question and I am yet to actually answer the question.

As often as I can I push back to other staff to provide the support of clients so I can concentrate on building the business.

But it does not answer the underlying question, how does my company get paid for this kind of support?

The balance between servicing clients and managing your time

I have a lot of long term clients who have been with my company for several years.



Some are extremely small clients who I do a small discrete project every six months or so, whilst some are on contracts where we are paid a retainer for a specific service and support.



As my business has matured I have put more processes and procedures in place. One of the key aspects of my business strategy is that I have always treated my business as a BIG business.



That means time sheets, processes to follow, published Commercial Terms, contracts for Time & Materials projects and a clear understanding of how I allocate my time.

This also means that every minute of my time is precious to me as I am either charging out to a client, working on a strategic project or doing something that is building my business.

The problem with being a small business person and being 'available' on the telephone and in person is that some clients do take more time then others.

http://www.perrymarshall.com/perrys-greed/

Perry Marshall talks about this in a recent blog entry when he recounted an incident where after a workshop (where he was paid), a participant asked him to lunch so he could pick his brain.

Perry responded that sure he would have lunch, but he would charge his normal hourly wage.

This seemed to really incense the guy and he wrote a rather rude email to Perry.

This got me really thinking about this issue, because I have the same issue sometimes.

There are clients who are very well meaning and lovely, but the value of their projects now and in the future is quit low if none for me or my business.

Sure you could argue that they could refer a million dollar deal on to me, but the chances are very slim.

They want to chew through some stuff with me, and if I let it happen it can take many hours out of my week.

It is a really fine balance between managing your time effectively and essentially giving your time away fro free.

Let's be honest, if a client has a potential 20 thousand dollar project coming up I am going to give them more time than the client who spent 1000 bucks with us two years ago and is not planning on spending any money with us in the future.

The balance I have to seek is how I keep all my clients past and present happy, while managing my time effectively.

I do this by these days not answering the office phone line, and I don't give my mobile phone number out. And when my mobile does ring during the day I let someone else answer it.

My preferred method of communication is email for these sorts of clients and issues. I can skim though the email for the important stuff, respond with a couple of word answers on non important stuff or just say thanks received on stuff I need to know but don't need to really engage someone with.

Bottom line is that I am building a large scale business and my time and my staff's time is valuable.

I may not be a lawyer and charge in 5 minute increments but I do charge in 15 minute blocks for Time & Material Projects.

You know when I was a really small business I could afford to give all clients equal time, but now that I have grown if people want my time it has to have a cost effective payout for me and my business.

How do you manage this?