You've lost a client's trust due to a failed deliverable. How can you regain their confidence?

This may sound too easy but try owning your mistake and making it right! Clearly everyone makes mistakes but it's difficult to reconcile when too many excuses, lies and deflections are involved. Put yourself in the client shoes and acknowledge what the failure to deliver means to them and genuinely apologize. When you approach them be empathetic and solution oriented. Have a solid date and time that the issue can be corrected and be sure that it is done. Look for ways where you can overdeliver and really wow the client. Thank the client for the opportunity to make it right in person and in writing. Follow up with them days later or even weeks later to ensure the deliverables are up to par, functional and valuable.

Accountability, humility, and transparency is the best way to begin to repair the relationship after a failed deliverable. Often times, inexperience will lead a PM into pointing fingers or scapegoating their own team members, this doesn’t shift blame and only paints a worse picture. Relationships with customers are much more important.

1. Acknowledge the Issue: Accept responsibility for the failure. 2. Apologize Sincerely: Offer a genuine apology to the client. 3. Communicate Clearly: Explain what went wrong and why. 4. Present a Solution: Outline steps to fix the issue and prevent future problems. 5. Deliver on Promises: Ensure all future deliverables are on time and of high quality. 6. Stay Transparent: Keep the client informed about progress regularly. 7. Seek Feedback: Ask for their input on how to improve.

Beyond acknowledgment, outline concrete steps to rectify the situation and prevent recurrence. Proactively offering solutions demonstrates commitment to resolving issues and rebuilding confidence.

First thing first, acceptance. Acknowledge that the commitments were not met. Discuss with the client and offer solutions and revised timelines. Give regular updates to client to let them know the work is on track. On the other hand, find the root cause for the delay to eliminate such delays in future.

Shame loves secrecy. When we bury our story, the shame metastasized. Transparency is truly the antidote.By fully owning the root causes, we regain agency.

Involve the client in problem-solving discussions to foster a collaborative approach. Soliciting their input and feedback demonstrates respect for their perspective.

Rebuilding trust after a failed deliverable requires more than just apologies. Demonstrate your commitment to making things right by proactively offering solutions. Analyze the root causes of the failure and present a clear plan for rectifying the situation, outlining specific actions and timelines. By taking ownership of the issue and presenting a well thought out plan, you show the client you're serious about resolving the problem and preventing future occurrences. This proactive approach demonstrates your dedication to their satisfaction and can help rebuild their confidence in your ability to deliver.

Offer assurances such as performance guarantees or service level agreements to instill confidence in your ability to meet expectations moving forward.

A customer may have had a bad experience with your business, so it’s your job to make sure no other customers experience that again. Now’s the best time to look at gaps and areas for improvement for your customer service. One effective way of doing so is ramping up your social media presence. More often, customers use social media as the first touchpoint for your business. They use social media to learn about your products and services, to drop a nice review, or even to voice their complaints. You don’t have to get onboard every trend online in order to build better customer relationships or to create a welcoming social media presence.

One way to engage with new customers is to monitor social media for industry keywords which aren’t just for your brand. You’ve got to know how your competitors are performing in order to see their weaknesses and turn these into opportunities that you can address for the customer. For example, you can listen in on how customers tweet a brand account that doesn’t tweet back. Take it as a chance to offer your services instead.

A failed deliverable is a golden opportunity to refine your processes and enhance your service quality. Dive deep into the details of what went wrong, involving your team in a candid discussion about the failure. Use this experience to implement robust safeguards and improve your workflows. Make continuous learning a pillar of your leadership philosophy. Establish a 'Continuous Improvement Plan' that includes regular training sessions, feedback loops, and process audits. I challenge you to engage your client in this process, seeking their input and showing them that their trust in your ability to learn and adapt is well-placed.

You’ve probably had your fair share of negative reviews on your business’ social media or Yelp page. No matter how nasty the complaints may be, don’t take it personally.It’s impossible to please every customer, and responding unprofessionally will more likely do more harm for your business. Take a step back and breathe before you reply to that negative review.Always remember to reply in a professional and respectful manner. Customers read reviews to decide if they’re going to push through with a purchase, and remember that they can also see how you respond

? The best thing is to give a complimentary or free service. ? As you accept your mistake and are ready to make it even, ask the customer what is the best thing you can do for him. ? Customer may ask for something unreasonable. Tell him you are serious of making things even but you can only go that far. ? Come up with various options, this will divert customers mind from the bad experience. ? Give him the offer and make sure to not repeat that mistake again.

What was really contributing to the failure to deliver? What would have needed to happen to guarantee that it does not happen again? Is it reasonable to expect that? If not what can be done?

In my experience, falling short on something, or making a mistake, is also an opportunity. It sounds like a cliche, but I have witnessed firsthand the power of recovering from a mistake. It's an opportunity to demonstrate integrity, humility, fairness, and concern for your client and their company. How you handle a mistake is a showcase for your values. It not only conveys what kind of company you are to your client, but also to your employees, and to your vendors/partners as well. Internally, those situations can also serve to focus the team on higher levels of quality and service. Handled well, a problem can result in even stronger relationships.