When I was 20, I decided to get a fringe. At the time, I had been going to a hairdresser at a nice little suburban salon for about a year. I liked her – she asked about my family and knew exactly which colour suited me.
I thought, however, that a fringe is a commitment. It’s right there on my face, the first thing anyone sees.
So I decided it would be safer to go to a big name Melbourne hair salon.
All I can tell you was, it was an absolute disaster.
I hated it. And when I (rather sheepishly) returned to Jasna in the suburbs, she explained to me while she fixed it, that the fancy hairdresser simply didn’t know my hair.
I’m 44 now, and Jasna has been doing my hair for 25 years. I’ve followed her from salon to salon and all across Melbourne. She did my hair for my wedding and now cuts my kid’s hair.
Ultimately, this had nothing to do with which salon she worked for. Her reputation was built on trust and earned over time.
When I first started practicing law in the early 2000s, clients of top tier firms were often institutional clients, wedded to the prestige of having the “biggest and best” firms on speed dial.
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, we’ve seen many Partners at top-tier firms make the move to mid-tier and specialist boutique firms, and we’ve seen those same clients follow them en masse.
Today, clients are more interested in the relationships they have built with those Partners who have taken the time to get to know them and understand their business than the reputation of the firms they work for.
It’s no longer enough to have marble foyers and gold lettering on the door. Your reputation is built on trust and your unique ability to understand and deliver the advice your clients need when they face a challenge.
What are you doing to deliver for your clients during Covid19 and the economic downturn?