How your attitude affects client’s behaviour

When you own a small business, it’s no surprise that reliable, respectful, and positive clients are much easier to work with. Unfortunately, you’ll likely come across difficult or demanding clients at times. But you may wonder what you can do to improve client interactions. How can your attitude towards clients affect their behaviour? 

This guide will discuss clients behaviour, including: 

• Why is client behaviour important?
• How can your attitude towards clients affect their behaviour?
• What are some tips for improving client behaviour? 

A client who acts rude and unreliable might feel frustrated and hurt your mood. But the way your clients behave towards you and your business does more than just affect how well your day goes. Clients who treat you with respect and kindness are easier to work with. Plus, clients who act reliably and value your business are more likely to pay you on time and provide helpful feedback. As a result, you’ll gain more earnings and be able to improve your business operations. 

If you approach customer service with the right attitude, you can influence client behaviour in your favour and improve your overall business experience. Positive client behaviour can also help you form strong customer relationships and grow your reputation. A positive attitude can even lead to more work opportunities because clients who view your business highly will speak well of it to others. 

Knowing how your attitude towards clients affects their behaviour is important because, with a few simple practices, you can improve the behaviour of your clients. In psychology, attitudes are the moods and behaviours people give off towards ideas or people. Attitudes commonly lean either positively or negatively, and they’re often reflective of past experiences or interactions connected to that idea or person. 

So, people’s attitudes commonly mirror what they experience. In other words, clients give what they receive. For example, if you show up late to client meetings or turn in jobs late, this attitude of carelessness or disorganisation affects how clients will view you. As a result, they might not pay you on time or respond to your contacts regularly. 

If clients don’t believe you care about them and their time, they might not behave nicely towards you. Even worse, if you’re rude or impatient with clients, they’re more likely to act the same way towards you. But if you take the time to be extra attentive and pleasant, you might shift a client’s negative mood toward a positive and easy-going one. 

There are psychological methods behind changing behaviour, such as classical or operant conditioning, but it can be easier than all that. There are a few practices you can take up to produce a good attitude and promote positive client behaviour. We’ll cover a few ways to get started. 

The first way to improve the behaviour of your clients is by focusing on your customer service and exhibiting a consistently positive attitude. Have you ever been stuck on the phone with a customer service representative who lacked enthusiasm or kindness? It can drain your energy and put you in a bad mood. Keep this in mind when working with clients. If you act kind, patient, and respectful, it can help you offer the most positive customer experience. 

On top of this, listening to clients and keeping them in mind will make them do the same for you. For example, you could keep customer files to help you remember important details to serve them best. Or you could focus on creating a friendly and approachable shop environment by always meeting customers with a smile. 

Ultimately, try to treat people how you would want them to treat you. Prioritising a positive attitude will make it more difficult for customers to treat you well. 

You can learn more about this with our article on how to surprise and delight customers. 

On top of emphasising kindness, try to maintain reliability to your clients and get to know them well. The more they know and trust you, the better they’ll view your business and behave accordingly. Being reliable means contacting clients promptly, showing up to meetings on time, and handing in work when you say you will. It also means working efficiently and staying available to clients. 

If clients trust you to do things when you say you will and go above and beyond, they’ll treat you better because you respect them and put them first. 

To create a great business environment for clients, and maintain a positive attitude, consider organising your operations with this in mind. For example, you could use kind templates for late payment reminders. Aside from this, consider making a system for communicating with and following up with clients. For example, you could create outlines for friendly emails and an efficient way to accept and plan client work.

You can also consider your tone in your business brand and use it to reflect a positive attitude. If your marketing materials come across as approachable, it may adjust client behaviour towards you.  

Once you introduce methods to encourage good client behaviour, you can grow your client base and start earning more for your business. Thousands of business owners use the Countingup app to make their financial admin easier. 

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here.