Your firm has a reputation. It is mostly the result of your clients’ experience working with you and your staff. Does their experience match the reputation you think you have? Or that you want to have? Are you clients fans of yours? They are if you care enough.

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” ~ Jeff Bezos

Every time you have a digital, virtual, or in-person interaction with your clients, you give them one more bit of evidence that confirms or adjusts their perception of you. For most clients, the quality of your relationship is as significant a factor as your knowledge and ability to deliver what they need. While your concentration may be on the technical quality, don’t forget the importance of their whole experience.

Was that email requesting information for the fourth time just as tactful as the first? In fact, should the interaction have been a phone call anyway? Was the tone of that third voicemail requesting a response just as respectful as the first? When you care enough, you are just as mindful of the whole interaction, not just the quality of the deliverable.

Make sure you retain your professionalism, even when clients don’t reciprocate. I recall a partner expressing concern that his manager shot back a rude email to a frustrated client in the same tone it was sent to him. The manager felt he had the right to respond in like manner. The manager completely lost his professional poise in doing so. He wasn’t thoughtful enough and didn’t care enough. Reputation?

“You can’t buy a good reputation; you must earn it.” ~ Harvey Mackay

A perfect time to raise this issue is during a pre-job meeting. Do you and your team talk about how your clients experience you? It is a perfect time to mention how you want them to feel. If you never take the opportunity to consider what constitutes a great client experience, how will your team ever be on the same page, committed to delivering on your promises that make up your reputation?

No matter your position in the firm, you contribute to the firm’s reputation. But you also contribute to YOUR reputation. Hopefully, they are both positive. In the end, your clients’ experience of you and your team becomes the firm’s reputation. You will have a strong one when you care enough.