When we start a business, especially one that focuses on providing clients with a service, as opposed to sales of a product, our primary concern is often finding those clients. We commit our time, effort and money to finding as many clients as we need to make our business a success and build a reputation. Then, as our business starts to grow, we need to find ways to find more clients. Growth is never-ending, and our marketing campaigns never stop. You can read more about marketing at https://www.voicesofmarketing.com/blog/3-examples-effectiveness-irl-marketing/.
Unfortunately, this means that many of us neglect the relationships with the clients that we have already got. Just assuming that once we’ve got them, we’ll always have them. This often means that we don’t just need to find new clients to grow; we also need to replace those that we’ve lost.
Building good relationships with our clients means that they’ll be loyal. They’ll spread the word of our services, and they’ll keep coming back. It can make your life much easier. However, building productive relationships means more than that. It means that you and your clients work well together, you understand each other, you are on the same page and you can achieve better results.
Offer Detailed Reports
Your clients want to know what you are doing for them. They don’t just want your word that things are going well; they want to see the breakdowns. Using https://www.strategyoverview.com/ means that you can offer detailed PDF reports, budgets and risk forecasts. Giving your clients plenty of detail will help them to trust you, and your work.
Work on Your Communication
Quality reports aren’t the only way to communicate with your clients. You should be available when they’ve got questions, you should get used to offering updates, and you should be able to tailor how you communicate to each client and their individual needs. Some people will want to be in regular contact. Others would rather leave you to get on with things. Some might want phone calls. Others prefer email. Get used to changing your approach to suit the client.
Be a Teacher
Again, each client is different. Some have plenty of knowledge already, and others don’t want to know. But, others will want to gain further understanding. They want to understand their business and everything that goes on with it. So, they won’t want your meetings to be filled with jargon and technical information they don’t understand. They’ll be keen to learn, and you should be happy to teach. This also means they’ll have a more significant input and you’ll be able to get better results.
Be Honest and Open
If you want a positive and lasting relationship with clients, trust is paramount. They need to be able to trust you if the working relationship is going to be a long term one. This means somethings giving them the bad news and never just telling them what you think they want to hear. Sometimes, it might mean confrontation or even argument, but as long as you’ve got the best interests of the client in mind, it should work out.
