6 Easy Ways to Improve Client Communication
Communicating with current and potential clients effectively is extremely important to building ongoing relationships with them. If you can’t effectively communicate with your clients, you won’t be able to determine their needs and serve them as well as you possibly could. Therefore, it’s critical that you ensure quality client communication to improve your relationships and business. Proper communication is a core part of managing your clients.
Even if you think you’re an expert communicator, there are probably some ways in which you could improve your client communication that you haven’t even thought of before. Using these strategies will help you stand out from the competition.
In this guide, we’ll explain a few of the best ways you can improve communication with your clients to foster better client relationships.
What is Effective Client Communication and Why Is It Important?
Client communication is the process of exchanging information between a company and its customers. It is an essential part of customer service and one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. Though client communication is critical for every business, not all client communication is created equal; some ways of communicating with clients are better than others and can be more impactful.
Good client communication can help build strong client relationships, create trust, increase customer satisfaction, and ultimately lead to more sales. It can help you generate repeat business from clients who stick with you or order additional products/services. Strong communication skills are vital for businesses and effective client management.
You probably communicate with your clients every day through numerous communication channels. You might meet with them face-to-face, engage with them on social media , call them, or email them. Chances are, you might even use two or more of those methods of communication to talk with one client in a day! No matter which communication methods you use, though, it’s important to use the right ones at the right time.
Use The Right Method Of Communication
You can leverage multiple modes of communication to interact with your clients. These methods include verbal communication (like phone calls), face-to-face communication (like meetings), or written communication, like emails or letters. It is important to use the right type of communication for the occasion; a good communication strategy uses all types of available communication but carefully gauges when to use each one.
There are some messages that might be better conveyed to clients via email, like a minor update on their account. On the other hand, there are some messages that you’ll absolutely need to deliver in person or over the phone.
For example, if you need to share any bad news, it’s best to do that verbally. Of course, every method of communication also comes with its own unique considerations. You must consider your tone of voice when speaking verbally over the phone or in person.
Many people use text messaging as one of their main modes of communication with clients because it has the fastest turnaround time, is easy to send, and is convenient. It is important to know your audience and what they are comfortable with, though, before you start texting your clients. Have some examples ready that you can show them in case they have questions about what they should expect from the text messages you sent them.
Don’t Use Jargon Or Slang
While you might use industry jargon when communicating with coworkers, you shouldn’t use complicated slang when communicating with clients. Jargon can create a communication barrier when clients don’t understand the meaning of the terms you’re using. Not only can this cause confusion between you and your clients, but it can also make them feel awkward and excluded. It’s always best to use language that you know your clients are familiar with.
At the same time, though, you don’t want to oversimplify your services when explaining them to clients. When deciding which language is appropriate to use around clients, consider the client's perspective and knowledge level on the topic.
Avoiding using jargon and slang is also a pretty helpful video-creating and editing tip to use when crafting videos for your audience as well. Unless you’re making content for a niche, experienced audience, you should consider using language that anyone can understand. This way, when you add subtitles to your YouTube content and other social media, users will be able to read them and understand exactly what you’re saying.
Talk Less, Listen More
Show that you are an active listener by practicing good communication skills. Showing that you are an active listener involves demonstrating a few key components. These include paying attention to what the client is saying, asking relevant questions to gather more information, providing meaningful feedback, and summarizing key points during the conversation. By doing these things, you can show your clients that you are truly listening and engaged in their needs.
One incredibly simple, yet highly effective, way to practice active listening is to repeat what the client said back to them and ask for clarification. This way, they can clarify any misunderstandings, and if there aren’t any, you can be certain that you understand their needs so you can fulfill them to the best of your ability.
Show Appreciation & Build Interest with Follow-Ups
Appreciation is an important part of any successful customer relationship. There are a lot of ways to show your customers that they are important to you - and automated thank-you emails and follow-up messages are the perfect way to show your customers that you care.
Sending out automated messages can help build trust and loyalty with your customers, while also engaging them with interesting content. Automated follow-up messages can be used to remind customers of upcoming events, offer discounts or promotions, or simply thank them for their business. You can also send out engaging newsletters for clients to keep them informed about new products and services.
By taking the time to appreciate your customers and build interest with follow-ups, you will be able to create a strong bond between you and your clients that will last for years to come.
Use Maestra Studio To Take The Perfect Notes For Later
One of the best ways to practice effective communication in your business relationships is to take great notes that you can look back on later. This way, you can make educated decisions about how you can best move forward with that client. But if you’re taking notes during meetings, it isn’t always easy to keep your mind on the client and the discussion at hand and practice good client communication skills.
That’s where the Maestra Studio tool comes into play. Maestra Studio is the best way to transcribe text out there. You won’t need to focus on taking notes to serve clients effectively, because Maestra - the best online transcriber available - will do it for you!
Just record your meetings and upload the audio files to Maestra Studio to immediately receive a transcription, or have Maestra record your meetings live and transcribe them as you go. Then, you and your project management team can go back and review those recordings and notes to remember the little details and form strong client relationships.