Client Relationship Management

 Be self-aware

In building good client relationships, you need to understand your own feelings. By being self-aware, you can decipher your feelings and emotions and determine their impact on your behavior.

Suppose you had a rough day with a client, you would carry that mood to the next client meeting if you lack self-awareness. On the other hand, once you start understanding your own feelings, you may tell the client before getting started that you had a tough day, and if they find you a little off track, there is nothing in it about them.

Know your product

 Clients want you as a subject matter expert from your own areas.  Know your product thoroughly, the origins, technology areas, product architecture, core functionalities, supported features, best practices, user base, strengths, common application use cases, competition comparisons and contrasts so that clients can be advised competently.

Make yourself pleasant to do business with

People will only want to do business with you if they like you (or at least if they don’t dislike you!).

If people find you difficult or abrasive they will go elsewhere. Simple. When you’re wondering how to retain clients, the best way is to be open, honest, and transparent in everything you do. It’s a powerful method, and it’s not difficult to do.

Know the Client

Demographic information: Name, contact information, etc.

History: How long they’ve been a client, past purchases, etc.

Status: Whether they’re a repeat client, a recurring client on a payment plan, a one-time purchaser, a prospective client, etc.

Interactions: Messages, phone calls, in-person discussions, etc.

Understand Your Client’s Goals

To succeed, you’ll need to understand your client on both a micro and macro level. On the micro level, you’ll want to understand the goals and objectives for the project at hand. But on the macro level, you’ll want to understand how this project fits into the organization as a whole, as well as any key details about the client’s culture that might help you in your engagement. The ability to understand your client’s goals will help to build a relationship of trust and mutual respect.

Set Mutual Goals

Do you ever feel like you and your client are on totally different pages? Well, it’s probably because you are. You have your objectives and your client has his. The solution to this common issue is to set mutual goals from the very beginning. As soon as you start a new project with a client, sit down together — face to face, if possible — and come up with mutual goals. This puts you both on the same page and gives you something to point to later on when challenges arise.

Ensure Proper Alignment

It’s all about understanding what the client wants, and then delivering that on a timely basis. Establish the scope of the project as decided. Establish proper methodology for scoping, sign-off, review, feedback etc. Also, develop the key performance indicators they are looking for and track them regularly. This will also keep them informed on the project's success. The information you share with the client must be aligned with their needs.  Share what is relevant and aligns with the needs of the client. Your reporting needs to focus on their concerns.

Learn about Client’s way of working

When you are implementing a project for the Clients, they should be able to trust you with their work. So, do your homework, learn about them in & out and you will already be able to impress your clients.

Learn Client Communication Patterns & Speak their Language

Clients are people, and people have different communication patterns. This applies not only to how they receive information, but how they also share information. Is the individual client expressive, amiable, passive; maybe even dominant? Likewise, how do you communicate? Clients may prefer video meetings or choose to text message instead of email. Successful delivery method can adapt to the client's style, formality, and preferred method of communication, instead of sticking only with the tools where you may feel most comfortable. It is not the responsibility of the client to adjust their communication style, it is yours. More tactical questions to consider: does the client prefer long phone calls or short emails? How diligent is the client to their own respective schedules; understanding this factor really allows to schedule future meetings with greater ease. In the end, be patient and kind, and regardless of how different communication preferences may be, you will get to the sweet spot with the client.

Act as a mutual advocate

 Act as a mutual advocate for the client and for your team.

Treat each client as an individual

Each client personnel have different needs and desires. Take the time to get to know the individual nature of every one of your client personnel to best serve them.

Get a little personal

 Most of your client interactions will revolve around business matters, but keep in mind that humans like to do business with other humans. Some friendly small talk with your clients—whether it’s about their families, hobbies, or something else—can solidify your bond.

Be decisive

Being decisive in the client relationship management process maintains the health of the partnership. Any moment of hesitation can make the client doubt your seriousness and knowledge of the field. Strong decision-making skills come in handy with all client interactions as they establish trust and reassurance, two must-haves for any business situation.

Be proactive

You should be proactive with clients and try to share new ideas and strategies with them. Moreover, get them prepared for upcoming technological changes and help them with the actions they should take.

Try your best to educate the client to be independent and move around without hand holding them. In a way, the clients will appreciate this act of yours which will help in building trust.

Help Clients understand the work process

Create a project roadmap to show your clients and make them understand your way forward. Share a high-level view of tasks and the milestones that are to be achieved throughout the project. It will save you a lot of time from explaining your approach and status to the clients over and over.

Involve the Client in the Process

Before even starting any work, get your client involved in the goal-setting process. This way you both stay on the same page.

Pay Attention

Everyone likes getting attention, and this is one tactic that can make you get into your client’s good books.  You must try to pay attention to the client and listen actively to understand what they need and the issues they are currently facing. When you know what they require, you can present your solution to them in such a way that they cannot say no. It will help you close deals faster.

Promise less, deliver more

Be willing to deliver more than you promise. Of course, this can only be done by promising less and being realistic. No boastful bragging about what you can achieve, nor false statements about your past results. Clients will be pleasantly surprised if they get more bang for their buck once you present much more than they asked for from a project.

Share your previous projects and results

 There’s no better proof of your expertise than sharing your past work. If you’ve had similar projects, going into detail on how you’ve helped others achieve success turns you from a complete stranger two minutes ago into a reliable advisor they can confide in.

Prepare solutions

Consider possible challenges prior to beginning any projects or conversations and create solutions for those problems. When you have potential solutions in place before issues arise, you're better able to keep the project on track.

Be realistic and optimistic

Add elements of realism and optimism to your approach. Being realistic involves looking at the client’s situation without bringing your solution into the scene. The next step would be to blow in some optimism by helping the client visualize their pain points vanishing and what their situation looks like in the future. The last part involves selling, where you offer a way for the client to reach their desired destination.

Provide next steps

As the project progresses, make sure the client always understands what the next step is. It's comforting to know what to expect, so having your own expectations for the next phase of the project can help support clients.

Do what you say you’re going to do

Taking the trustworthiness thing one step further. If you agree, a deadline or deliverable with a client, make damn sure you meet it.

 Obviously, there are times when things go wrong – that’s life. Let your client know the situation and make a plan so they know you are doing everything in your power to get things back on track.

●     Don’t procrastinate – Start as soon as possible so you won’t miss out on future opportunities.

●     Don’t spread yourself too thin – Sometimes it’s better to say no if you’re not sure you can do it justice.

●     Negotiate an ample time buffer on larger or more complex Ones – Then, try to turn work in early, before the expected deadline.”

 Manage (and exceed) client expectations

What’s important to your clients might differ from what you see as essential. From the very first meeting with the client, make sure you get the following in check for managing client’s expectations:

●    What does the client need from this project?

●    What are the project’s objectives?

●    What risks should you consider?

●    What are the quality standards your client asked for?

●    What should you deliver at the end of the project?

Respect time

Client's time is valuable, as is your own. Set clear, consistent timelines for meetings, deliverables and other project elements. Communicate if timelines will change.

Listen to the Client

Whether they’re feeding back on recent service, telling you about an issue they’ve had, or just offering ideas for improvement, maintain client relationships by really listening to what the client is saying.

Not what you think they are saying!

When you’re talking to a client, ignore any distractions and process what they are saying carefully before offering a well-thought-out response. When problems appear, active listening will help you understand the client’s demands, so no details are left out of the conversation, the leading cause for the majority of the mistake.

Be empathetic

 A client that is unhappy wants to feel validated, respected, and understood, and you need to demonstrate that you empathize with their views. The most important aspect of handling unhappy clients is to listen. Getting into the other person’s shoes to understand what they are feeling is a great way to build a strong relationship. If the client is in some trouble at work, take a minute to absorb their feelings. It is a much better option than behaving as if nothing happened. The client will build a stronger bond with you if you are empathetic.

Assess for Potential Problems

Best way to solve a problem is to foresee it as risks and mitigate them.  Attempt to know, and problem solve their needs and concerns before they even arise.

Be patient

Clients might change their minds about the direction of a project. Implementation might slow for several reasons. Throughout the process, remain patient and upbeat with everyone involved. There will be times when your client will get too demanding, but you have to exhibit your best behavior and be patient. It will help you understand the client’s pain points and the situation better. If you lose your temper, you will be at a loss because many others offer a product or service similar to ours.

Dealing with unreasonable client requests

You will inevitably face impossible requests from your client, so the best option is to stay calm. Managing Client expectations is a delicate process. Maintain your calm. You can’t say ‘yes’ to every client request and revision. We may not have the time, resources or money. But you can also run into trouble when automatically saying ‘no’ to everything outside the project scope. Pushing back too strongly by saying No to requests could intimidate and so Clients may stop communicating completely leading to other issues.

Clarify the disagreements and keep your cool as you’re trying to understand them, then provide a sensible solution. It’s important to find the sweet spot when you manage client expectations. To do this you must distinguish between a reasonable client request and an unreasonable one. A reasonable client request is something that adds value to the finished outcome – perhaps a small tweak or a new approach you hadn’t thought of – which is easy to implement and doesn’t eat into your time and profits. Or an extra task they’re happy to pay for. An unreasonable client request is something that takes a considerable amount of time, lies outside the contract obligations, goes against your professional opinion, or won’t add value to the outcome.

Resolve problems quickly and efficiently

You’ve heard that familiar saying “the client is always right,” right?

 And while, in reality, we don’t always believe this, sometimes it pays to smile, nod politely, bite your tongue and offer that gesture of goodwill anyway. Because often the ramifications of not doing so are a lot more time-consuming and expensive than they are worth.

Maintain client relationships by thinking about the bigger picture when you’re dealing with one-off situations.

Don’t Burn Bridges with small things

How many times do you let small, petty things cost you a relationship with a client? How many times have you let something small and petty cost you a relationship with a client? If you’re honest, burning a bridge rarely turns out to be a positive thing when you look back on a situation. Try to understand this and be willing to lose the battle in order to win the war.

How to say NO to a client request

So, what happens when you need to push back? Once you've determined the request is unreasonable, how do you respond to them? Saying no is always uncomfortable, even for the most seasoned managers. It’s a conversation that needs to be done tactfully.

Here are some tips for saying ‘no’ to unreasonable client requests

First listen to what they have to say; they may shed light on something you hadn’t thought of. Try to understand the business reasoning behind their request. Then you can make a well-informed decision.

Once you've considered all angles…

• If the client’s idea isn’t going to work, give them your expert opinion. Explain why it’s not beneficial to them and their business. Back your explanation up with previous examples – and remind them you have their best interests at heart.

• If their request lies outside the scope of the contract, point out the exact part of the agreement. Explain the cost of adding this work on, and what fees will be incurred based on the value of your time.

• If you simply don’t have the resources to fulfill their request; be honest. Explain why you don't have the capacity – then offer helpful advice or alternatives based on their needs.

• ·If their request is going to delay another aspect of the project – explain this clearly. You might ask them to weigh up their priorities, and only go ahead if they’re willing to sacrifice a different component. It’s all about compromise.

Managing client expectations requires careful consideration, and a calm nuanced approach. Sometimes you will compromise – other times it won’t be in your best interest. The most important thing is communicating the logic behind your decision.

Maintain two-way accountability

You are responsible for providing certain information and deliverables to your client, and they are responsible for the same. Make sure you set up clear lines of communication to maximize accountability.

Own your mistakes

Mistakes are bound to happen. But whether you’re struggling to juggle multiple projects or just missed out on a thing you didn’t pay particular attention to, admitting a mistake you made can bring you closer to your client—as long as you fix it.

Maintain Positive Relations

Maintaining a positive client relationship is crucial for success. Communication is key! In addition to what we consider standard practice – open communication, responsiveness and flexibility.

Make it all about THEM, not YOU

People don’t care about you, they care about themselves, and so talking about yourselves all the time can be a huge turn-off, so make sure you keep the focus on the clients. Making the client feel rushed, unimportant, or taking up too much of their time can disintegrate your relationship.  Let them know how you can meet their specific needs and make sure you go out of your way to actually do so. Or even better, ask them what they’d like from you. So, you can maintain good relationships with clients and keep them feeling special by making everything about them.

Keep in regular contact

Sharing useful tips and offers in a friendly way can help your clients feel like they are getting to know you better, which is part of the battle when you’re looking to strengthen or maintain client relationships. Popping into people’s inboxes regularly means you will stay at the forefront of their minds. Make yourself accessible to the clients via personal and timely communication. Be relevant, be real, and be realistic with the clients. So, when they need your services again, or when someone else asks for a recommendation, your name will be on the tip of their tongue.

Check in frequently

Regularly get in contact with your clients to make sure your services are meeting their needs. Offer support or assistance if they call for it and continue to check-in, even if they have everything they need.

Communicate professionally

When sending those early emails make sure you write in a professional manner. It’s ok to be human and friendly, but don’t go overboard until it’s appropriate to your relationship. Use your social intuition and mirror their level of formality.

Don’t rely solely on email

Email dominates a lot of our business communication, but it’s not the only method that deserves your attention. Phone calls, text messages and live chats are important too. Offer face-to-face time and create a human connection.

Show appreciation

Clients are the ones who keep our lights on, and that’s worth some genuine appreciation. Find some small ways that you can make them feel valued

Solicit feedback

Ask your clients for feedback throughout the process. See if there are ways you can improve communication, processes or procedures for future interactions.

Act on feedback

Listening to your clients is important, but it doesn’t mean anything if you never put their feedback into play. Act on the input that you find valuable, thank your clients for their suggestions, and share how you’ve used their insights to make changes.

Streamline processes wherever possible

People value having the road smoothed for them, so make your clients’ lives easier by ensuring that the process of engaging with us is as trouble-free and easy as possible. Facilitate any interaction, collaboration, and payments by employing the most streamlined processes and systems available.

Prioritize consistency above all else

One great experience rarely creates trust or loyalty. You need consistency across channels and interactions to develop real relationships with clients.

Crisis Management

Develop a crisis management plan to handle unexpected issues effectively. Being prepared for crises and managing them with composure and efficiency strengthens client trust

Client Education

Educate clients about the processes, tools, and technologies you use. Providing them with a deeper effective

Onboarding

Create a seamless onboarding process for new clients. Provide comprehensive information, clear expectations, and dedicated support to help them get started smoothly.

Regular Reporting

Maintain transparency by providing regular updates and reports on project progress. This helps clients stay informed and builds confidence in your ability to deliver results.nderstanding enhances their confidence and fosters a collaborative working relationship.