Can You Hear Me Now?! Communicating With Your Clients In The Best Way

Pixabay

You need your clients more than they need you. They are a vital source of information and custom, and you need to understand how to approach each one in a way that not alienating. We all rely on communication tools, and we all know how to use them, but do you know which ones are best for your client roster?

The Phone

It used to be so simple before the Internet entered the scene, if you needed to contact a client, you would pick up the phone. And it is still the best approach when you need massive amounts of detail. You can get embroiled in an email tennis match which would take hours to finish when it could have easily been wrapped up in a matter of minutes if you'd picked up the phone. Likewise, if you have hundreds of clients and there is a massive issue at your end that is out of your hands, a mass email could be deemed a bit too impersonal. Instead, you could use a service that can call straight to voicemail, which keeps your clients in the loop but is also making the most of the hands-on approach to mass communication. As a problem-solving tool, the phone is still the most reliable one when you need to get to the core of the issue.

Email

Where would we be without email? A method that respects the time and attention of your client, sending a short email to multiple parties to keep them in the loop about a simple issue is quick and effective. Short email messages that make the most impact can take some time to get right, but people will seldom read past the first sentence if they have no time. So make the subject line clear and to the point, and the most important content in the first sentence. Email trails can be a long and laborious process if you need to find important information. So making the most important bits of text stand out with a bold typeface is a simple process to get people to read the key bits.

Web Chat Tools

Systems like Skype or Google Hangouts have fast become one of the leading tools in any business communications. In startups where you might be scaling up the company or working with many clients over many continents, web chat has been an invaluable asset. Working with clients on an international level is a very common part of the business now, as it’s the way, so many of us need to keep afloat, which places a huge reliance on communication tools like WebEx or Skype. Conference calls are a regular thing now, as most staff members generally work from home, so you need to keep in regular contact in a simple way that doesn’t impede their productivity. The great thing about Skype and similar tools is that they are free, which is always music to SMEs ears! Your clients are your bread and butter, so find the right way to communicate and develop your relationship with them.