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It has been repeatedly said that communication is key. Whether a business is looking to initiate new business or grow relationships within its existing book of business, effective communication is the driving force in helping companies moving their business in the right direction.

Communication should be seen as ongoing starting from the first phone or email contact with a prospect to the completion of a project or throughout the course of your relationship.

It is comprised of many components, many of which are highlighted below. Following these ten important tips will help your company cohesively form a communication strategy that is sure to win over both new and existing clients alike.

1) THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING

Just as it’s been said the best offense is a good defense, the same can be said for communication. Sometimes the best way to reach out to people is simply by listening to them. Clients will never be shy about expressing their needs and concerns. However, a lot of times companies have well developed sales approaches that don’t take into account the dynamic nature of client relations.

It is a good idea to know your strategy and have it firmed up; however, an essential part of that strategy should be formed around listening to what the client has to say on a regular basis. Good listening skills not only allow you to collect valuable information necessary to assist a client and answer their needs, but it also demonstrates sensitivity and understanding.

Listening will set the tone for the rest of your communication. It will direct your efforts. By actively listening to clients, you’ll know the best way to communicate with them. Whether through email or phone, listening skills will foster the next steps in client relations. This can not only help businesses fine tune their sales and implementation techniques but it will also help to create a long term client relationship, increasing visibility, referrals and market share

2) EMAIL ETTIQUETTE

Email has become the most effective and efficient way to communicate within the workplace. Almost 88 percent of all Internet users in the U.S. use email. This information comes from a survey conducted by the UCLA Center for Communication Policy (The UCLA Internet Report: Surveying the Digital Future. UCLA Center for Communication Policy. 2001).

According to the same survey, approximately 90 percent of those who use the Internet at work use it to access business email. It has provided its own unique set of issues to learn to navigate. Although, intended to be used to communicate ideas and concerns, as well as, respond to needs as they arise, if not used correctly email can lead to miscommunication resulting in negative consequences.

The use of email can have a dramatic impact on business, a powerful communication tool. Establishing an email protocol ensures that the client message remains on point and is done so in a The key components to this would be acknowledging emails in a timely matter, using appropriate tone and making sure to check each email for any spelling or grammar errors. Clients often may not notice the extra effort taken to deliver the perfect email; they will, however, be quick to point out any errors, miscommunications or poorly written emails.

3) PHONE ETTIQUETTE

The phone brings a real time approach to client interaction. It allows you to get the true pulse of how a project is headed or what a client needs. Having a team with proper phone skills are essential to any successful business. It isn’t just a matter of picking up a phone and dialing the numbers; it is about having a productive, meaningful and engaging conversation.

A good phone conversation has three key elements

1. The call should be uninterrupted and quiet – It should go without saying that the best place to call a client is from a quiet office and not from a mobile phone in a convertible. However, with technology allowing us to be accessible 24/7, sometimes a quiet office may not always be available. Still though, it is essential to find a location that will allow the topic of the call to be the focus and not background noise. If it is necessary to step out of a room or take a few minutes to find a location, let the client know they will receive a call back shortly. It is better to get back to them in reasonable time then for either party to be distracted.

2. An agenda should to be in place – It is not always the case that a formal agenda needs to be typed up and distributed ahead of time; however, there should always, at a minimum, be an outline of what needs to be taken care of during the conversation. In busy settings, it is important to take time to check in on clients, but also important to be aware of their time constraints too. A focused call will help achieve this. The tone of a call can be as formal or informal as needed; however, it still needs to be driven by objectives and follow-ups.

3. Follow-up – If necessary or requested, it is a good practice to send a follow-up email thanking the client for their time, reviewing the hot topics of the conversation and putting in writing any requirements that need to be addressed in future calls. This gives another opportunity to show clients that by active listening, their needs are being heard and their goals are being worked towards. It also allows an opportunity to clarify any issues or questions that may have come out of the phone call, but still require more information.

4) DEFINE THE PROJECT

Entering into an agreement with a client is the basic function of business. Someone sees a need and decides to fill it. Months are spent creating the perfect branding and marketing plan in preparations for opening the doors. The hard work of running a business is rewarded in the success of expanding a client base.

The most important aspect of doing just that is making sure that the needs of the client are met in the most effective way.

So often a client needs one thing and through a series of miscommunication and internal meetings, the client ends up receiving something other than their vision. Instead of being a business that revisits these issues in postmortems, a proactive way to solve this client killer is to develop a well defined project plan.

Having a definite project scope with appropriate follow-ups will help alleviate the stress of finding out mid course that the client is on a different page. Defining scope can be as simple as meeting with a client to review the basic needs to as extensive as hiring and assigning a project manager to work with the client in a creating and sign off of formal scope document. The level of defining scope will be dependent on the size of the project and the needs of the client. This also goes back to the importance of actively listening.

By taking time early in the process to actively engage the client in what it they require will help to firm up the understanding of the deliverable they are expecting. Putting the communication effort up front, can also be cost effective as there will be less potential for work spent trying to ‘fix’ issues as they arise. A successful project is one that continually moves forward. Moves laterally or backward are financially draining for both client and business owner.

Communicating scope at the beginning of the working relationship ensures that each day the project is active it is moving forward to both the benefit of client and business alike. In the end, a project that is defined will leave less room for error and more opportunity for repeat business and word of mouth referrals.

5) MAKE DEADLINE

Hand in hand with defining project scope is honoring the commitment promised to the client. Scoping out the project ahead of time will allow proper resource allocation to be towards the project from the beginning. Just as time is money for you, the client is dependent on your word to complete their needs in the time promised.

A delayed project not only adds more payrolls to the business expense, but it delays the end goal of the paying client. Whether the business makes t-shirts, hosts websites or performs online trading, the client is dependent on the expertise of the business. One component of that expertise is the ability to listen to the needs the client is presenting and turning that into a functional timeline.

Your business is making money off the needs of the client, however, the client is dependent on a promised turnaround in order to make money. A client is going to seek to hire those companies that not only provide the services they need but do so in the most cost effective manner. They will be taking into account not only price point when making a decision with who to work, but also turn around time.

A business is only as good as its reputation. And its reputation is solely based on that of its clients.

Communicating with clients on what they can expect is only half the battle; letting them know when they can expect it is the other. Everyone knows that not all projects are delivered on time. In fact only a small percentage of projects come in on time and under budget, so although hopeful most clients will be aware that there will be variables beyond control that can push a deadline.

However, how a company communicates that information to a client can be the difference between an angry client and a delayed yet very successful project. Any successful business knows that there will have to be a fair share of adjusting to situations as they present themselves; going into projects clients will be aware they may need to shift from time to time, open and timely communication to them will allow them to make the

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