It’s one thing to attract new clients for your company. But keeping them might be just as challenging without a sound client relationship management approach that is implemented consistently and effectively and applied to every client you have.
If you don’t learn how to handle your new client relationships well, all the time and money you spent trying to land that killer client could be for nothing. It takes sound procedures, great people skills, watchful investments, and even effective software to keep track of everything when building strong commercial partnerships.
Which can sound like a lot if you are also still trying to manage the day to day running of your business. Which is where a client relationship consultancy can help.
What is Client Relationship Management Anyway?
Before you dismiss client relationship management as just another trendy business buzzword you don’t have time to get too worried about, you should understand just what is meant by the term.
Client relationship management refers to all the actions your business takes to keep in touch with its current, potential, and past customers. Typical components of an effective client relationship management plan include:
- A well-organized method for managing and tracking your clients (e.g., CRM software)
- Goals and milestones for client relationships (e.g., Increase customer retention)
- Skilled and specifically designated client relationship representatives (e.g., Client relations managers) who can take charge of this more important than you think aspect of customer relations.
As a leading client relationship consultancy, Pearl Lemon Consultants helps its clients with all of this and more. We work with businesses of all sizes and across a wide range of industries, as no matter what your business does, if you rely on growing and maintaining a client base to keep it afloat then client relationship management IS something you should be concerned about.
The Many Benefits of a Solid Client Relationship Management Strategy
Putting money into client relationship management can do wonders for your company’s performance. Here are a few advantages.
An Increased Client Retention Rate
Your clients are more likely to remain with you if you develop great ties with them. This is crucial for a wide variety of reasons, not the least of which is the possibility that retaining current clients may, research says, boost profitability by 25% or more.
You'll Better Understand Client Needs
The most successful client relationships empower customers to express their requirements, as communication is a crucial component of client relationship management. The client experience can then be improved and further optimized using this information, not only helping you better satisfy current clients but also devise ways to communicate this dedication to building solid client relationships to your target market and potential future customers.
Word Of Mouth Referrals Will Increase
Clients and customers that are pleased with your company are more inclined to recommend you and your products and/or services to their own networks. No matter what you do, or how you otherwise market your business, word-of-mouth recommendations are still crucial for business success.
You Can Set Better Goals for Your Employees
A well thought out, clearly stated client management strategy will help ensure that everyone who interacts with your clients understands what is expected of them, and how your business, as a brand, wants to deal with customers. This avoids misunderstandings and miscommunications between teams and allows your employees to take better ownership of their own roles in the client relationship process.
Client Relationship Best Practices You Need to Master
What do we do as a client relationship consultancy? The simple answer is whatever you need us to, but primarily we focus on helping you master the client relationship best practices that will best benefit your business. While these will differ for every company – and our bespoke consulting services reflect that – the most important of these usually include at least some of the following:
Learning to Empower Clients in Goal Setting Processes
During the goal-setting process, you should be upfront about your dedication to the client relationship. Just because a client comes to you looking for a fix doesn’t imply they want to give up control over establishing priorities and creating strategies for enhancing their own company.
You’ll get much better results that are actually targeted to their needs when both parties are actively involved in the goal-setting process. However, this involves a set of skills that not everyone has, as well as the formulation of a basic standard process. Working with us as your client relationship consultancy will ensure that you and your employees can successfully do all of this and more.
Successfully Maintain Proactive Client Communications
Proactive communication is essential to maintaining client relationships. Additionally, you must be the one to initiate conversation in a professional setting.
Customers shouldn’t have to send multiple emails or make tons of phone calls and then wait several days to hear back. Lack of communication makes it almost a no-brainer that clients will quickly assume you do not have their needs in mind and that you don’t value their business. Which means your chances of retaining them quickly become very slim.
Instead, you should take the initiative to contact your clients and keep them informed of your progress. In essence, you need to get so proficient at keeping your consumers “in the loop” that they stop needing to ask you for updates or information since you’ve already given it to them before they even thought to ask.
When you work with Pearl Lemon Consultants we’ll show you how to set up, and maintain, this level of client communications and maintain it across your entire client base. We;ll help you find the right software tools, train you on their use and show you the best practices and strategies successful client communicators have mastered.
Learn How to Better Anticipate Your Clients' Needs
Whatever role you play in your interaction with the customer, you are ultimately responsible for addressing their problems and figuring out how to support them in achieving their objectives.
The issue is that customers frequently are unsure about their true needs. They might be aware that they are having problems, but they might not have determined why or even just what they are and if what you offer can really help them.
You can gain your client’s trust and produce greater outcomes by putting yourself in their position and essentially solving issues before they arise. You shouldn’t just wait for your clients to come to you with their problems if you want to leave a favourable impression. When you work with Pearl Lemon Consultants as your client relationship consultancy we’ll show you how to do this so well that your clients end up wondering if you have psychic powers!
The Pearl Lemon Consultants Difference
Far too often in consulting in general a team of consultants will offer stock, standard solutions, ‘industry best practices’, make their recommendations and then send the bill. While they may ask some initial questions in an onboarding session, that’s the last time they really ask for your input and, after that, expect that you’ll defer to them as the experts.
That’s not how our client relationship consultancy works. No business is the same as any other, and neither is their client base. If a consultant does not take the time and make the effort to understand exactly what your business does, who your clients are and what challenges you are facing when it comes to client relationship management, then they can’t offer much real help at all.
Everything we do as a client relationship consultancy is bespoke, and we can help you with everything from determining just where the weaknesses lie in your current client relationships to choosing and implementing the best CRM and other softwares, training any and all employees who need it, brainstorming unique solutions and more.
Contact us today, and let’s discuss how working with a client relationship consultancy will help your business.
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