Customers are the key to success for any business. The way you communicate with your customers can make or break their decision to work with you. That's why it's crucial your customer communications are always impactful and meaningful. Show
As business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council know the importance of effective communication. Below, nine of them share what they've learned about customer communication during their careers and why those lessons were so important to their professional development. Young Entrepreneur Council members share their top lessons learned about communicating with customers. Photos courtesy of the individual members. 1. Focus On The Customer's Experience If there's a few things that your business can control, it's your tone, cadence, response time and friendly communication style. All in all, this makes up the experience you provide. It's what people remember. What people remember is what subconsciously tells them how they feel. How they feel is what they tell other people about your business, and so on. To execute this, provide SLAs for you and your team and proactively communicate with customers when they can expect to hear from you next. The worst thing we can do is provide a black hole of information. - Sief Khafagi, Techvestor 2. Leverage Authenticity “Authenticity” has become such an overused term, but it underpins everything that I have learned about successful communication with my customers—regardless of whether they're a patron at a craft beer bar or a business owner looking to help their staff collect tips. Allowing bits of myself, my voice and (dare I say it) my vulnerabilities come through have enabled me to make massive strides forward with my customers. People want to connect with people, and allowing yourself to be a human on the other end of the line can make a big impact. - Sydney Paulsen, TiPJAR USA 3. Watch How You Relay Information Early in my career, I lost a customer who brought in $100k+ a year in revenue due to mistakes in how we communicated price increases. It’s the biggest lesson I learned in customer communications. What’s interesting was that the price change itself wasn’t a problem for our customer; it was fair and well-justified. Instead, it was how we communicated the change. After analyzing our financials, we discovered that rising costs of materials and forex swings had been eroding our margins for months. We thought we had to take quick action, so instead of smoothly transitioning customers, we notified them of price changes effective immediately. We didn’t give customers time to prepare nor provide a grace period that allowed them to adjust to changes. We lost our customer’s trust, and eventually their business. - Jimmy Chan, Dropbase 4. Make Your Customers The Heroes Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I used to spend too much time talking about what makes my services and me different and special. As a result, I came across as the hero in most conversations. Now, I make my customers the hero—whether I'm courting a prospect or serving an existing customer. I'm always asking myself, "How can I speak to the conversation in their head?" That ensures that customers know I see them and I care about them and that the solutions I'm recommending are centering them and the problems they and I both know exist. - Alexia Vernon, Alexia Vernon Empowerment, LLC 5. Build Trust In services, the client relationship itself seems to be the biggest part of what is being bought and sold. Like any other relationship between people, it is intangible and based mainly on subjective perceptions, not on strong facts. So, what clients look for in the relationship is a sense of care, trust, commitment and confidence. Communication must therefore be centered around these key areas not only through what you say and how you say it, but also through how you demonstrate this to the client every step of the way. This must be authentic, as fake efforts are easy to spot. If the client feels that your efforts are focused on them and that you are there any time to provide support and guidance, this is a solid recipe for long-lasting and strong client relationships. - Bogdan Gecic, Gecic Law 6. Be Honest Always be truthful. People appreciate honesty. Some customers might reject it, but you cannot avoid it and, in the end, it will save you many problems along the way. If something has to be done in a different way than customers anticipated, you have to educate them and show them your vision. Sometimes your clients need to be held by the hand and reassured—do so! But always tell the truth! By doing so, your reputation will stand out and your legacy can be lasting. - Simonetta Lein, Ausonia Partners 7. Over-Communicate If Necessary Don't be afraid to over-communicate. The person you're communicating with maybe has very different priorities, medium of preference, etc., so tell them more and tell them often. Keep your customers in the loop on practically everything. Make it your own responsibility to show and share what they need to know rather than waiting for them to ask like everyone else. Issues arise from a customer being under-communicated to—or worse, not communicated to at all. Communication is the proactive way to solve issues before they become issues in the first place. - Devesh Dwivedi, Idea2Inception 8. Sharpen Your Listening Skills When we think about communicating with our customers, we often focus on getting our messages across to them and we forget the importance of listening to what they are trying to communicate to us. The best thing you can do is spend time listening to your clients and asking them questions. Your goal is to discover as much as you can about your customers and find out exactly what their needs and motivations are. Once you have this data, you can offer them solutions that really target their needs. Tailoring your communication for your clients is key to being a standout business that is able to respond to unique requirements rather than simply offering generic products or services that may or may not serve your clients. - Maria Thimothy, OneIMS 9. Keep It Simple The most important lesson I've learned, especially about online communication, is to keep things as simple as possible. Many new business owners think they need to be clever with their marketing and online copy. They use jargon, long paragraphs of text and complicated sentences. You might sound smart, but your audience will simply skim over your text and move on to another business that offers clear and concise information. When creating content, keep it simple and easy to understand no matter what platform you use. Use simple language and focus on your customers' needs over your business's features and offerings. This helps you by keeping people on your site for longer and impacts your SEO in a positive way too. - Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner Check out my website.
Effective communication is a vital tool for any business owner. Your success at getting your point across can be the difference between sealing a deal and missing out on a potential opportunity. You should be able to clearly explain company policies to customers and clients and answer their questions about your products or services. It is crucial to communicate effectively in negotiations to ensure you achieve your goals. Communication is also important within the business. Effective communication can help to foster a good working relationship between you and your staff, which can in turn improve morale and efficiency. This guide will explain the key aspects of both verbal and non-verbal communication, how to listen to and understand others, and how to make the best possible first impression on the people you encounter in and around your business.
Client communication is a key part of a company’s success. Good client communication can help improve customer expectations, boost conversion rates, and increase loyalty and retention. Find out more about why client communication is so important and the 12 best practices you can use to improve your business communication skills. Why Is Communication Important in Business?A positive professional relationship with your clients is essential to your business’s success. A good relationship keeps clients coming back and increases sales and referral rates. Creating quality professional relationships is only possible when you are able to communicate. How Can You Communicate with Clients?One of the first steps to improving client communication is by understanding what forms of communication are available. By being comfortable with a wide range of communication, you can ensure clients get important information in the way they want—and in a manner that’s appropriate for the message you’re sending. Forms of effective business communication with clients can include:
12 Best Practices for Client CommunicationHere are 12 best practices to help you improve your business communication skills: 1. ListenImproving business communication skills doesn’t start with talking more—it starts with listening. Rather than rushing to solve problems and address objections right away, stop and listen. Ask follow-up questions and get the full picture of what your clients are trying to say before you create a solution for them. When you prioritize active listening to fully understand your clients, it helps them feel like they are important to you and gives them the support and service they are looking for. 2. Be TransparentYou don’t have to give out the recipe to your company’s “secret sauce,” but emphasizing a healthy amount of transparency helps build trust. The more customers know about your process, product, and results, the better aligned their expectations will be. 3. Be Proactive, Not ReactiveWhen something doesn’t go to plan, don’t hide it. Instead, be honest, transparent, and proactive about the mistake. Clients value honesty. While there might be some initial anger about a missed deadline or a hiccup in service, it is always better to proactively address problems when they happen. Honesty will build trust by showing you are responsible and are tackling issues head-on instead of sweeping them under the rug. 4. Meet Clients Where They’re ComfortableClients have different personalities and styles. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all communication plan. Some might love daily updates about their projects via email and will quickly respond to every text or instant message, while others will only want a formal monthly or quarterly presentation. Rather than forcing your preferred way to communicate onto a client, modify your communication process to match their individual needs and styles. Personalizing communication starts at the beginning of the professional relationship. Establishing these ground rules will help your client feel valued and improve trust. 5. Establish BoundariesJust like customers should feel comfortable with how you communicate, you should feel comfortable with how they do as well. A common mistake is to let the client have sole ownership of establishing boundaries and expectations. While this empowers the client, it undervalues your business and can quickly lead to discomfort. Boundaries are there to establish a standard for your client while also protecting you. Boundaries can include:
Establishing these boundaries can be hard for some clients who expect you to always be on call and instantly respond to every message, but it is an essential step in creating a lasting client relationship. 6. Send Fewer EmailsTransparency is important, but some businesses go too far by communicating too much. Excessive communication can be just as dangerous to a professional relationship as no communication. Consider your own email habits before sending out emails. Do you read every email in detail? What about automated emails from Netflix or Hulu about their most recent movie release? The more frequently you send emails, the less likely clients will read every line, making it easy for important information to get overlooked. 7. Schedule Weekly or Biweekly MeetingsEmails, texts, instant messages, and other digital forms of communication provide instant connections, but it’s almost impossible to have a meaningful conversation. Meetings give you time to present new information while also having the opportunity to have a dialogue to hear feedback and learn about any new pain points. 8. Respect Their TimeCommunication should always be purposeful. Don’t waste your client’s time with unprepared, unedited, or unrefined messages. Taking the time to create clear, concise, and polished communications will show that you value their time and reduce any confusion about what you are trying to communicate. 9. Use the Right Communication at the Right TimeAs we showed earlier, there are a lot of forms professional communication can use to communicate with your client. Take the time to choose the right format that works best for your message. Just like some meetings could be an email, some emails are better as a meeting. 10. Be HumanAutomated emails, text messages, and AI chatbots can speed up how you communicate with clients, but they should be the first step toward a person-to-person dialogue. Automated communications are not personal, and they don’t help create a meaningful relationship with your clients. As you communicate with clients, don’t forget you’re trying to establish authentic connections with them. Being overly professional will create a hyper-sterile environment that feels disingenuous and fake. 11. Don’t OverpromiseIt’s tempting to stretch the truth when communicating with a client to make your business appear better than it actually is. It might be okay to be hyperbolic when telling a fishing story, but it is never appropriate to stretch the truth or lie to your clients. Deceiving even one client can impact your business for years. Former clients will write online reviews and talk to other potential clients about their experience with your company and can stop new clients before you even are aware of them. The truth will always come out, and the short-term benefits are never worth the long-term losses of credibility and trust. 12. Don’t Forget the Golden RuleBefore you initiate any form of communication, remember to follow the golden rule: Treat your clients the way you want to be treated. This simple rule will help keep communications meaningful and build stronger professional relationships. Crucial ConversationsCommunication in business is important, especially with clients, but what happens when tensions rise and you’re dealing with a crucial conversation? Be prepared for those conversations where each minute carries lasting consequences by learning more about Crucial Conversations training from VitalSmarts. Find out more about how you can transform even the most sensitive conversations into an effective dialogue. |