Assumptions are the termites of relationships

"Assumptions are the termites of relationships." – Henry Winkler - Jamie Lowary?

Managing client relationships is an ongoing process and comes down to understanding your clients. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work, as each customer has diverse needs. To customize your approach, its critical to have a in depth understanding of each customer. Whether you have dozens of clients or only a handful at a time, there are ways in which you can do that.?

Investing in a CRM will enable you to store information about each customer. Information that will help you to develop effective relationships. Many CRMs have different fields related to what type on information to enter for customers. It is recommended that these fields be also completed as the relationship with each customer develops over time. Fields related to personal information, like birthdays, special dates/anniversaries. There likes and dislikes.??

The most valuable information are the details of every interaction or communication that you have had with them – things like telephone conversations, meetings, emails, past and future actions. It would be almost impossible to know everything about every customer, unless it is documented somewhere, whether it is written or electronically stored. As we are constantly bombarded with information.?

Having the most up-to-date information to hand when communicating with clients is key to successful relationship management. Not only does it make you look professional, but clients also appreciate it.?

Like with anything that you do, it needs to be consistent. There is no point in having and paying for a CRM if it is not updated constantly. A CRM is only as good as the information that is stored in it.?

Managing expectations is an important aspect of customer relationships. How often has anyone of us been in a situation where we have been to restaurant, which has been highly recommended and the dish we ordered was not what we expected it to be. We have all experienced other scenarios which led to disappoint, based on our expectations. Managing expectations comes down to under promising and over delivering.??

How responsive are you to your customers? As business owners, we are quite busy, however responding to customers queries or emails in a timely manner also helps to further develop the relationship. Even if you do not have an answer for them, you can still acknowledge their email or call and let them know that you will get back to them by a specified time.?

Most of us consider some of our customers are like friends, that is great. However, the difference to always consider is that it is a professional relationship. As a professional relationship, there are certain lines that should not be crossed. As a rule-of-thumb if something cannot be shared or said in a public forum, then it is not appropriate to be shared with clients. There are some instances where you do have a deep friendship with a client, that will last beyond the professional engagement, these are rare and are to be embraced.?

Does this resonate with you? If you want to discover the hidden potential and the opportunities for sustainable business growth, reach out and I will show you the possibilities.