With Clients, We Have to Think Like Clients

Based on personal experiences and readings from some famous authors, this is a small effort to walk an extra mile towards good client communication.

It’s not that I am perfect at it, but it is a stepping stone for all of us towards perfection.

Let’s walk the extra mile to understand what a CLIENT is

• C – Concerned. Each client matters, and we need to be concerned, as they are the ones who pay us after all.
• L – Lenient. Instead of being overly strict and rigid, we need to be a little lenient with clients.
• I – Importance level. We should understand each client’s importance to the organisation and make the client feel that same level of importance.
• E – Effective. Whatever is communicated should bring about the effect intended behind the communication.
• N – Noticeable. Our efforts should be noticeable to the client.
• T – Transparent. Whatever we convey should be lucid, easily understandable and transparent.
• S – Spontaneous. In call communications specifically, our answers need to be spontaneous enough, or else we may lose the game.

It’s not what we say, but how we say it that makes a difference. With the correct tone and clear conveyance, we can make clients understand our viewpoint without proving them wrong. We need to be friendly.

My experience while handling clients

I have experienced that this always works. When we create a friendly relationship with clients, just a “How are you doing?” or “Are you all well?” makes a big difference. Clients like it when you remember their personal schedules and occasionally ask them “How was your vacation?”, “How’s business?” or “Was it a busy week?”. If taking a few moments creates goodwill, there is nothing to lose. Using “please”, “kindly” and “thank you” are the evergreen sugar coats while dealing with clients. If it is a meeting in person, even the non-verbal signals matter.

Suggestions

Learn to say “no” the right way. We need to be facilitators to clients when they sometimes need work urgently. Clients are usually understanding enough that if we take care of their urgent needs, they will not push us on non-urgent ones.

We need to practise active listening and active reading. Try to catch the intention behind the communication and read between the lines. We need to start speaking their language, which creates a comfort zone for clients.

We should not convey false affirmation until we are convinced of what is required of us, because going back to the client with the same queries time and again may shake their confidence in us. We should check the client’s convenience on the mode and timing of communication. Call meetings should be scheduled through a formal invitation. Jumping into a call without preparation is the worst blunder to make.

After one-on-one communication, in person or over a call, we should summarise, proofread and share the minutes, highlighting areas of action for both sides in order to avoid missed commitments.

Finally, adding a little personal touch at the close of a communication completes the meal like dessert at the end.

Something our organisation has adopted

We believe in the power of recognition and empowerment leading to greater employee engagement. And employee engagement is critical to guest engagement. Employee empowerment and recognition are the core of our culture and how we achieve outstanding customer service.

– CA Krupa Gandhi

Feel free to email us at cs@bkcprohub.com to contact us, should you need any assistance in your annual compliance.

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