The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Communicating to your clients
The
Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Communicating to your clients
Communicating with clients is one of the most important parts of
running a successful business. However, there’s more to communicating than just
sending out an email every now and then. We want you to know how to communicate
the good and the bad to your clients in an appropriate and professional way.
Why Communication Matters
Having a clear means of conversation allows your clients to not
only feel included, but valued. They’ll know that you want them to be a part of
your business in more ways than just contributing to your sales revenue. Here
are 5 ways to make sure your communication methods are up to par:
Share the Whole Message
Your clients don’t need to know the ins and outs of your business on
a daily basis, but they should know about the information that affects them –
whether it's in a good or a bad way. When you need to share bad news with a
client or partner, make sure you mention how you’re planning on addressing the issue
and reassure them that you have measures in place to cope.
Tailor Your Information
Your clients don’t need to know that same information as your
executive partners or your staff. Tailor the information that you send so that your
audience only needs to read about what directly affects them and what they need
to do about it. This also lets them know that you care enough to tailor a
message specifically for them instead of just sending out a massive document
that they need to sift through to find what applies to them.
Create A Dialogue
Communication is about more than just sending a message out – it's about
creating a conversation, a dialogue, between you and your audience. Your clients
might not be able to all sit down with you and talk about certain things, but
they should be able to reach out to you if they have any questions, complaints
or recommendations. Take the information your clients give you and apply it where
you can – it’s the best source of feedback you’ll receive to improve your
business’s customer service.
Be Professional
Just because you might need to share sensitive or negative
information doesn’t mean that professionalism is any less important. Make sure
that whatever information you share from your brand to your audience (whether it's
your partners, clients or employees) is professional, concise, polite and, most
importantly, accurate.
Be Honest
The worst thing that you could do when communicating with your
audience is to lie – and yes, lying by omission is just as harmful. Being dishonest
about the severity of a situation or about the current state of your business
could harm your business beyond repair of your audience had to find out. It's better
to be honest and transparent, even if it might not be what you think your
clients want to hear.
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