Member Article

Are you receiving? 1… 2….1…2

You communicate on a regular basis with your client, but are they receiving those messages as they were intended? Effective communication is crucial to ensure understanding as well as guaranteeing your client is happy.

Here we discuss the five key elements to consider when perfecting your communication strategy …

1. Sometimes less is more … sometimes!

Identifying how your client likes to receive information is a task that is well worth the investment. Is your client a detail person, or do they prefer core information only? It is your priority to make sure your client fully understands what you’re saying; it won’t be their priority to decipher it!

2. Speak your client’s language

All clients have different business objectives, and therefore have different things they want to achieve. Translating results back into something relatable is essential. Businesses are continually looking at budgets for efficiency, communicating back the results that matter to a client’s objectives shows how your service is helping them and makes proving your worth easier.

3. Always be honest

If something hasn’t gone as well as expected, you must make sure your client understands why, as well as lay out how to avoid a repeat. Although we do our best to mitigate these situations, sometimes they can be unavoidable. By being honest with your client, and yourself, you will be able to analyse your results and itentify areas that can be improved, while also reviewing how to build on your success.

4. Empathise

Appreciate your client is no doubt juggling a hundred and one things, just as you are, so with that in mind approach communication with empathy and be prepared to give them a longer lead time on things that need approval.

5. Approach them like a new client

Working with a client year-on-year can obviously have its advantages, but don’t forget to think laterally. Particularly for a creative agency, the last thing you want to be seen as is static and unimaginative and becoming complacement with that client that’s ‘been around for years’ can be dangerous territory.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Scully .