7 Tips to Improve Your Business Client Relationships

In the business world, there are some companies who thrive year on year, regardless of the economy, and there are others who plummet to the ground before they’ve even taken off. As you grow your brand, it’s vital to know what the difference between the two is. One answer that we know to be true is client relationship management.

If you want to get off the rollercoaster ride of a floundering company and create a brand that’s built on solid foundations, you need to work on your client relationships. To get you started, we’ve put together some top tips to improve yours.

Why Are Strong Client Relationships Important?

There are a number of reasons why client relationships are so vital to business success, including creating more loyal customers who will choose your brand over others, year after year, regardless of price points and deals. They know the value of your company lies in how you treat them, as well as your products/services, and to many, that’s an invaluable asset. 

It also helps you keep new customers, increases your chance of word-of-mouth referrals, and increases your sales. In other words, it’s a vital part of a solid business strategy. If you aren’t working on building relationships with your clients, get started with these tips.

1. Understand Your Customer Before You Meet Them

Solid relationships rely on sturdy foundations. By working to understand your client and their needs before you meet them, you can ensure you get off to a great start. 

If you’re a B2B company, make sure you know their business inside out. Understand their goals, characteristics their proud of, and why they began their company. This information can direct how you interact with them and give you insight into what they’re looking for from you.

2. Show Them They’re Valued

A client wants to know that they mean something to you. They want to feel special. To ensure you show them that they are, we recommend treating them like a part of your business – a partner, for example – rather than a client. You maintain a professional relationship, but there’s a great deal of respect, truth, and trust between you both.

Actively show their value to your business by inviting them to exclusive events that are tailored to their own interests. For example, if they are into sports, invite them as your guest to The Green Room where they can rub shoulders with some of the UK’s most successful athletes or have a fine dining experience in the city at their favourite restaurant.

Be there when they need you, maintain honesty throughout your relationship, and always go out of your way to fulfil their requirements. 

3. Put Effort into Proposals

If you’re putting forward a pitch, this is a prime opportunity to build a positive relationship. Use this chance to show you have a deep understanding of the client and what they need. Address their overall goals along with individual aims of team members and smaller pain points they may be struggling with.

Then, show how you can help. Identify what you’ll be doing for them, why it’ll help in terms of their goals, and how it will address their issues.

4. Create an Onboarding Process

Once you’ve won your client over, be sure to welcome them in with an onboarding process. This will be their first impression of being in business with you, so make it count. Send them a welcome pack with some branded items along with other treats based on their personal interests, for example. Make sure you take care of setting up any software or accounts they need access to, and ask them if they have any initial requests for your team.

This is also a good time to arrange an initial meeting. You’ll be showing them you’re on the ball and ready to work whilst also getting to know their needs more to deliver exceptional, client-focused service from the get-go.

6. Always Be Empathetic to the Client’s Problems

One of the trickiest scenarios for a business and client to negotiate is when the client isn’t happy. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to jeopardise the relationship as long as you respond correctly. Take an empathetic approach and avoid ever being defensive, focusing on understanding your client and resolving the issue.

Even if you know you’re delivering a good product/service, listen to their complaints and take their views on board. Keep working together with responses that unite the two sides, such as:

• We understand your concern and how frustrating this is for you
• Thank you for coming to us with the issue
• We always value your point of view
• Your concern is valid and we’ll work on this together

Then begin working together to create an actionable plan to remedy the problem. Remember, if you dismiss their concerns, there’s another business out there that will listen! 

7. Always Exceed Expectations

Even when your relationship is strong and steady, keep going above and beyond. Your aim is to develop a reputation for exceeding client expectations and always leaving them happier. If they’ve come to you with a software problem, for example, don’t just send out someone to fix it and leave it that. To show you’re truly sorry, give them a specific number to call if it ever happens again and send them a gift basket or flowers to apologise. 

Exceeding expectations also ties in with never overselling yourself. Don’t tell a client you can be reached 24/7 if you can’t be or that you can deliver more than your competitors at a cheaper price if that means pushing your team too hard. Be realistic in your promises and focus on going above and beyond later.

Final Words

Your client relationships are the fuel that keeps your business moving forward. These tips should help you begin to grow and maintain yours so that you can build a business on solid foundations.