Building strong client relationships

Yesterday’s post was about the importance of transparency and trust, both when doing business and writing a blog. After establishing a solid relationship built on trust, it is important to maintain and enhance that relationship.

Many businesses focus a lot of time on bringing in new business instead of nurturing the relationships they have with current clients or customers. They do not realize the potential benefits of building stronger relationships with current clients. Existing clients can provide good sources of additional revenue through cross-selling and up-selling of additional services, and satisfied clients can be the best source for new business referrals.

Although some firms may attribute losing a client to budget constraints, which may hold true in a down economy, taking a closer look at each situation may reveal that a client took its business elsewhere because of a lacking client relationship. In the current economy, it is important that firms go the extra mile to service clients and strengthen relationships. If a client knows people at the firm on a personal level and trusts the firm, it will be more difficult to cut the firm out of the budget, even when budgets are tight.

At Thorp & Company, we practice five relatively simple actions that keep our clients happy and have contributed to a high client retention rate for more than 20 years in business.

Action 1: Be a Problem Solver
When a client has a problem, respond immediately. Although we are moving into a more digital world by the minute, e-mail does not always translate feelings well, and clients still place great value on a phone call. If a client’s office is nearby, a personal visit is even better. Be prepared to discuss the situation, show that you have heard and understood their concerns, and have solutions ready.

Action 2: Set Goals
Do you ever feel like a firefighter, just running from one emergency to the next? It’s an easy trap to fall into, but there is a distinction between being responsive to clients and providing outstanding client service. That distinction starts with setting goals and staying focused. A crucial part of our job assignment is to set timelines, goals, expectations and budgets that are realistic, so we can absolutely deliver what we promise.

Action 3: Solicit Feedback from Clients
Getting informal, “How are we doing?” feedback is great, but there is nothing like measuring client satisfaction for keeping our relationships on track. One way to obtain solid feedback is through a client survey that includes clients’ perceptions about the timeliness, responsiveness and value of work performed; the need for additional services; the need for greater cost or quality control; the need for greater specialization; and whether the client would refer the firm to friends and associates. The results from these types of surveys are priceless.

Action 4: Get to Know Clients on a Personal Level
In our hectic 10-hour workdays, it’s possible to overlook another way to build stronger bonds with your clients: getting to know them on a more personal level, outside of the office. This can include learning about their hobbies, volunteer work or professional organizations, and then invite them to an event that you know they would be interested in.

Action 5: Schedule Regular Meetings with Clients
We talk on the phone at least once a day and we send emails throughout every day. Yet this will never take the place of meeting regularly – in person – with our clients. A quarterly meeting, for example, is a good setting to let our clients know about the results achieved for them the previous quarter and to solicit their candid feedback on work in progress. In-person meetings are also a great place to discuss what strategies need to be revised or tweaked and new initiatives we’d like to implement. Every meeting is an opportunity to learn about how a client’s business is doing and what issues are keeping them up at night.

To boil it down – it’s only practical
From a pragmatic economic standpoint, it costs firms more to attract new business than to maintain existing business, so maintaining long-term client relationships directly impacts a company’s bottom line. According to the CPA Journal, boosting client retention rate has serious implications for profitability: A five percent improvement in retention rates can boost profits 15 to 50 percent. The investment of time and resources to nurture and sustain outstanding client relationships is money well-spent. In the end, outstanding client relationships are the differentiating factor that separates great firms from simply good ones.

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This post was written by Rebekah Hudder with insight from Patricia Thorp, president of Thorp & Company. Patricia Thorp has more than 20 years of experience owning and operating her own public relations firm. Please visit www.thorpco.com to learn more about Patricia and the services offered at Thorp & Company.