Client Relationship Management: The Ultimate Guide

Every business depends on its clients to reach success. They’re what brings in revenue. Without their support, businesses would fail. As such, it is vital to maintain strong relationships with them. If you want to improve your customer relationships, you may be interested in client relationship management. Keep reading to discover more ways to make improvements to your relationships!

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

What is Client Relationship Management?

Why is Client Relationship Management Important?

Best Practices

Benefits of Strong Client Relationships

What Do Clients Really Want?

Key Takeaways

What is Client Relationship Management?

A client management relationship is a specific workflow within an organization. It deals with maintaining a positive business relationship with clients. The term can be used interchangeably with customer relationship management. Remember that clients and customers are the same, and both deserve high-quality treatment.

This workflow emphasizes maintaining relationships with current customers. However, it also deals with potential clients. By managing the relationship with a potential client, you may be able to turn them into a current client.

Depending on the size of the company, client relationship management may be handled by an entire department. The people who work in these departments are considered client relationship managers. The client relationship managers are responsible for handling any questions or concerns that a client may have. Their responsibilities are varied. Sometimes, they will assist sales teams with account issues a customer may be having. They may also be involved with marketing teams, targeting clients specifically. They are similar to customer service representatives but on a larger scale.

Why is Client Relationship Management Important?

Client relationship management is one of the most important aspects of any business. You may not realize that you’re taking part in this part of the business. However, any interaction that you have with a client falls under relationship management. Here are some of the reasons why honing your relationship management skills is important.

It’s a Part of Everyday Business

Every time you work with a client, you are taking part in client relationship management. As such, teaching yourself best practices can help you with all of your customers.

It Reflects on Your Business

If you have strong relationship management skills, then it will put your business in a better light. If you have poor skills, it could prevent potential customers from choosing to work with you. The way you handle your customers and clients reflects on your business as a whole.

It Can Lead to Growth

When you’re running a small business, client relationship management is crucial. Interactions with customers have to be treated as the most important thing. As a small business, customer retention is what leads to growth. Most small business owners will tell you that their business thrives thanks to customer loyalty. Loyalty is built through great relationship management.

Best Practices

If you’re managing your business’s relationships, there are some best practices that should be followed. Take a look at the best ways to manage relationships for your business below!

Perform Ongoing Marketing Campaigns

Continuing to reach out to clients is an excellent way to practice relationship management. However, it shouldn’t be done through big, faceless emails. Clients should be treated as individuals. This is called relationship marketing.

Having an individual reach out to your clients on a regular basis with personalized emails is an effective practice. Another way of managing relationship marketing is by having a high-level member of the organization reach out. These emails can be sent in bulk, but shouldn’t be just a few lines. Try to have them send informational emails regarding your business or services that may benefit them.

Customer relationship management should be treated like personalized marketing. Don’t just try to sell products, though. Foster a healthy relationship with your client.

Manage Expectations

Business experts will warn you that high expectations can disappoint everyone, depending on how they’re handled. Clients are going to have high expectations of you, that can’t be avoided. They’re paying you for services. However, managing your expectations and theirs can lead to a better relationship.

Customer satisfaction largely depends on what they expect versus what they’re given. That being said, it’s wise to underpromise and overdeliver. This is an excellent way of creating a positive relationship. Always promise the bare minimum, and deliver more when you can. This prevents disappointment in the long run.

Being open to requests is also an excellent way to handle a client’s expectations. When working with a prospective client, asking if they have any expectations that aren’t outlined can prevent confusion. This leads into our next best practice, as well.

It’s Okay to Say No

This is such a hard concept to grasp for many business owners. Sometimes, a client may make a request that is unable to be completed. If that is the case, it’s best to tell them that the request is outside of your company’s scope. When doing this, though, you cannot deliver them a flat, “No.” There are some things that have to go alongside a denial.

If you have to deny a client request, be sure to offer them an explanation. Letting them know why something can’t be done is important for managing the relationship with them. They need to be assured that you would do it if you could, but there are reasons it cannot be completed. Additionally, if it’s a request that you don’t believe should be done, explain why. If you have a good relationship with your client, they should be open to feedback.

Some requests happen in the middle of projects. If that’s the case, it may delay other portions of the project. Should the expected product be delayed because of this, your client should be informed. Communication is key.

Benefits of Strong Client Relationships

When you’re building relationships with your clients, there are a number of benefits that can be seen.

Higher Profits

Customers and clients want to work with businesses that have high customer service skills. This indicates that they’ll be taken care of. As such, they’ll return to your company for business! Good client relationship management is the first step to seeing higher profits, in most cases.

A Larger Client Base

When clients keep coming back, it means that your business will have a diversified income. You won’t be reliant on just one customer for all of your money. That’s important as a small business. Maintaining positive relationships with all of your clients means a larger client base. This can keep your business running for years to come!

Better Reputation

When you provide excellent service to a client, your reputation will benefit. Most companies see business that comes from customer communities. Customers will speak to one another when looking for services or goods. Just think about all of the review sites online available! Word of mouth is one of the best marketing tactics that your business can employ. Treating a client well increases the chances of them talking about you to others. (The same can be said about a bad experience, as well!)

What Do Clients Really Want?

In most studies, clients have stated that they want to do business with a business that provides great customer service. They’re willing to pay more when a business provides great service, and creates a positive relationship. A big part of that is communication and collaboration. Clients want great client relationship management, though they may not say it exactly that way.

Key Takeaways

If you’re looking to expand your business, you want to engage in great client relationship management. By creating positive relationships with customers you’re more likely to see growth. You’re also more likely to see higher profits and a larger client base. If you’re looking for more articles like this, be sure to visit our resource hub! We have plenty of helpful guides available for you and your business.

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