World is still in a battle with COVID-19 outbreak, most of the countries are still in complete lockdown, the economies are not giving a very good picture and emotionally it's been a roller coaster ride thus far. This is not the kind of introduction I wanted to start my blog with, but it's the kind of reality we’re living it in now.
Businesses have to adjust quickly and they have responded! Work from home is the new normal and employees across the world have adjusted and been productive from home. Remote work culture is being practised globally as a means of safety precautions with resources are being hired remotely to meet demands.
The biggest question arises from the current work culture is “How do you maintain Client relationships while working remotely?”. The biggest part of maintaining a relationship is to meet and greet them personally which is not possible in the current situation. Although it is a challenge but focusing on certain things on a personal level with your client and customer can yield great results.
Trust
The single most important part of any relationship, building trust with your client always goes a long way. Trust building should happen from the very beginning, clients should always be a part of the communication on the updates regarding their work. A solid and sincere approach towards the client will enable two-way communication, allowing you to manage expectations on the other, enabling the client to get involved in key discussions. It also ensures your complete transparency with them regarding your business, process, and how you want to approach their project.
Communication
Leverage technology to break the communication barrier, it is an obvious solution given the fact that how much importance technology plays in our day to day communication. Consider using video conferencing tools like Zoom, GTM or Skype to share weekly updates over web meetings or regular updates over chat or communication tools like Hangouts, WhatsApp etc. Project management tools like Jira, can help manage project milestones and key action items to pursue and take action.
If the client is in a different time zone, update the client on your working hours and establish a clear communication channel or overlap hours for project updates. It is important as a business to listen to your clients and understand and manage their expectations.
Establish Deadlines
Setting up deadlines will help to keep track of your project and client. Before commencing work outline the milestones, deliverables, major dates and responsibilities. Mutually agreeing on set milestones ahead of time and enforcing deadlines will motivate clients and help keep your project moving forward.
Empathy
Salespeople should reach customers even if they are not buying, in times like these your customer may be hurting economically make sure to check in with them and see how they are doing. Share stories and offer advice on how organizations are coping with the current situation and by having this type of communication goes a long way to build a more trustworthy relationship.