by Alex Schnee
While every business has short-term clients, there are also ones that you would like to transition to long-term partnerships. These relationships can provide stability for your business and make it possible for you to grow in other ways. If you are finding that your clients tend to drop off after a few weeks or months, then it might be time to take a look at how you onboard them and communicate with them.
Here are some ways you can create relationships that last within your business.
Set expectations early
On your customer success journey, you want to make sure that they have a clear idea of what you are going to accomplish for them. If you find yourself with different ideas of what that should look like, you’re bound for conflict down the line. Once you have laid out what the results of your work will be, then they can judge whether or not you have done an adequate job of reaching your goals.
Provide open communication
Just as with any relationship, how you choose to communicate can determine whether or not it will be successful. If you choose to be open with them and to provide an easy system for them to leave comments, provide feedback, and more, then you’re likely to have a better relationship than just offering your deliverables when they are done. It’s better to know if your client is dissatisfied with something in advance rather than when everything is finished and you have to provide them with something different.
Be open with your processes
When you’re open with your communication, you also want to share which stage your deliverables are at and how the work is coming along. When you set your expectations in the beginning of your relationship, then you might also want to share how you do things and why it works. Not only does this help to establish some trust between you and your client, but it also gives them a realistic timeline for when they can expect results and what they should be looking for at certain times during the process.
Ask for feedback
Even if you accomplish everything that your clients wants, they might have some quality feedback for you so you can make your processes faster and better. You should be open to this advice instead of looking at it as a criticism of your business. If you notice that a number of clients feel this way, then it might be time to take a deeper look at your systems and see what can be improved on.
In summary
Like any major relationship, being open and honest with your clients can go a long way toward gaining their trust and helping you to maintain your partnership. If you find that your relationships with clients are often strained, then it might be time to take a deeper look into your processes and whether they are set up for long-term success.
