If the last few months have taught businesses anything it’s the importance of being agile and prepared for the unpredictable. Fast forward to today, business owners are now wondering “what will the new normal workday look like?” The answer may be 25-30% of the workforce working from home multiple times a week.
By now, your team has settled into their new remote work schedules. Now it’s time to focus on your long-term strategy for the other people who matter to your business: your clients. According to Microsoft, 54% of all global consumers say that they have higher customer service expectations than they did just one year ago.
You may now be asking yourself “how can we ensure our client’s needs are met if our team continues to work remotely?” Here are 4 imperatives to maintain client satisfaction while delivering rehttps://www.z1.digital/blog/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-partnershipsmotely:
1) Be Transparent
66% of consumers think transparency is one of the most attractive qualities a brand can have. The following suggestions are simple ways your business can enhance transparency with clients:
– Set clear expectations
Ensure your team understands your client’s wants and needs. Based on this information, you can then set realistic deadlines that both your team and client agree upon.
– Open communication
According to Hubspot, 82% of consumers look for an immediate response from brands on marketing or sales questions. Birdview PSA uses Intercom to communicate with clients because it gives us the ability to always be accessible to potential and existing clients, even when working remotely. We recommend being accessible to your clients either by chat, email or phone, and responding back within 24 hours. We’ve heard great feedback from our clients on this and believe you’ll experience the same positivity!
– Schedule Regular Meetings
Scheduling reoccurring virtual meetings with clients gives you the opportunity to review progress on projects, address any concerns, and untimely reassure them that work is being completed. This can be especially helpful for Marketing Agencies and IT Services who report to clients on a regular basis.
2) Include Your Customers in Decision Making
Now that we’ve offered multiple ways to increase transparency between your clients and team, it’s time to take it one step further. If you’re a Professional Service or Service Leader, your team may often experience back and forth emails or phone calls from clients in order to get their approval on projects or ideas. To simplify the approval process, including your clients even further can enhance the outcome of projects. A study shows that inclusive teams make better business decisions up to 87% of the time.
Some project management software offers remote collaboration tools, like a Client Portal, that grants clients access to projects with the ability to see real-time progress and provide feedback. Not only will inclusion increase the transparency between your business and clients, but it will also show them that your team is able to deliver remotely.
3) Be a Credible Source
Think of it from your own perspective. When you’re in search of an answer, you’ll look to the credible resources that you trust, like Birdview PSA for project management. With this in mind, your company has the opportunity to be that credible resource for your clients by offering them the answers they’re looking for through insightful blogs, videos, or webinars. Here is an example of how Birdview PSA offers valuable resources to our clients.
4) Keep Your Remote Team Organized
Now that we’ve reviewed the value of furthering your business’s transparency, inclusion, and resources, the final step is to ensure your remote team is equipped with the appropriate tools for remote work to stay organized and actually deliver on their projects. A notable tool that helps businesses track progress, resources, timelines, budgets, and profits is Professional Services Automation (PSA) software. Businesses that use official project management software waste 28x less money than those that don’t use any. Learn more about Birdview PSA version of PSA software and how it can help your business maintain client satisfaction while delivering remotely.
If your business has any other suggestions on maintaining client satisfaction while working from home, please share with the Birdview PSA community by commenting below.