Client Communication: Build Relationships & Grow Sales

Client communication is the foundation to building relationships, growing sales, and avoiding problems with your clients.

Here are 3 principles for building your client communications playbook.

1. Identify what needs to be communicated to clients.

The first step in client communication is simple – identify what you will share with clients. Ask yourself the following questions.

• What do clients need to know about their orders or projects?
• What do clients need to know about the team they are working with?
• How much do clients need to hear about what’s going on with your company?
• Will clients benefit from hearing industry news or trends?
• How will you express appreciation and celebrate with clients?

Consider what information clients will pull from you and what you will push to clients. Will they want to check in on project or order status online on their own timetable? Or would they prefer an email or text alert when a status changes? They might want both.

2. Clarify who is responsible for client communication.

Depending on what information you are communicating with clients, different people on your team will be involved.

Generally, account managers or others in the delivery team are responsible for operational communications. Company updates and industry trends can come from sales or marketing. Sales can be responsible for nurturing relationships, celebrating, and thanking clients.

Consider how managers or executives will engage with clients, either with sales or on their own. This might depend on client size, project status, or other factors.

Develop a process to ensure at all aspects of client communication are being handled by the right people on your team. A client communication checklist might be helpful if you have a complex process.

3. Schedule client communication.

Once you’ve identified what you are communicating and who is communicating it, you’ll need to decide when to communicate it.

If you sell complex projects that happen over a long time period, schedule weekly or biweekly check-in calls. You can then integrate the items above into those standing calls.

Marketing can also develop newsletters to share company information and industry trends on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Some celebration can happen on a scheduled basis, often tied to holidays, but it should also happen sporadically. Make sure clients hear your thanks often.

To learn more about making client relationships work, check out our eBook.