Are you looking for ways to strengthen relationships with remote clients? Then, apply these six strategies to create client rapport in a virtual world.
Rapport is a harmonious relationship that results from effectively communicating ideas and feelings. Building client rapport is one of the easiest ways to ensure client satisfaction for years to come.
Client rapport is the pinnacle of building and maintaining healthy customer relationships because it establishes trust. Unfortunately, building rapport can seem harder now, with most work done remotely.
The good news is there are simple strategies that you can implement every day to improve your client relationship management.
One of the most significant challenges of being a remote worker is making connections with your customer or client. You lose out on the personable experience of in-person meetings, which can result in low customer service.
It’s much easier to read a room or engage in friendly small talk when sitting across from someone.
Time management is a common complaint amongst remote workers. Results are overpromised and underdelivered more than they should be. In addition, it’s easy to become unorganized when you’re not constantly interacting with colleagues and clients.
Without weekly face-to-face contact, clients may feel out of touch with the progress. Clients may not feel heard, which can cause you to miss significant opportunities.
Your clients want to know that you listen to them, resolve their pain points, and meet their needs.
Building client rapport ensures an interpersonal relationship and more opportunities.
Finding new ways to build rapport with clients is more important than ever. You can’t rely entirely on old-school methods of in-person meetings where it was easy to have side conversations and identify your client’s needs. You have to get more creative these days.
Implement these six strategies in your workplace and build lasting relationships.
Clients are human, just like you, and they want to be related to and understood. So, it’s okay to show a personal side and connect with them as a person. The easiest way to do this is through research.
Do some digging to see if you and the customer have anything in common. For example, do you know the same people, or have you worked for the same company? Did the client achieve something important recently?
This pandemic has shown us that it’s essential to be authentic and genuine even with clients while building client rapport. It’s easy to dive right into business talk but taking the extra time to ask them how they’re doing or how their family is doing shows you care and can relate to them on a human level.
The best way to make a connection in remote work is to utilize video. Virtual meetings through tools like Zoom are beneficial not just for them but also for you. Clients are more likely to trust someone they can see, and it’s easier for you to pick up on non-verbal cues.
You can also make virtual meetings and virtual selling more fun and engaging by getting creative. For example, take your clients on tour through Zoom or give out online goodie bags filled with gift cards, delivery codes, or links to relevant content.
Being reliable and supportive is always crucial in building client rapport. Whether a client is new or existing, you should create a communication plan to keep everyone on the same track. Have an open dialogue with your client and determine how often they want a team member to inform them of progress.
Communicate preferences across your remote team so that you don’t miss any conversations. Even one missed chat has the power to sow seeds of doubt.
The easiest way to lose credibility and paint yourself as unreliable is to overpromise and underdeliver. Be genuine and transparent with your client. If there’s a problem, let them know. If there’s not a good solution, let them know.
Keeping a client in the dark never turns out well. They will leave a conversation thinking you have a situation under control and trust you to take care of it; then, they lose faith in your ability when you don’t deliver on it. So be honest with your client and deliver on your promises on time.
It may seem harder to stay in contact with clients without meeting in person, but you have to take advantage of this virtual world and make it work for you. Adequate and effective communication is essential for good customer service.
Clients want to stay in the loop; they want to know what’s happening with their accounts and any progress. Clients may take their business elsewhere if you fail to keep them updated.
To prevent losing clientele, find a communication tool for your business.
Look for an all-in-one communication channel instead of toggling back and forth through different applications all day. These tools allow you to file share, video chat, and send messages. It’s easier to keep clients and teams informed when you have one place for everything.
Think about using CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software to keep your clients informed in real-time. CRM allows you to message, send out newsletters, get client feedback, and form online communities.
Being fluent in your customer’s business is the best form of customer service.
Educate yourself on your client’s pain points and goals. You should do extensive research on their business to be the expert they need to solve their problems.
Identify with the customer by finding new and innovative ways to drive their business. You want to know their business and be an advisor.
Remote environments can be challenging, and often it’s easy to listen without understanding. When a client is talking, don’t just think of what to say in response, you should actively listen and take notes. Relay the information back to them when they finish speaking so they know you were listening.
When you actively listen, you can understand what they need better. You can find real solutions to their problems and offer value. Not effectively listening is a common reason for overpromising and selling them products they don’t need, leading to unsatisfied customers.
Some clients may be okay with any kind of communication, while some may prefer a specific communication method. Therefore, it’s essential to ask your client how they would like to communicate and ensure that you have what you need to match their preferred method.
A client’s technology needs will vary based on age, industry, and other factors. If your customer feels more comfortable talking over the phone, do what you can to meet their need. If they are okay with online communication such as chat or video calls, ensure you can meet their needs.
Ensure that you have adequate hardware, software, and internet speed to ensure smooth communication on all channels. Uninterrupted communication improves customer retention.
Some things never go out of style, like good old-fashioned handwritten notes. Writing a letter by hand may seem irrelevant with all the technology we have that sends messages at a push of a button, but taking the time to deliver a handwritten note shows that you genuinely care about their business.
Handwrytten builds deep and lasting bonds with your customers through handwritten notes. Building lasting bonds is relationship marketing, which focuses on loyalty and long-term engagements.
The goal of Handwrytten was to find a way to make and send a handwritten note as easy as sending out an email, and we’ve done just that. Our robotic technology can write beautiful letters in precise penmanship at scale.
The robots hold real pens and write in any style you wish; even the envelope will be handwritten. The whole operation ensures authenticity.
Handwrytten offers integration with over 1,000 apps so that you can work seamlessly. You can get Handwrytten as a complete API, allowing you to add the service as a platform to your app, website, or service.
Your handwritten note will be indistinguishable from human handwriting and will ship first class in the U.S. or internationally for a small surcharge. You can even include gift cards for up to $200 from major brands.
Handwrytten offers prices for all budgets, including a one-time purchase, subscription, or bulk orders. If you plan on sending many handwritten letters to customers, we recommend subscribing to the platform so you save more money.
Handwrytten offers monthly subscriptions for as low as $35.
Many great and innovative options exist to build rapport in a remote environment. The most important thing is establishing trust and making clients feel heard and understood.
You can create meaningful professional connections by finding common ground, being genuine, and utilizing communication software. Be sure to cater to your client’s technology needs, whether they prefer talking over the phone or messaging through a chatbox.
No matter what your customer’s preferred technology needs are, sending a handwritten letter shows you care and offers a personal touch.
Scale your handwritten outreach, creating positive impressions and long lasting bond.
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