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Can we share something that you likely don’t want to hear? The quality of the client experience you offer matters far more than the quality of your products or services.
We know this is hard to accept—especially when you’re a small business owner or leader who takes pride in your work. However, when you’re willing to embrace this business principle and commit to providing a great client experience, your business will stand out—even in a crowded market. And, this will only lead to business growth.
Now, there are several aspects to offering a great client experience, but client communication is arguably the most important aspect of customer service. And, it’s something that few small businesses take the time to master and systematize. While we usually discuss marketing strategies and tactics on The Priority Pursuit Podcast, in this episode, we’re breaking down seven principles of excellent client communication that you can use to stand out as a small business.
Why does client communication matter?
As we said before, the quality of the client experience you offer matters far more than the quality of your products or services.
As Victoria shares in this episode, “I know this hurts, but it’s true. I learned this lesson when I was a wedding photographer. I mean, I took a lot of pride in my work, and I wanted my images to speak for themselves and for people to book me because they loved my photos.
“However, here’s the thing. The average person doesn’t know what makes a great photo. Prospects were never going to look at my images and think, ‘Whoa. I bet that harsh light was hard to shoot in. Victoria did an amazing job,’ or, ‘I so appreciate how Victoria used lead lines and framed the couple in these images. She has to be our wedding photographer.’”
And, like Victoria’s photography clients were never going to thoroughly understand the quality of her photos, your clients likely won’t ever truly understand the quality of your work or the intricacies that go into it—regardless of what your business does or sells. In fact, if you did a side-by-side of your and your competitors’ products or services, there’s a good chance your clients wouldn’t be able to tell the difference simply because your customers aren’t experts in your field.
For the record, we aren’t advocating that you offer anything less than a great product or service. However, customer service matters more. According to Hubspot, 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases from businesses that offer a great client experience, and 83% of customers are likely to refer a business after having a positive experience.
Again, there are several aspects to offering a great client experience. However, client communication is arguably the most important aspect of customer service. And, like we said before, it’s something that few small businesses take the time to master and systematize.
As a result, if you’re willing to prioritize client communication, you can differentiate your business from your competitors, build trust and loyalty with your customers, and—ultimately—grow your business.
7 Principles of Excellent Client Communication
Because every small business’s clients have different needs, every small business’s communication strategy will look different.
For example, at Treefrog, our flywheel marketing clients sign one-year contracts, meaning it takes a full year for us to provide a service. However, if an online boutique makes a sale, the buyer’s transaction likely only lasts a few days—from purchase to the delivery of the item. Because the transaction process and the buyers’ needs are very different in these examples, the communication processes need to be different.
That said, as you design your own client communication strategy, there are seven guiding principles or rules of thumb to keep in mind.
1. Respond quickly.
The first—and possibly most important—principle of client communication is to respond quickly. In fact, studies show that 96% of customers are more likely to trust a company with prompt response times.
In general, the faster you respond, the better. But, you want to respond to client emails within no more than 24 hours of receiving them. Ideally, you’ll respond well before the 24-hour mark, because the faster you respond, the more satisfied your customers will be. And, considering the average email response time is 12 hours, responding to emails within even a few hours is an easy way to stand out from your competitors.
While people expect to wait hours for an email response, studies show that most people expect an almost “immediate response” from chat boxes, text messages, phone calls, and direct messages. As a result, you want to prioritize responding to these forms of communication.
In this episode, Victoria provides several ways and tools (including templates, automations, and more) you can use to streamline your communication processes and prioritize response times. You can listen to this episode in full at the top of this page or wherever you listen to podcasts.
While discussing the importance of prompt response times, we also want to note that quick responses not only improve customer satisfaction but can also increase sales. In fact, 78% of the time, people purchase from the business that responds first, meaning if you can respond faster than your competitors, you’re almost guaranteed to make the sale.
Note: This is The Priority Pursuit Podcast, where we want to encourage you to build a business that allows you to live a life you love. With this in mind, please know that you do not need to be available at all times. Automations can ensure your clients are responded to in a timely manner; you can use an out-of-the-office response to let clients and inquiries know when they will hear from you while you’re away; and if you set clear communication expectations by ensuring your clients know your office hours, you should feel free to sign off outside of those hours.
2. Set clear expectations.
Speaking of setting expectations, another important aspect of client communication is setting clear expectations.
If you’ve ever read a book about marriage or participated in any kind of marriage counseling, you’ve probably heard the saying, “Most confrontations are a result of unmet expectations.” Well, that’s true in both marriage and business.
You see, if you want to have happy customers who feel well served, you have to communicate and set expectations. You need to clearly lay out timelines, exactly what they’ll receive from you, what you need from them, and anything else that is pertinent to your time together.
Failing to set expectations inevitably leads to unhappy customers, because when your customers don’t know what to expect from you, they will create unspoken expectations. And, when you don’t meet those expectations, they won’t feel well served because the product or service isn’t what they thought they were going to get.
However, when you set clear expectations, your customers know exactly what they’ll receive from you. This allows you to meet—and even exceed—expectations. This will cause customers to remember you, rave about you, and send more business your way.
3. Always be at least one step ahead.
Another key to offering excellent client communication is always being at least one step ahead of your customers. Your clients will feel very well served and appreciate how on top of things you are when your communication answers their questions before they even ask them.
So, what questions do your clients regularly ask or what do you know they want to know? For example, if you own an auto detailing business, your customers likely want to know the cost of a detailing service based on the make, model, and size of their car. So, when they book their appointment, be sure to give them that information upfront.
If you own a veterinary clinic, a common question your customer might have is, “When is my dog due for vaccines?” To serve your clients well, you could send them text or email reminders about when it’s time for their pet’s next appointment.
We do this in many ways at Treefrog, but to give you one example, after a flywheel marketing client signs their contract and submits their first month’s payment, they know that the next step will be a strategy meeting. Naturally, they want to know what we need from them. So, before they’ve had a chance to ask the question, we send them a list of everything we need so that they feel prepared and so that we can all get the most out of the strategy meeting.
Chances are, each and every one of your customers share common questions. And, when you know what those questions are, you can better serve your customers by answering their questions before they even have a chance to ask them.
4. Keep a record of all conversations.
If you want to offer excellent client communication, something else that you need to do is establish a means to keep a record of all client conversations. You and your team likely have multiple customers to serve, and your clients have busy lives of their own. As a result, it’s certainly possible that one of you will forget a key detail somewhere along the line.
So you don't let anything fall through the cracks and so that your clients don't falsely believe that they have given you information they have not, you need some kind of system to keep a record of all of your communication. For example, at Treefrog, we use Basecamp to communicate with each and every small business that we work with. This allows us to organize topics of discussion; keep all files, links, and other pertinent information in one place; and allow every member of our team to see client communication so that nothing is missed.
On that note, it’s wise to tell your clients where or how you would like them to communicate with you. We know it feels like you’re offering great customer service when you allow customers to communicate with you however they like. But, with so many communication options, it's easy to lose information if you have clients texting, DMing, and emailing you.
For example, when we onboard a new client at Treefrog, we add them to Basecamp and tell them that this is where we will communicate with them and where we need them to communicate with us. This way, all pertinent information can be found in one place, and both their team and our team can get the information, files, links, etc. we need. And, when we do talk to clients in person or over the phone, we are sure to send messages via Basecamp with recaps of meetings—or even recordings of meetings—to ensure that we and our clients are on the same page.
5. Provide updates.
Another communication principle that your clients will appreciate you following is providing updates. Yes, set expectations upfront, and then give your customers updates along the way to instill even more trust.
Now, this principle is going to look very different from business to business because the transaction time is going to be different. But, to give you a few examples, if you sell and ship products, your POS system likely has a feature that will allow you to email or text your customers shipping updates—such as when an order is shipped, when it’s out for delivery, and when it’s delivered.
If you’re a dog groomer, you might send your clients a text to let them know when their pup’s appointment officially begins and another message when they’re ready to be picked up. If you want to go above and beyond, you could even send photos throughout the process or at least of the finished product.
If you offer a more long-term service—like we do at Treefrog—you’ll want to provide updates about the status of a project. For example, when we design websites for our clients, we reach out to let them know as their website moves from phase to phase. For example, we’ll contact them when their site goes from the content development phase to the design phase. This way, our clients know where their site stands, that their project is important to us, and that they haven’t been forgotten about.
Again, how you provide updates to your customers very much depends on what you sell and what the transaction fulfillment process looks like, but by providing your clients with updates, you can instill trust and make your clients feel well served.
6. Always have the last word.
To improve client communication, something else you want to do is to make sure that you always have the last word. We don’t mean this in a weird, threatening kind of way. We simply mean that you never want to give your clients an opportunity to feel like or say that you didn’t respond to them.
So, before an email thread or any other kind of message ends, make sure that the last message comes from you, even if the message is a simple thank you.
7. Under promise & over deliver.
Last but not least, under promise and over deliver. Now, this is a principle that applies to every aspect of customer service, and you can learn more about this practice in “Episode 014: 4 Easy Ways You Can Under Promise & Over Deliver to Your Customers.” But, under promising and over delivering is simply a customer service strategy where you give your clients more than you initially promised to delight them and make them feel valued.
Now, offering great communication in itself is an easy way to under promise and over deliver, but as you think about your communication strategy, ask yourself how you can deliver even more.
For example, in your email templates, perhaps you include links to relevant resources you’ve created, such as your opt-in or a relevant blog post, so that you can provide a customer with information they’ll find valuable. Or, maybe—like we mentioned in the example of a dog groomer sending a photo to their client—you come up with a small way to surprise and delight your customers, such as sending a photo or a preview of some kind. Or, maybe you send customers a message, a discount on your products or services, or even a gift card to grab a coffee on their birthday.
The options are limitless, and when you take some time to think about it, we can almost promise you that you can find ways to under promise and over deliver through client communication.
You need systems to consistently offer excellent client communication.
Now, if you want to consistently offer excellent client communication, you have to create systems and, ideally, choose tools to make this aspect of customer service simple and easy for you and your team.
If you’d like guidance on how to create systems, check out “Episode 118: Four Systems Every Small Business Must Have to Increase Efficiency & Growth.” In this episode, Treefrog Director of Operations Mary Adkins breaks down everything you need to know about creating systems as a small business.
But, in short, to design a solid communication system, look at your customers’ transaction process from start to finish. Determine what information they need, what expectations you need to set, what questions they have, how you can answer their questions before they ask them, what kind of updates they need from you, and how you can surprise and delight them through your communication.
Then, from there, determine how you can communicate with your clients quickly and effectively so you can prioritize response times and serve them well. This might include designating a member or members of your team to handle aspects of communication, creating templates, and/or using automations.
If you want to stand out as a small business, offer excellent client communication.
Setting up a stellar client communication system and processes will take time, but at the end of the day, prioritizing communication is a simple and even cost-effective way to stand out from your competitors.
Yes, you can continue to compete based on the quality of your products, services, and prices. But, what if your competitors’ work is just as good? What if your clients can’t tell the difference between your work and theirs? And, what if you and your competitors are charging similar prices or your competitors are charging less than you?
In any of these circumstances, you can either hope for the best, or you can make yourself the obvious choice by prioritizing customer communication. Because, again, 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases from businesses that offer a great client experience, and 83% of customers are likely to refer a business after having a positive experience.
Essentially, if you’re willing to prioritize and systematize client communication, your small business is practically guaranteed to grow.
Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- “Episode 014: 4 Easy Ways You Can Under Promise & Over Deliver to Your Customers”
- “Episode 118: Four Systems Every Small Business Must Have to Increase Efficiency & Growth”
- Receive 50% Off Your First Year of HoneyBook
- Learn More About Treefrog’s Small Business Marketing Resources & Services
- Join the Priority Pursuit Facebook Community
- Follow or DM Treefrog Marketing on Instagram
- Follow or DM Kelly Rice on Instagram
- Follow or DM Victoria Rayburn on Instagram
The Priority Pursuit Podcast is a podcast dedicated to helping small business owners define, maintain, and pursue both their personal and business priorities so they can build lives and businesses they love.
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