Ways to improve client communication

Whether one works with many clients or a multitude of such, communication is key to maintaining a good client relationship. In reality this is quite simple to do, not so easy to implement on a consistent basis. An engineering firm generally is working on a multitute of projects at the same time, many over a duration of a couple of years, others coming in quickly that need to be turned around on a dime. All are equally important and our clients each deserve respect and excellent communication as at the end of the day, we are a service business.

We have all experienced at one time or another the difficulties in receiving a returned call after leaving a message, having to repeat our situation time and time again to different people, wondering if our request has been completed and if so, to our satisfaction, what is the status of the project, why is it taking longer than expected. The list goes on and on as may the frustration.

The following are simple actions and routines we all know, but IMPLEMENTING them on a consistent basis is what makes your relationship grow and entice your clients to return again and again.

1. Make sure the phone is answered, take as much information as possible from the caller if the call is not for you. Follow up with the individual in the company that the call has been returned the same day.

"John, did you have a chance to reach Jane from company A regarding her concern about when the building permit drawings will be ready?"

2. Should a client make a request of any sort and you know a response will not be forthcoming in the short future, contact the client to let them know that you remain aware of their concerns, but there has not been any action as of yet and you will ensure to keep them advised of any further developments.

"Sue, I know that you are anxious to get the results of the ESA review, but it generally takes them 10 to 20 business days for low voltage submittals and 20 to 30 days for submittals that include customer owned high voltage equipment. As soon as we get a response, we will let you know. In the interim, feel free to continue to contact us at any time"

3. When you are going to be out of the office for any extended period of time such as travel or emergencies, make sure your coworkers are aware of anything pressing that might come up during your absence. Generally the work is done on a team approach so there should be others in the office with project familiarity, but at times there may be specific issues that only you are familiar with. Let you coworkers know if and how you can be reached should an urgent situation arise.

"Pete, Marc from Restaurant ABC is likely to call to start up his project in the next few days. He is in a rush to get his permit so that he can start construction. I have a file on my desk with some preliminary notes I have taken, that should assist in getting things rolling for him"

4. From time to time we all deal with clients who are not happy. It is most important for the front line individual to keep calm and reassure them that their concerns will be heard immediately. Their contact person at the company must react quickly in their response and also have good communication skills allowing them to listen, react professionally and inform them precisely when responding. Client frustration can happen when they are not familiar with the processes of design / construction, they undertake the project management themselves without the experience, their contractor advises them on alternate construction or perhaps your company simply made an error. Irregardless of the situation, I have found that it is possible to appease 99.9% of the clients simply by listening and responding knowledgeably and taking any necessary actions that are reasonable.

"Dave, thank you for bringing me your concerns. I am aware that your contractor has suggested you can save $3,000.00 by installing a different unit. The reason it wasn't specified was that it would not allow for proper cooling of your restaurant in the summer time. Our design took into account the size of the windows, the ambient outdoor temperature, the geographical orientation of your structure, your kitchen requirements as well as the load occupancy. Yes, you can go with that unit if you wish, but I need to advise you as a professional engineer that your space will not work as intended in our design documents and your clients and kitchen staff may experience an uncomfortable level of cooling during the hot summer months"

5. Today we can work from any location in the world as long as we have reliable internet available. It is strongly advised to have a phone system and file sharing system that allows you to stay connected at any time. There are countless options available for this. Our firm uses google cloud, a VOIP phone system and Skype when a face to face is needed. Your IT firm can get this all going for you. This way, your office can be in the same city or on a beach in the Bahamas.

"Sue, this is Nancy checking in from Mexico. Peter in our Ottawa office is working on your project right now, but just give me a call if you want an update and I will send you the drawings. Call the work number and you can reach me here."

All this is to say, be available, approachable and responsive and your clients will love you for it!

#clientsatisfaction #customerengagement