When it comes to building a great website, communication is just as important as great design and development skills.
The website may be great and all, but what about the other parts – branding, messaging and all that? Keep in mind – no matter how good the website is in terms of design and looks, but without the intended functions – the website is going to be a massive fail as it won’t meet the required needs of the clients.
That’s why, it’s quite important for communication – you will need to communicate with your client to get the project across and in clear terms.
So, how can you get to the client to communicate properly with you (because face it, on occasions, you may have come across some clients who are very hard to talk to) and ensure that everything goes smoothly?
Reaching out to the clients
There’s one thing that you should do well to remember that your clients are busy, and dealing with the current project that they have given you is one of the many tasks on their to-do list.
Don’t force your client to talk about the project if have a busy schedule – most of the clients like to deal with whatever projects they have right in front of them at that very moment; and which means, that if your project is not in their immediate line of sight, then, it’s going to take a back seat for a while.
To avoid a project taking back seat, you are recommended to reach out to your clients, and check-in with the status of the content that you are waiting for, and if possible, you can offer your help and consider answering any questions that they might have.
Talking this little bit of initiative can actually help to start the project on a positive note.
Digging in for details
It can be difficult to know what a project is all about if the client themselves gives you vague instructions or are even non-committed to the project.
And well, it can get quite frustrating, if you are left to guess what to do next – and guess what, it will lead to a never-ending cycle of revisions and a stagnated project. All of this will lead you to believe that this person is being very hard to deal with, but the real thing is that may not be the case – almost all of the times, it’s found out that either the client are not sure what they want or are having trouble explaining the project.
In such cases, you, as the freelancer need to be assertive – you can ask probing questions and engage in a discussion with the client to know what he wants or is trying to say.
Remember that getting a project is a come-and-go process, and not all things are going to be clear from the get-go, you will need to step back a little, and find that solid foundation before moving forward.
Keeping the clients updated
One of the key elements of communication with clients is to keep them updated on the progress of the project – after all, they will be investing a whole lot of money into the project, so, it’s only natural that would want to know where the project stands.
But you should remember – you are not required to flood your client with constant updates; take note of the project’s scope and timeline, and based on that, send your updates to the client.
And if during the project, you come across roadblocks or say, some technical difficulties, you are required to notify the client – clients are people too, and hence, they will understand, as long as you let them know beforehand.
Creating opportunities with mass communication
When it comes to client communication, there are many other ways – apart from a face-to-face meeting – to keep in touch with them. You can take the help of various tools with which you can send out a message to targeted groups of people.
Say, for example, social media – you can use it to talk to clients plus, you can also let them know about articles and tools that may interest them.
Okay, your feeds may be cramped with non-clients, but look at that in a positive way – you can become a trusted source, and soon, you will see that trust is the key for turning prospects into potential clients.
You can also take the help of ‘email newsletter’ – it’s always considered to be a great forum to share ideas plus it also makes it easy to target clients; and the best part is that the targeted clients can respond directly to you through your email newsletter – this will not be a meaningful conversation, plus it will also be one of the best ways to keep your clients in the loop.
However, when sending an email newsletter, remember that they are your clients, and who have already bought products or services from you, so make sure to send them something that will be of real value to them.
Better projects lead to better relationships
communicating effectively with your clients is not about being perfect – rather, it is about the effort to understand who they are and what they want to achieve, and devising a plan to get there.
Only after getting to the integral points, the project will lead to an end result that will accurately reflect their needs, and which in turn, will help you to build a solid and long-lasting relationship.
Just imagine – if you are able to achieve this feat through all of your projects, then, you will have a long list of loyal clients and can be sure of long-term success.
So, what are you waiting for?
You are a freelancer, right? so, hurry up, and consider going through the above-mentioned points to make the most of your freelancing career. Follow the above to a tee, and you can be sure that it will be a winning formula that will benefit both you and your clients in the long run.