Communication is the ultimate key to building and strengthening relationships. This helps build trust as the foundation for any designer-client relationship. Hence, it is important to discuss your business goals, may it be short-term or long-term, so you could easily evaluate your relationship and decide on how the project would progress.
Building and maintaining relationships that would last a long time is not as easy as a lot of people make it out to be. The clients must be able to trust you, your professional opinions and your expertise. There must also be respect on both sides, not just for the sake of your relationship, but also for the best interests of the project. Once you have these with your clients, it is more than likely that they would choose to work with you in future projects, and even hand out recommendations to their peers.
We have gathered a number of ways on how to maintain effective client management:
- Be in Constant Communication
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- Having efficient and consistent communication with your client should be a top priority to avoid any misunderstanding on how the project is supposed to go about. It is also important to provide your clients with the space to openly communicate and be honest with you without a fear of falling out.
- Connect With Your Client
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- While it is important to stay professional with your client, there is no harm in building a personal connection with them as long as you are not stepping on any boundaries. You can ask them how their day went or how their family is doing, depending on their personality and the depth of the relationship that you already have with them.
- Be Open With Your Client
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- You can share information about your area of expertise with your clients, especially if they have a hard time understanding certain aspects of it. Explaining how you work and your process helps build trust and confidence in your relationship with them. Additionally, it is just as important to listen and take their suggestions into consideration.
- Ask For Your Client’s Feedback
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- This allows them to voice out their concerns on the project and your recommendations. This shows how much you value their opinion, and how much respect you have for them both personally and professionally.
- Stay In Touch With Your Clients
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- Staying in touch with them after your project ends is an effective way of maintaining a relationship with them, which allows you to set yourself up for them for future projects.