How to Avoid Miscommunication with Your Clients

Communication is the key to any of JM Virtual Business Services relationships. When partnering with a client the first thing we do is set up clear lines of communication and ensure that we are all on the same page.

Miscommunication between clients is a far more common occurrence than some people may realise, which isn’t always ideal when it leads to an unhappy customer. It could happen to almost anyone and be something as simple as mishearing one word or not highlighting the one crucial paragraph in a brief that could determine whether a project you’ve put hours of hard work into is a success or total flop. Client satisfaction is both a crucial and vital component in the reputation and success of any business, additionally, the quality of your communication with clients has a major impact on your company’s future direction as a recent study indicated it can take up to 12 good experiences to make up for one bad experience.

Here are five of the most common causes of client miscommunication and the simple resolutions:

1. Miscommunication:
   When it comes to miscommunication, the easiest ways to overcome the situation is to simply listen. When communicating with your client, always be sure to listen carefully to everything that’s being said, take notes and don’t be afraid to ask questions. A client would much prefer to repeat themselves than to waste both their time, money and be given the wrong finished product.

2. Lost or Missed Messages:
   Life can get hectic, especially while working in a fast-paced environment, so it can be quite easy to misplace notes, emails, or messages. A thorough way to overcome this obstacle is to use online project management tools such as Asana or Trello etc which will allow you to consolidate communication into one platform, helping you to stay organised and never miss a message from a client ever again.

3. Inconsistent Communication:
   Sometimes we unintentionally lose communication with our clients, we become so busy with our day-to-day work schedule that we assume we have all the information we need only to realise once you both meet that there hasn’t been nearly enough communication on both ends. A simple way to overcome this situation is from the very beginning of your encounter with each other, set regular scheduled meetings to go over content and set turnaround times.

4. No Boundaries:
   When there are no boundaries set with clients, expect the unexpected. Clients can call or email at all hours of the day (including outside business hours), often expecting an instant response. This is an unorganised approach cutting into both yours and your clients personal time and can potentially lead to projects constantly changing and clients never feeling happy with their result. Equally, clients don’t appreciate being contacted outside of business hours with multiple questions about a project they’ve already explained. You can overcome this situation by setting boundaries with clients from the very beginning as well as setting expectations for response times and being clear on office hours; this will be beneficial for both parties as it’ll help you both maintain respect and organisation.

5. Expectations:
   One of the most important things to be both conscious and consistent of when working with a new client is to set expectations and don’t overpromise. It’s easy to get ahead of ourselves and want to please our clients achieving more than we can handle, but by measuring expectations from the beginning will help to ensure the client has a realistic idea of what to expect. This could be by clearly instating what your role and qualifications are, your schedule availability and explaining what you can and can’t do so no one is left disappointed.

By: Veronica Louvros