Client Communication – 3 Signs of Ineffectivity and What to Do

Generally speaking, client communication challenges usually center on incomplete communications, but there are some other situations that you might deal with as well.

Communication is a two-way street, right? You are responsible for your communications and your client is responsible for theirs. It can be a challenge when one or both of you find it difficult to connect. It can happen for a number of reasons. Let’s look at those.

Ineffective Client Communication 1: They Don’t Get Back To You When You Have Questions

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as getting a great job from a client and being unable to start because you have unanswered questions. Unfortunately, ineffective client communication is a relatively common situation. Before you come unraveled because deadlines are looming and you haven’t even started the project, realize that your client is probably overwhelmed.

They’ve hired you to help manage a project or task – that’s great. They’re probably still overwhelmed and super busy. So when a client doesn’t answer your questions, your best bet is to connect with them via your agreed upon or usual method, give them a call or poke them on Facebook if you feel comfortable. Get done what you can and prepare for the day when you can move forward.

Ineffective Client Communication 2: You Don’t Receive Any Feedback

You work hard, you deliver a project or manage a task and then you hear nothing. No news is good news, right? Sure, it can be, but it isn’t extremely productive. Good client communication involves at least an acknowledgment that they received your work, but that doesn’t always happen. If you don’t get any feedback from your client, good or bad, then check in with them about a week or two later. Send a survey or questionnaire and consider attaching an incentive to it. For example, “10 dollars off your next project,” might be enough to get some information from them so you can continue to grow and improve.

Ineffective Client Communication 3: Projects Are Left Hanging

Have you ever had someone assign a project to you and then fail to follow through? This doesn’t occur very often, but it can happen. Business owners can get very excited about a project or an idea and then lose momentum. You’ve done your part of the project but it goes nowhere. Updated websites, product launches, and even events are all susceptible to this type of challenge. When a project is left hanging there’s really nothing that you can do other than to touch base occasionally to get a status update and to offer your assistance. As long as you’ve been paid for the work you did, the rest is up to them.

Creating systems to gather information at the beginning of a project is a great way to get started. Also consider creating a follow-up system so that you can stay connected to your customers before, during, and after projects. There will always be a few unusual clients, but with organized systems, you can help support an effective communication process.