Project updates: Keeping your customer up to date throughout the process
Business Consulting Quotes
from local business consultants
Every job has customer touch-points along the way - times where you'll need to talk to your customer and communicate the status of the project, no matter how big or small, or whether it's in person or via email or telephone. Here's a checklist of touch-points where you should be speaking to your customers during your relationship - from initial contact to payment.
Check out our general guidelines for effective communication throughout a project.
Checkpoints to communicate with your customers along the way
Initial contact
Obviously, you communicate with your customers initially, either by phone or email.
Quote supplied
Once you've supplied your quote, if you post it make sure you call or email to follow up, working towards closing the deal and winning the work.
Quote follow up
Even if you've quoted over the phone, following up on your quote is important. Or, if you've already supplied the quote and talked it through with your customer, call back to close the sale.
Booking the project in
Scheduling your projects and getting a mutually acceptable start date agreed with your customer is a standard contact point. Add value by confirming the start date via email - perhaps even a meeting request so that the customer also has it in their diary.
If the project's end date has moved (forwards OR backwards)
Changes in your schedule happen, so you'll basically be repeating the scheduling step - but remember, do it as quickly as possible with as much notice, and be prepared to move jobs around to be as flexible as possible. This is another scenario where it's best to use the telephone rather than text or email.
If you're late for an appointment
SO important. Obviously, the best idea is not to be late for an appointment, whether it's quoting, presenting, or doing the job. But if you're running late, let your customer know - preferably with a call not an email or text.
If costs are changing (even if the costs aren't changing for the customer)
Costs, and being on top of costs, is an important value consideration for customers. Although usually you've quoted up front and have to stick to that, it's sometimes good to highlight the changes in costs along the way. If they're significantly lower, passing that cost saving in part to the customer is something the will most certainly tell their friends. Same deal for if the cost is higher but you're not passing the cost onto them - it's a win-win situation (even if you're a bit peeved about decreasing your profit margin).
Project status updates
Daily or weekly status updates are essential with projects of longer than a week. Sharing the schedule of actions with your customer is a brilliant idea. Verbally updating your customer as much as possible works well, and making these updates at a structured time of day or week ensures that you spend more time organising the work than time organising when a good time for updates is.
We haven't touched on after-sales service here, nor any marketing ideas to keep your customers returning for more. Read more about that in the coming weeks.
Other blogs worth reading
- Writing a professional business email
- Having a great telephone conversation with your customer
- Getting internal communications right in your business
- Customer communication guidelines - making a service promise
-
This is a great process and more trade business's need help to acheive this. It is hard to do it all when you run a small or family trade business. There is operation help out there "Easy Virtual Office Solutions" specializing in giving A+ support and infrastructure - access based (no unknown hourly rates) especially for those withou the suit & tie. Gretchen Operations are an award winning, Australian owned and operated supporter of trade and service business's. We are here to help the doing of the process above. Check us out -> New Thoughts -> New Ideas -> lead to New Actions and direction! www.tradievirtualoffice.com.au
over a year ago by Andrea Blunden
Business Consulting Quotes
from local business consultants
