7 Best Practices for Managing Client Relationships

Working with customers and building relationships with clients doesn’t come naturally to all of us. But every business owner needs to learn how to manage client relationships.

Whether your client is a mom setting up her family’s professional photography session, a weekend warrior looking for personal training to help them hit their goals, or a corporation wanting to hire your company for freelance writing services, every client needs to be managed with precision and care. Each will have unique needs and concerns and need to be given your business’ full attention.

How can you strengthen client relationships and retain their business? It should be done through the lens of your industry and overall business model. A masseuse is likely going to have a different client relationship management style than a graphic designer who’s working on marketing projects for local business owners.

These seven tips address common struggles in service-provider industries and how to resolve them.

1. Set expectations for client relationships

Unclear expectations can derail projects. You can prevent this by defining your services, pricing, and policies upfront in project proposals and contracts to avoid future headaches.

Why do you need these specifics identified early on? Establishing a mutual understanding now can help resolve or avoid future disputes about pricing, cancellations, or additional work.

Some examples of how this might show up in different businesses include:

• Fitness trainers: Require a 24-hour notice for cancellations, with partial fees if a session is missed.

• Hair stylists: Display pricing online and confirm customers are prepared to pay for additional services.

• Freelancers: Let the client know that two rounds of edits are included in the project scope and any edits beyond that will be charged an hourly rate as part of their pricing model.

Depending on your business model, you may want to work with a lawyer to create a standard contract for clients.

2. Establish and share your values

It can be helpful to have your business’ values, mission, and guidelines written down so everyone on your team can refer to them. If you’re a solo business owner, it’s good to have these established and published on your website where potential clients can see them. 

Some client-centric values could be, “The customer is always right.” Or, “We won’t quit until the client is satisfied,” Or, “If we’re wrong, we’ll give you a percentage off your next service.” 

You might also want to have them printed next to your work desk so you can refer to them on difficult days when you’re fielding tough customer complaints.

These philosophies feed into working through how a problem is resolved. If your business offers discounts to unsatisfied customers, keeps working on a solution until the client is satisfied or has another value that drives your business’ mission, having this at the forefront will make it easier to resolve issues that arise on a case-by-case basis.

See our tips for handling customer connections with empathy

3. Take ownership of mistakes and seek out feedback

Every service-based business owner is going to make mistakes at some point in their career. It’s important to acknowledge when your services don’t meet the client’s expectations and satisfaction levels and offer to make it right. 

Seek out feedback from happy and unhappy customers. You might send a survey out after the business transaction is completed and offer a discount on a product or service as a thank you for completing the form. 

A post-project survey email or after-session questionnaire should be part of your follow-up business marketing plan. It can help inform how you price future projects and services, what could be done better, as well as what’s working. After all, research finds retaining customers costs less than acquiring new ones, and is a key strategy for increasing sales and growing your business.

You could also ask clients who leave feedback if you could share their name, photo, and testimonial on your website or on social media channels to help with new customer acquisition efforts.

4. Practice effective communication with clients

Many of us probably know how it feels to have a problem with a product or service and then be met with silence when you try to express that grievance to the company. It’s incredibly frustrating. 

That’s why it’s essential that your business has a strong dedication to clients built into its processes and tools. Put systems in place so you’re quickly alerted to questions, concerns, and social media posts mentioning your business. Some ways to do this include:

• Send automated replies. Set up auto-reply messages for customer service emails and for questions sent via a Facebook page or Instagram DM that let clients know you received their question and when to expect a response.

• Share regular updates. Gather email addresses when you bring on new customers or leads and send them emails with business updates, promotions, service changes, and dates the business will or will not be open.

• Monitor reviews and online posts about the business. Respond to online feedback promptly to show attentiveness and awareness of the comment.

• Give them time if rates are going up. Raising your rates is one of many ways to grow your business. Just make sure you give clients a heads up at least a few weeks or months before the increase so they aren’t surprised and upset.

5. Set boundaries

Every business owner has professional boundaries. But if you don’t communicate them, they’re likely to get pushed or crossed by clients. Part of maintaining healthy client relationships is establishing boundaries as part of the onboarding process, when you sign contracts, or before your initial service is performed.

When I onboard a new client to my freelance writing services company, I send new clients an onboarding business document, which includes my contact information, the days and hours I work, how long I take to get back to them via email, and when/if to contact my cell phone for emergencies. 

I’ve heard of other freelance business owners having their clients sign a contract that includes these business rules before they start the assignment. That way, when a client sends you an email in the morning and expresses concern because no one responded within eight hours, you can refer them back to the paperwork you sent that acknowledges you have up to 48 hours to respond to work email. (Or whatever that boundary you set is.)

Boundaries help you maintain professionalism while ensuring your personal time remains protected. And it helps set expectations for your clients, so they have peace of mind knowing what to anticipate from working with you.

See our tips for freelancer time management

6. Tailor your communication style 

A common misstep that can arise when building relationships with clients is that a business owner treats all customers the same. But different clients have different communication preferences. Offer options for how you’ll connect and confirm deadlines and appointments during the onboarding process so clients can select their preferred method.

Some prefer text reminders, others phone calls or emails. Others may want to meet you over video call at some point. Meeting clients where they are creates a positive experience. 

A Gen Z customer might never check their voicemail to know an appointment was canceled, but a Gen X customer might prefer to be on the lookout for a call over an email or text. You can even include a question about preferred communication formats in your client intake form or onboarding process so you know upfront.

Keep clients’ differences in mind when considering how you collect payment as well. Always be friendly and gracious when you send your invoices or collect money for your services. 

Think about it: No one wants a restaurant server to slam a bill down on the table and demand payment right away after a meal. They may say something like, “Here’s your bill for whenever you’re ready to pay. Take your time. Thanks for coming by today.” Keep this type of scenario in mind when you bill clients and customers. 

Or, set up an automated service that sends a bill digitally or through the mail. Pair it with a thank you message and you might never have to ask the customer directly for their payment. 

7. Nurture relationships

Feeling stuck on how to build customer loyalty? Remember, every customer wants to feel appreciated and special. A big part of this is simply remaining professional, communicating clearly, and being warm and friendly in interactions so that your clients feel valued and happy with your work.

But you can also show your gratitude for their business in various ways:

• Offer discounts and loyalty rewards for repeat clients or successful referrals. 

• Send thoughtful gifts or even hand-written thank you cards after big projects. 

• Do something special to acknowledge when they’ve been a client for one year, three years, five years, and so on.

Ready to improve how you build relationships with clients?