How To Get A Balanced Client Experience

What Is A Balanced Client Experience?

A balanced client experience gives you time to work on the things you love and gives you the freedom to be yourself. It’s also about being able to say no. It’s about having healthy boundaries with your clients so that they know exactly what to expect from you and vice versa.

Takeaways
Balance customer feedback and innovation to perfect the customer experience.
Improve your team’s customer service skills by providing training and fostering a positive work environment.
Understand and deliver on customer value to drive business success and build strong relationships.
Enhance the customer experience through personalized communication, streamlined processes, and proactive problem-solving.
Follow best practices for customer service, including prompt response, empathy, and continuous improvement based on feedback.

Why Does This Matter?

If we don’t get our needs met, then it’s inevitable that we will feel resentment towards our clients or employers. We need to take care of ourselves first for us to take care of others (including but not limited to: family members/friends, children/pets, etc.). This means setting boundaries – both in what we can do as well as how much time and energy we can give out at any given moment.

Sometimes, it can be hard to keep your clients happy. You want them to be satisfied with the work you do for them, but at the same time, you need to make sure their needs are being met.

This article will provide a quick guide on how to get a balanced client experience and make sure that both parties are happy with their relationship.

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Know What You Want

Know what you want; Before you can ask for it, you need to know what it is. It may sound obvious, but many freelancers don’t do this step and end up losing money or wasting time. For example, I once had a client who expected me to work on his project at night because he preferred working at night rather than during the day. 

This was not a problem for him until I went on vacation and then my schedule changed from working 8 am – 4 pm to 8 am – 8 pm! This resulted in his projects taking longer than expected because now he had no one in the office during normal business hours (especially since our company was remote).

Specify how you want it and when you want it done; Have a clear idea of what “done” means so there are no misunderstandings later on down the road when they come back with their final product or service offering that isn’t exactly what they promised before signing contracts with other companies who have already paid them upfront (this happened recently). 

Freelancers must specify exactly what needs completing before moving forward any further so everyone knows exactly where they stand at all times throughout any given project cycle and if something goes wrong later on down the line due to unforeseen circumstances out of both companies’ control (such as an illness), there won’t be any issues either way since terms have been laid out beforehand!

Give a clear deadline: Giving clients deadlines ensures accountability from both parties involved which helps keep things running smoothly without complications arising unexpectedly along their journey together towards achieving mutual goals; this also gives both parties ample amount of time needed for completion without rushing anything too much beyond reasonable limits set forth by each side respectively.”

Acknowledge That Yours And Your Clients’ Needs Can Change Over Time

After you’ve established a relationship, it’s important to be open and honest with your clients. These people are going to be relying on you for guidance and help, so you want them to feel comfortable coming to you when they need something.

Most importantly, remember that while your client may have needs now, those needs can change over time. For example: if your client is expecting a new baby very soon, they may not be able to work out as much or go on long runs because of their changing body (and other factors). 

They might also have less energy than usual due to morning sickness and other symptoms of pregnancy. Both parties involved in this situation (you as a coach/trainer/teacher) need to be flexible enough to adjust accordingly when these changes occur!

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Use The “Yes And” Strategy To Address What Your Client Wants, But Also Get What You Need

You can use the “Yes and” strategy to address what your client wants, but also get what you need. This is a way to communicate that you are listening and want to help them get what they want, but also introduce your needs into the conversation. For example, if a client says they want to have a website where people can buy their products online, you might say something like: “Yes! That’s great! And I would love to help create that for you.”

Check-In With Yourself

Before you start your session, check-in with yourself. Ask yourself if you’re in a good headspace to do this work. Are you feeling well? Do you have the energy to fully engage with someone else? If a client comes to me and they’re not feeling very motivated or energetic, I’ll ask them how things are going for them and what their week looks like before we get started.

If you’re having an off day, that’s okay! Sometimes our bodies need time to recharge and it’s important not to push ourselves when we’re not feeling in tip-top shape. Just remember that it’s important for our mental health too!

Find Common Ground With Your Client

Ask for feedback. It’s not always easy to ask for feedback, but it can be very helpful. If a client has just given you some useful insights about their business and its needs, don’t hesitate to ask them what else they think would be helpful for you to know about the project.

Establish common ground with your client. When we create value together with our clients, it’s easier for us to understand what their needs are and how we can help them succeed in their business goals and that’s when we get more clients back again!

Get Ready To Work Together

Make sure you’re clear on what’s expected of you as a service provider and make sure your client or user is clear on what’s expected of them. 

The best way to do this is through a brief written agreement that outlines the goals of the project, any expectations you have for their role in achieving those goals, how they should communicate with you (phone calls? emails?), and how often they will receive updates from the project’s progress and when those updates should be sent out…etc.

Be Clear On The Specific Problem That You’re Going To Solve Together And Why It’s Important (In Their Words)

Your clients will trust you more if they feel like you’re working with them to solve the right problem. If you don’t understand their business and how they operate, it’s going to be hard for your client to know that they can trust you with solving their problems.

What does this mean? It means that when you’re meeting with someone from a new company or organization and trying to establish a relationship, it’s important for them to see that:

You’ve done this before you’ve worked with similar companies (in size/industry) before and have successfully solved similar problems for them; or

You’re going out of your way to learn about their business so that when the time comes for actionable steps on solving their problem(s), there won’t be any surprises along the way

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Deliver Value

As a freelancer, you are your boss and have the freedom to set your rates. However, you still need to deliver results that exceed expectations. Every client wants something different from their project or service provider. 

If you can’t connect with them on an emotional level, it will be hard for them to trust you with their work. So no matter what type of business model you prefer (fixed price vs hourly), make sure each client gets exactly what they want and more!

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Feedback

You must ask for feedback. But it’s also important that you don’t just ask for feedback because you feel like it would be nice or polite. You shouldn’t ask for feedback if you don’t have a specific purpose in mind, or if you’re not going to put the information gathered from questions into action. If all you’re going to do with the information is file it away in a forgotten folder on your computer, then there’s no point in asking at all!

Make sure that every time you ask someone how they feel about something be it their experience with your services and/or products, or even something as small as how they felt about your most recent email you also have a plan of action that will help keep improving their experience.

Have A Good Follow-Up Plan, Including Giving Them A Next Step

It’s important to make sure that the client knows how to get in touch with you, and to respond quickly to any questions or concerns they may have. It’s also crucial that you follow up after the first step of your plan (or as soon as possible) so you can confirm whether or not they’re still on board with what’s going on and don’t need anything else from you.

Listen For Their Response And Read Nonverbal Cues

Listening to your client is critical. As you’re speaking, look for signs of interest or boredom in their body language. Do they seem engaged, or are they checking their watch and glancing at the door? You can also monitor the tone of what they’re saying; if they’re being cautious with their words and remain guarded when speaking about their business, it might be an indication that there are roadblocks ahead for your project.

Don’t Forget About Yourself And Your Needs

You’re part of the equation too. If you’re not doing well, you won’t be able to do the work required of you long-term. And if something’s not working, don’t be afraid to change it up.

As a therapist, you are an expert in your field. You’ve dedicated years to learning everything there is to know about human behavior, but there’s one thing that can get lost along the way: yourself. Being able to listen and understand another person’s experience is important, but so is being able to reflect on your own experiences as well.

You need to be aware of how you’re feeling while working with clients and what kinds of situations or circumstances make it harder for you to do your job well. Are there certain types of people who tend to push your buttons? Are there particular topics that cause discomfort or overwhelm? Is there anything about their situation that makes it difficult for them and therefore for you to focus on treatment goals?

It’s important not only from a moral standpoint but also from a practical one; self-awareness will allow you to recognize signs that things aren’t working out. If something isn’t going well with your current client load (or if things just aren’t feeling right), consider making changes such as reducing/increasing hours worked per week or switching up which clients come first within each day.

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Provide Value During All Parts Of Your Relationship

Whether they are paying or not It will help them stay focused on the overall value you are bringing, not just the price point of one thing in isolation

Offer a free sample. If you work with a product or service, consider offering a small amount of it at no charge as an introduction to your work. For example, many graphic designers offer one-page website mockups as samples.

Provide free consultation. A consultation can be an excellent way to build trust, demonstrate a genuine interest in your client’s business, and know how to best serve them moving forward. Consider offering this in person or over the phone if the prospect is hesitant about spending money on services they aren’t even sure they need yet (for example web design).

Provide content that is valuable to them (whether paid or not). Offering content that informs prospects on relevant topics in their industry helps them see the value you bring without having had any actual interactions with you yet! 

You might consider offering ebooks, whitepapers, or other educational resources through your site so visitors can download them and learn more about what you have to offer before signing up for anything else. This also gives prospects something worthy of sharing with others which may lead friends/colleagues/customers into contacting you themselves!

Strive For Synergistic Outcomes Between Clients’ Needs And Yours

If you want to be successful at client consulting, you must strive for synergistic outcomes between clients’ needs and yours. It’s also important to have clear goals in mind before starting on a solution; if your client doesn’t have a goal or has multiple goals, this could make things more difficult. 

It’s tempting to try and set everyone’s goal as “lose weight,” but everyone has different fitness levels and preferences for what their future looks like. You want to make sure that the solutions you develop are tailored specifically toward your clients’ fitness needs and not just “lose weight.”

For example, I worked with a woman who had tried many diets over the years but never lost any significant amount of weight until we started working together. She was very much into healthy eating habits (she even worked at Whole Foods), but she hated cardio exercise because she wasn’t good at it and didn’t see results quickly enough (like every newbie). 

She was able to tolerate going on hikes regularly because they felt less competitive than jogging on a treadmill or going upstairs during an intense workout class like CrossFit or Barre3 would have been; this allowed her body time to get used to being active again before doing something more intense later down the line once she had built up some confidence exercising outside of her comfort zone (which eventually led us into running long distances together!).

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Final Thoughts

The most important thing to remember is that you can’t expect your client to read your mind and that the best way for you to get the work environment or expectations that you want is by communicating with them.

Also, keep in mind that the balance of this relationship will shift as your needs change over time. If something isn’t working out with your client or if it’s working out very well you should be willing to have a conversation about it with them and adjust accordingly.

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources for further reading on related topics:

6 Keys to Improving Teams’ Customer Service Skills: Explore this article to discover six essential strategies for enhancing customer service skills within your teams.

Balance Customer Feedback and Innovation to Perfect Your Customer Experience: Learn how to strike the right balance between customer feedback and innovation to create a seamless and exceptional customer experience.

Balancing Customer Value: Dive into this resource to gain insights into effectively balancing customer value to drive business success and create long-lasting customer relationships.

People Also Ask

What Does It Mean To Be Client-Focused?

It’s all about putting your clients first. That means putting their needs above your own and making sure that they have what they need from you (and more) so that they can achieve their goals.

As a designer, this means listening to them, and getting feedback on what works and doesn’t work in their design. It also means understanding who your target audience is so that you can create designs that speak directly to them instead of trying too hard for a general audience.

How Can I Get My Clients To Focus On What’s Important?

You don’t want clients who are all over the place; this makes it harder for everyone involved because there are too many things going on at once. A good way around this is by creating a contract before any work begins so both parties know exactly where they stand with one another and how far along in the process each party should be at any given time (i.e., when is an invoice due?).

What Is The Best Way To Communicate With My Clients?

There are many different ways to reach out to your client base. We recommend using email, phone calls, and text messages. Using this method allows you to stay in touch with each individual as frequently as you would like. If it’s an emergency then we would recommend simply calling them up and getting their immediate attention so nothing gets delayed or forgotten about.

How Do I Know What My Clients’ Needs Are?

You need to know exactly what your client’s needs are so that you can provide them with what they’re looking for within a reasonable amount of time (for example: if someone wanted something done immediately then it would be best practice for them not only contact their provider but also explain why it’s urgent). 

This ensures that everything goes smoothly without any setbacks along the way! It may seem obvious enough but sometimes people forget these things – especially when they’re under pressure from other demands on their time (e.g., family commitments).

How Can I Get My Clients To Be More Involved In The Process?

I’ve found that it’s helpful to make sure everyone on your team is aligned with each other (and you) on what your goals are, and then check in regularly with each other to make sure they’re on track. 

For example, if you want your client to provide feedback at a certain point during their journey with you, but they don’t do that until two months later, it might be time for another check-in call or meeting so everyone knows where everyone else stands.

How Do I Know If It’s Time To Move On From A Client?

If a project isn’t working out for whatever reason may be there’s frequent miscommunication or unreturned emails it might be time for both parties (you included!) to move on from one another. You should also try not letting things get too personal because as soon as someone feels like an individual rather than just another person who needs help at work, the relationship becomes less professional and more emotional.

This could cause problems down the road if something goes wrong between them instead of being able to just communicate clearly about what went wrong so that it doesn’t happen again!