Our hosts Kim and Brian discuss why you should be on social networks and what you should be talking about. There’s more than just answering the question of “What are you doing?” There’s strategy and ways to interact with your customers and potential clients.

Video Transcript

Welcome to My Office Today, I’m Brian and I’m Kim, today we’ll be discussing how to better manage client expectations. At some point, we will deal with clients who are upset or irritated with us. Sometimes there is no way to make an upset customer happy again with our services. This usually stems from our inability to manage their expectations. Here are a few ideas on how to better manage your customers expectations with your firm. The first step to managing client expectations is to give your clients a true representation of you, your working style and the services you perform. An effective way to do this is by laying it all out on your website or in your engagement letters. You should describe what your client should expect, such as average timelines for common services performed, estimated pricing, what communication is expected from them, and when certain milestones take place. Your website not only markets your business, but also screens prospective clients. The more information you put on your website and the more accurate and thorough it is, the more likely you are to find clients who will be satisfied with your work. Why? They knew exactly what you could do before they signed up.

Be upfront and direct with your clients. If a client does something that is unacceptable or requests something that you cannot provide, say so (and the sooner, the better). Be clear, open and honest about when and where you’re not willing to bend your policies or services so there’s no room for miscommunication or misunderstanding. Clearly communicate what you can and cannot do. With every client, even if you feel like you’re repeating yourself, it’s important to clearly define what services you do and do not provide. Even making sure to outline what is and is not included in your fee is important for maintaining solid relations between you and your clients. So take the time to communicate those details as early on as possible.

Set out the terms of your arrangement clearly. Put it all in black and white. Whether in an email or an engagement letter, it’s important to spell everything out in writing, regarding what you will and won’t do and what’s covered in the cost. Defining your terms should never just be verbally. Explain how to communicate and work to your clients and what can be expected from your firm. By outlining what clients can expect from you, you will better manage their expectations. But you’ll also provide a little added assurance that you take your role as their accounting professional very seriously and that customer service and clear communication is important to you.

For information on how Practice Management can improve your communication, head to their website at officetoolspro.com. I’m Brian and I’m Kim, thanks for watching My Office Today.