Mastering Client Communication: Dealing with Unresponsive Clients
As a seasoned CPA and accounting consultant, I've encountered my fair share of unresponsive clients. It's a common challenge in the world of client service, but with the right approach and strategies, it's possible to navigate these situations successfully. In this blog post, I'll share some valuable tips on how young professionals can deal with unresponsive clients effectively, ensuring smooth communication, maintaining a positive relationship, and ultimately delivering exceptional service. The non-responsive client approach can be broken down into three components:
How and When to Follow Up
Methods of Communication
Optimizing Facetime
Let’s jump in!
How and When to Follow Up
The key to dealing with unresponsive clients is striking a balance between being persistent and respectful. When initiating follow-ups, always consider these factors:
Timing: Give your clients a reasonable window of time to respond before following up. Avoid bombarding them with messages or emails immediately after sending your initial communication.
Clarity: Be clear and concise in your follow-up messages. Clearly state the purpose of the follow-up and any action required from the client.
Politeness: Maintain a polite and professional tone in your communication. Avoid using overly formal language or sounding impatient, as it might alienate the client.
It’s also important to remember that following up with the client is a part of your job responsibilities, and can be a crucial part of providing excellent client service. I will frequently ask my unresponsive clients if I should make an effort to “bug them” to get things done faster, and they often say that I should. By doing this, I don’t need to worry about being annoying because I’ve already set an expectation with the client.
Methods of Communication
Some clients are simply not great at responding to email, which is why it's important for you to understand the options you have when reaching out to a client. Here’s the common ones:
Email - By far the most common and most efficient way to request and share documents. However, it’s important to understand that email communications are also easy to lose track of because they can get buried in your client’s inbox.
Phone Calls - This method of communication is very underutilized by millennials and generation Z, but will likely be one of the most effective ways to communicate with the older unresponsive clients, who likely use the phone more. Don’t sleep on this option!
Texting - While not necessarily conventional, this can be a great method in reaching out to some clients because it’s a communication stream that allows for quick questions and responses that push directly to your client’s pocket!
Face-to-face / Video Calls - Formal meetings can be hard to schedule. But when they happen, they are a great way to communicate updates!
You should consider using various communication channels, such as email, phone calls, or even text messages, depending on your clients' preferences. This helps ensure your message reaches them effectively.
Making the Most of Face Time
For unresponsive clients in particular, face time with the client via video calls or in-person meetings is where everyone is most productive. When you do get the opportunity for face-to-face meetings or virtual interactions, make the most of these moments to strengthen the client relationship and achieve your objectives:
Be Prepared: Prioritize your talking points and come prepared with all the necessary information and documents. This demonstrates your professionalism and respect for their time. Additionally, it’s critically important that you get the most answers and direction out of the meeting as possible because you don’t know when it won’t be easy to get this time again!
Send Materials Ahead of Time: It’s critical that the meeting be as productive as possible, and having any meeting materials in the client’s hand contributes to getting more done during the meeting time.
Allocate More Time: When meeting with unresponsive clients, it’s always a good idea to allocate an extra 30 minutes to the meeting time to discuss anything that comes up during the meeting. On top of that, it’s also good to not have back-to-back meetings in case the client meeting goes over.
This set of tips is probably the most important for working with unresponsive clients because in my experience, they provide a lot of information when you can get their undivided attention in a meeting.
While dealing with unresponsive clients can be challenging, young professionals can turn these situations into opportunities for growth and stronger client relationships by following these tips!