Professional services handle customers from all kinds of areas and industries, most of whom have little first-hand experience with the specific service. Without personal knowledge of the process, customers depend on the experience and skill of the professional to offer guidance, advice, and support along the way. Working together, a customer’s vision and a professional’s experience can create the perfect project. But unfortunately, the reality is often miscommunication and misunderstandings, turning a potentially great project into confused work, delayed outcomes, and an overall unhappy experience. Almost always, these unexpected outcomes have nothing to do with a professional’s skills or talents, but rather his or her ability to communicate effectively. But client communication doesn’t have to be a headache. Here are a few of our favorite ideas on how to bridge the gap in customer communication.

Create Company Awareness

Before anyone can begin to communicate effectively, professional service employees need to understand the importance of effective communication. It’s easy to forget how foreign technical terms and company jargon can be to someone outside of the industry. Help employees understand how essential it is to create clear communication. Depending on the client’s industry or personal experience, they may need a fair amount of advice or explanation. Help clients feel confident in their choices and don’t assume they know the same things you do. After all, they hired a professional for a reason. Similarly, unless absolutely necessary, respect the choices that each client makes. While it may not be your personal preference, the project is ultimately up to the customer.

Keep Every Client Organized

Professional service companies often work with multiple customers at the same time. Even if your clients operate in the same general industry, every project is different and requires individual attention. Workplace organization and communication software gives professional service companies an easy way to manage specific group and project spaces set aside for each project. These spaces ensure that every client project has a personalized place for organizing information, sharing updates, and establishing team communication. Many of these work programs, like those available in MangoApps, even enable companies to incorporate external guest users, allowing clients to actively participate in their projects, see updates, ask questions, and understand the complete process.

Encourage Information Sharing

Aside from talents and skills acquired through experience and academic training, professional service organizations benefit customers through their network of best practice knowledge and industry information. If a particular problem is new to an employee, he has access to coworkers and colleagues who can offer additional support and advice. This support helps provide the best possible experience no matter the situation. Encouraging information sharing helps employees bridge the gap in customer communication as well. As workers can quickly and effectively discover and assess new information, they can instill the confidence of clients, answer important questions, and continue effective communication.

Enable Client Contact On-The-Go

While professional services vary from industry to industry, they often require employees to work out of the office, meet with clients, or access information on the go. Employees need an easy and straightforward way to access resources and manage information wherever work takes them. Without quick and reliable resources available on hand, it’s incredibly difficult for employees to effectively share news and important information with clients or potential customers. Instead, employees are forced to spend significant time downloading, saving, or printing out information or try to remember project details or important industry information offhand. This not only limits customer communication but also greatly increases the chances of accidental contradictions or misinformation.

In the professional services, successful communication is everything. Employees need to collaborate effectively with every client and specify work for every individual’s unique needs. At MangoApps, we understand how essential communication, collaboration, and accessibility is. From detail document management and dedicated workspaces to detailed searchability and on-the-go access, we help professional services find long-lasting success. To learn more about how to bridge the gap in customer communication or how MangoApps empowers and enables professional services, contact us or schedule a personalized demo today.