For obvious reasons, keeping your clients engaged is a pretty big deal. Increased profits, referrals and retention rate are just a few of the positives to come from engagement. But, it’s not always an easy process to figure out. Try this three-step program to help you get started.

1. Measuring Relationships

Take the time to really measure your clients’ experiences and relationships with you. Conduct a customer satisfaction survery every 18-24 months and focus on six key areas: satisfaction, risk, drivers, expectations, needs and opportunities.  Who’s satisfied? Who is at risk of leaving? What service and communication strategy drives your clients the most? What do your clients expect of you? What do they need from you? What opportunities are available to reach out and touch new clients? You can start by getting feedback from your trusted accounts and utilize their feedback to continually improve and draw in new accounts.

2. Managing Relationships

If you get right down to it, clients would prefer more constant communication and a trusted working relationship than random customer appreciation events or tchotchkes. Use the information you determined from step 1 to define service standards most appropriate for each segment of your customer base. Determine your costs for communication, the number of clients you can manage and refine your service model as needed. Be sure to communicate your plans to your clients and review their responses.

3. Growing Relationships

Face-to-face communication is still the best way to interact with your clients. Talk with them, discuss possible dissatisfaction, make plans for improvement, clarify expectations and lay groundwork for future business. The end goal is making each client feel like they are the most valuable client you have.

Information taken from the article “How to Increase Client Engagement” from the September 2009 issue of The Pershing Press.