Five Best Practices for Client Communication

A study completed by Salesforce revealed that “86% of execs and employees identify ineffective communication and collaboration” as a leading cause of business failure. 

For PR professionals, outside of landing sweet placements in coveted publications, staying on top of client communication is a key ingredient to keeping your head above water.

It’s also a HUGE contributor to staying organized, which is imperative when juggling multiple accounts, spearheading numerous campaigns and quantifying what you’ve achieved for the client.

Below are some best practices that we’ve put in place at BCENE to help make client communication a breeze!

1. Ask the client how they like to receive information.

Every client is different and it's important to understand how they best receive and disseminate information. Some clients will be happy with a weekly update email and a few touch bases per month. Others will need you to roll out the red carpet with visuals and buzzy statistics all while giving a play-by-play of coverage.

Either way, you’ve got to deliver! At BCENE, we recommend a visual component such as a chart or graphic as an easy and digestible way to communicate progress.

PR teams should ask upfront how often and in which format the client likes to communicate. And when we say upfront, we mean, on the discovery call. Yes – that soon. Also keep in mind that as the relationship grows, the communication can always change. 

2. Report early and often. 

Personally, I like to report press wins ASAP and include them again in a summary of all PR initiatives in play at the end of the month. Some clients prefer a simple end-of-week roundup, while others could care less until the end of the month rolls around!

Sum up what you’ve done and highlight top-tier wins on a dependable and recurring basis, using your client’s preferred method of communication (Slack, Email, Basecamp, etc.).

3. Formatting is your friend!

Speaking of dependable and recurring 😬 FORMATTING IS YOUR FRIEND, so don’t run from it! Here at BCENE, we use tried-and-true templates to help make communication as clear as possible.

Using charts to plug and play monthly and quarterly numbers makes reporting a breeze and it trains your client (and you!) on what to expect. It also helps you track trends and compare progress from month to month. Formats can vary across accounts and should be based on rule #1 - How the client likes to receive information.

4. Participate in active listening.

Honestly, this might be the most helpful tip! Two-way communication doesn’t actually work if you aren’t fully comprehending what the client is sharing with you.

Active listening includes participating in the conversation by repeating what you’ve heard so that you can clear up any misunderstandings instantaneously. Initially, a client may share information that has gaps – not understanding that some of the skipped-over context is relevant to PR.

When employing active listening, you can identify those gaps in the conversation and ask questions accordingly. Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know until you ask!

5. There are no dumb questions, but there are lazy ones.

We’ve all been told there’s no such thing as a stupid question before – and guess what, it’s true! However, there is such a thing as a lazy question, you know, the ones you ask because you don’t feel like digging up the information? Or perhaps you're experiencing a little brain fog, which happens to all of us!

Instead of risking irritating the client and wasting their time, exhaust your resources and make sure that what you’re asking isn’t already readily available to you. Before shooting the client an awkward one-liner email, try this:

• Google the question, you’d be surprised what she knows 😉

• Review the brand guide or other relevant documents shared with you by the client

• Check your client’s website

• Ask internally, your people are a resource too!

Nine times out of ten, you’ll find the answer you’re looking for without ever alerting the client. For the one out of ten times you don’t, scroll back up to rule #1 and figure out the most efficient way to get your question answered as quickly as needed.