How to Build Client Relationships Virtually

Tips for Connecting with Clients Online

If you’re like most professionals, virtual meetings have become a regular part of your work week. COVID certainly accelerated the shift to virtual business, but the change was already underway, and online meetings are now a permanent part of work life. According to recruitment platform Zippia, 53% of workers now prefer virtual meetings over in-person discussions. If your job includes sales or services, you likely have clients that you have never even met in person, and you are now building client relationships completely virtually. 

Below, we’ll provide our top tips for improving your relationships with your virtual clients, and we’ll also share ideas for high-quality custom gifts that can take your connections beyond screen.

 

How to Improve Virtual Client Relationships

There are many reasons why people prefer meeting online: 

• Time efficiency
• Lack of travel
• Easier scheduling
• The ability to record meetings
• The ability to multitask during the meeting

Whatever the reason, it is important to find ways to connect virtually with clients in a meaningful way. Here are a few strategies to optimize your communications with online clients.

 

Check in Regularly

Building online business relationships requires consistency. Remember: your clients are as busy as you are! It’s easy for them to forget about your business when you’re not around IRL. When you check in at least once every week or two, you can keep your products and services at the forefront of their minds. 

To stay consistent, add a check-in with each client to your weekly or bi-weekly to-do lists. Each check-in doesn’t need to be a sales pitch; you just want to keep the lines of communication open. 

Make Time for Chit-Chat

During in-person meetings, participants usually share a bit about their days, their families, and their lives. Since efficiency is one of the top benefits of virtual meetings, you don’t want to waste your client’s time with a 30 minute story about morning traffic. However, you should still be open about what’s going on in your life and ask about their lives and interests.

During online and phone discussions, aim for a sweet spot where you can find common personal interests while still valuing each other’s time. Brief periods of chit chat can help you to better connect with clients, even when you only meet virtually.

 

Take Notes

When you meet with multiple virtual clients every week (or every day!), maintaining personal relationships with each one can be challenging. Which client asked for troubleshooting on a specific product? Who was it that is going on vacation next week? Or maybe, you’re just trying to remember which client also loves Ted Lasso, so you can chat about a recent episode.

This is where note-taking becomes important to building client relationships virtually. According to Business Journals, “​​Often, participants hang up and then forget about the call. If you want to build relationships, take notes and follow up.” Note-taking helps you follow up on sales leads, and allows you to impress clients with your attention to detail.

 

Share Your Organization’s Values

There’s a good chance that your clients have chosen their jobs partially because they believe in their company’s values. Additionally, 63% of consumers prefer to spend their dollars with companies that “stand for a shared purpose that reflects their personal values and beliefs.” Therefore, another great way to improve your relationships with virtual clients is by finding and discussing some of the values your organizations share. 

Talk to your clients about your company’s outreach efforts, community engagement, and goodwill initiatives. By discussing common goals and community concerns, you can build stronger connections and make your clients feel good about spending with your company.

 

Be Understanding

Whether it’s background noise from construction, colleagues walking up in the background, or a cat jumping on the keyboard, virtual meetings are full of distractions and interruptions. 

“Disruption is the name of the game,” according to Dan Black of Symbia Logistics, and it’s going to stay that way as people continue to meet virtually and have remote and hybrid work schedules. Keep a sense of humor and be ready to roll with the punches. Be patient with interruptions and be open to rescheduling when necessary. Plus,  as Black suggests, “Think of the interruptions as a way to get to know your customers better.”

Prioritize Communication

Nothing hurts a virtual client relationship like slow communication. Send responses as quickly as you can, even if it’s just to say that you will follow up with more information. 

Whenever possible, cater to your clients’ preferences for communication. For instance, you may prefer email or texting for work conversations. However,  if you notice that one of your clients always initiates communications by calling you, you can make them more comfortable by having more conversations by phone.

 

Be Reliable

Building on the importance of communications, reliability is another vital aspect of virtual client relationships.

“The easiest way to lose credibility and paint yourself as unreliable is to overpromise and underdeliver,” says Handwrytten, a company that helps build client relationships by creating hand-written notes.

“Be genuine and transparent with your client. If there’s a problem, let them know. If there’s not a good solution, let them know.”

In other words, make sure you always follow through on commitments. When you are able to earn your clients’ trust, they are more likely to give your repeat business.

Give Thoughtful Client Gifts

Custom gifts are a tried-and-true aspect of building client relationships; they show appreciation, build connection, and foster brand awareness. Logo-branded gifts are even more important when your clients are virtual. You may never meet in person, but these gifts provide a tangible reminder of your company and the trusting relationship you’ve built.

Here are a few of our top choices for virtual client gifts, which Merchology can customize with your company logo:

• Custom Gift Boxes - With our MerchBoxes, you can give an exciting gift box of logo-branded products that fit your client’s interests.

• Logo-Embroidered Blankets - Your work-from-home clients will especially love a cozy blanket to wrap up in while they work (or even while they virtually meet with you!)
  
  

• Gemline White Happy Daylight Desk Lamp - Fight winter depression with this compact daylight lamp. It’s perfect for WFH or can light up a dreary office cubicle.
  
  
• Zusa 3 Day Black Pontoon Tumbler 32 oz. - Whether your client is a coffee addict or just likes to stay hydrated, the capacity of this travel tumbler will meet that need.

Contact Us

With these tips in mind, you’re ready to make a plan for building client relationships! Contact us at Merchology for more ideas for custom gifts that will show your virtual clients how much you appreciate them.