7 Ways To Protect Yourself From Client Issues

Due to unrealistic expectations, ineffective communication, or sometimes an obvious personality conflict, client issues have become a common part of an e-learning business. The key to cultivating a positive professional relationship with clients is to understand how to handle their concerns cleverly, without hurting your business or damaging your reputation.

But what do you do if these client issues threaten to get out of hand? Keep reading to discover 7 strategies that you can adopt so as to protect your business from client issues.

 1.      Keep A Clear Official Contract

When commencing work with a new customer or adjusting arrangements, it’s important that you have a flawless formal contract prepared and signed by you and your client. The contract should define all the terms of your arrangement, the project to be carried out, and in what duration. This document should always be within your reach so that you can refer back to it in case a problem does arise. You should also keep your emails, text messages, and all other communications with your client. There are plenty of companies that do offer contractor management as a service, so make sure to check some of them out.

2.      Develop Reasonable Client Expectations

Managing client expectations is one of the best ways to avoid confusion and arguments with your customers in the future. Ensure the client knows the deadline, the kind of results to expect, and frequency of communication during the course of the working week.

Managing client expectations involves being tactical regarding your deliverable dates, even in cases where work is ready way before the set deadline. It’s always advisable to work with reasonable targets. Don’t bow to client’s pressure to rush your work, especially if you haven’t surpassed the agreed deadline or you think the quality of the project will be jeopardized.

3.      Use Deliverable Sign-off Sheets

A sign-off sheet is an important part of any successful e-learning project. It serves as a sign of project completion.  But if you’ve divided the project into multiple deliverables, you can provide your client with a sign-off sheet for every major deliverable. Carefully store these sign-off sheets for easy retrieval in the future. These signed consents can really come in handy in case issues arise at a later date.

4.      Put in Place Solid, Multiple Backup Systems

If prominent search engines like Google and Yahoo aren’t fully hack-proof, then it is obvious that no one is completely exempted from being hacked. Putting in place robust, multiple backup systems is undoubtedly the most essential security step you can take to keep your business safe and sound. Your backups will ensure you don’t lose all your sensitive data in case of an attack from a well-resourced hacker. Set up a system that develops a local backup to your system and cloud back to multiple backup solutions frequently. 

5.      Outsource to a Professional Company

If you’re handling a project that involves translation of e-learning courses to different languages, it is advisable to hire a professional company to ensure that everything is properly translated to avoid getting sued. Always work with an experienced and reputable company. To be sure you’re partnering with the right translation company, check reviews and testimonials from previous customers.

6.      Establish Effective Communication Skills

 You’ll be surprised by the number of serious customer issues you can solve through just paying attention to what the client is saying. Although you may have different ideas worth sharing with the client, set them aside for a moment so that you can listen attentively. Repeating what your client has told you shows that you’ve understood.

Your lines of communication should always be open. You should inform clients of crucial changes or hindrances that may influence their decision making. For instance, you’ll need additional resources to complete the product within the set deadline. Effective communication skills enable you to offer important feedback tactfully.

7.      Ensure All Media are Copyright Free

Thoroughly review all media for copyrights before incorporating them on your client’s project. Sometimes clients may give you pictures, videos, or infographic to include in their e-learning courses. Even if they tell you that the media is copyright free, proceed with your own research to confirm the media isn’t downloaded from the Internet.

Client issues are an inevitable part of doing business. The key is to acquaint yourself with the kinds of customers you’re working with and the best way to treat each one in a manner that is acceptable to them individually. By acting professionally and addressing issues fast and efficiently, you can establish meaningful client relationships that foster business growth instead of impeding it.

Author: George Foster, Day Translations