Starting your own at-home business comes with different benefits and challenges. One of the biggest challenges is managing your interactions with clients. Unlike traditional businesses, you can’t rely on your storefront or your office to have interactions with your clients. You need to find other ways to effectively communicate and ensure you are continuing to build strong relationships. If you’re looking for some of the best ways to interact with your clients while running your at-home business, here are some of your options.
Video Conferencing
One of the best ways to interact with your clients is through video conferencing. Video conferencing was already a popular tool for businesses, but it has become even more popular after the recent COVID-19 outbreak. When businesses were forced to close down their offices, they needed to find other ways for their employees to communicate with one another.
Video conferencing allows you to chat with other people through the internet. It is a great way to have a conversation with other people while getting to see their faces. Most video conferencing software also allows you to share files and screens, making it an essential tool for meetings and presentations. If you want to approximate face-to-face meetings as best you can without actually being together, video conferencing software is probably the way to go.
Here are the best video conferencing tools to help get you started.
Emailing
Email is still a great way to interact with anyone, especially clients. Sometimes you need to share information but don’t need to go through the entire process of setting up a video conference. Sending off an email takes a lot less time and the other party can read it whenever they are able to.
Whenever you are interacting with a client via email, remember to keep it professional. Re-read your emails to check for spelling and grammatical errors. Also, check your inbox regularly and respond to emails in a timely fashion. Emails are also a great way to have a written record of conversations between you and the client so keep any important ones filed away rather than deleting them.
These tips on writing effective business emails can provide you with some extra help if you need it.
Over the Phone
Talking on the phone still remains a viable option, regardless of where your business is based. Phone calls are a good option when you need to have a detailed conversation — more than you can put into an email — but don’t necessarily need to see the other person’s face.
Using the phone is an advantage if you do not have a professional workspace within your home. In this case, you probably don’t want to video chat and display your messy kitchen or bedroom. However, using the phone at home can present some other issues. For example, if you have kids at home, it may be too noisy to talk on the phone. You’ll want to find a quiet space within your home before getting on the phone with any client.
In-Person
Finally, just because you don’t have an office or storefront doesn’t mean you can’t meet clients in person. There are still ways to get together with your clients that don’t involve inviting them into your home. For example, you can travel to the client’s location. If your client is another business, they may have their own office space that you can visit.
You could also meet up at a neutral location. Inviting your clients out for a business dinner is a great way to get together in a relaxing, but professional, atmosphere. Of course, this option only works if your clients are in the same geographic region as you. You likely won’t want to travel for hours just to go out for dinner with a client. If your clients are far away, try using one of the other options listed above before you settle on going out for dinner.
Choose the Right Type of Communication for You
Even though you don’t have an office space or a storefront, you can still interact with your clients in a way that is professional and personable. It’s just a matter of choosing the right form of communication for the situation and mastering that technique. For example, improving your ability to write a persuasive email or your ability to entertain guests at dinner goes a long way towards impressing your clients.
As you get to know your clients, you’ll learn which form of communication they prefer. You can then work on improving your interactions via this method and developing strong ties with your clients. There are plenty of communication options available to you, despite being an at-home business — you just need to make the most of them.
