The Importance of Client Reporting

Client reporting is necessary for building and gaining the trust of your clients. This type of reporting helps you get the most from financial data. Client reporting is how you share your marketing results with your clients. Client reporting is a great way to show your clients how hard you’re working for them and the outcome of your hard work. Operating a business without client reporting is not an option. You need client reporting to grow your business and to turn one-time clients into recurring ones. Still not convinced? Here are six more reasons client reporting is essential for your business.

1. Regular Client Interaction

Regular client interaction helps build a healthy client-agency relationship. When you regularly speak with your clients, you are not leaving them in the dark regarding your progress on projects. Clients will not have to wonder how much longer it will be before you start or complete an assignment, and when you can start a new task. Speaking regularly with your client needs to be on a specified basis, such as daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Set your platform to send reports to the client on a specific basis to reassure them they have chosen a business they can trust. Regular communication helps to avoid small issues that can become massive problems.

2. Client Education

Your clients don’t know everything there is to know about your line of work, which is why they hired you to get the job done. Inform your clients of specific differences in your line of work and why they may or may not need a particular type of information. Don’t leave your client out of the loop. Remember, they work hard to maintain a successful business, and they are looking to you for help with perfecting their efforts. On each report, find a different aspect to educate your clients about by giving them a detailed description of the information they’re viewing. A lot of the time, clients want to know just as much as you do, but don’t understand the technical jargon and the process of how everything works. Taking the time to explain things to your client in simple terms goes a long way.

3. Remaining Accountable

You and your client both must remain accountable during the time you work together. You need to know the needs and expectations of your clients, and you need to create a plan to help you achieve the goal. Client reporting helps you exceed your client’s expectations by showcasing essential business information through reports that reveal your success through graphs and numbers. This type of reporting also helps with teamwork.

4. Focusing on Transparency

Transparency is honesty within a business. Once you lose a client’s trust, that trust will never return, and the competition will get their business. Losing a client’s trust means making less money and potentially losing more clients. Word-of-mouth is the fastest type of advertising. An unhappy client can tell other businesses about their experience with your company, and other people will avoid doing business with you. Always show transparency with your work and remain proactive with your performance. Remember, you and your client are working as a team, and you’re working towards the same goal. If you want to use new software or a different technique that was not specified in the initial contract, discuss these matters with the client. Your client needs to know where they stand when they’re working with you.

5. Giving Credit

Client reporting works well with good news and bad news. When things are not going as planned, your client needs to know, so don’t withhold information. This type of reporting also works when you’re doing an excellent job, and things are going great, which means you get a pat on the back. When your client is having an awesome month, and the numbers are excellent, you’re doing a great job! When things aren’t going well for your client, don’t worry, things happen. Analyze the information you have and figure out where you can make improvements. Don’t take negative information to hard. Every company experiences ups and downs. Figure out when and where you can improve the numbers and share your plan with your client. Clients appreciate when you take matters into your own hands and take care of certain situations.

6. It’s All About the Results

The bottom line is client reporting is about results. Whether the results are positive or negative, client reporting relies on this information. Your work from day one to the last day is the final result for your client. Reporting numbers work better than verbally communicating how well you’re doing or how well a particular technique or method is working for a company. Clients need to know how you can help them achieve their goals, which is your bottom line. Companies know what they need to do, but they don’t necessarily understand the steps it takes to reach the end goal. You come in and save the day by explaining where you fit into their business success equation. When you measure your progress, you also measure the growth of the client.

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Set Realistic Goals

Help your client set realistic goals. Like most professionals, you want the best for your clients, but setting unrealistic goals is not the way to go. Setting goals that are impossible to meet will load your clients with different setbacks that delay their business efforts. Let your client know what you can do upfront and meet deadlines unless there is an emergency or some other urgent reason you have to miss a deadline. Setting realistic goals helps your client create a timeline for their other business efforts, including marketing, automation, and other factors they may need to address.

Client reporting doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Instead, look at this reporting from a positive aspect. When you’re reporting statistics to the client, always do your best. Some reports will be better than others, but still, stand behind your work. Client reporting saves the client time and money on their marketing efforts, so always put your best foot forward.