Can You Be Too Transparent in Your Customer Community?

Introduction

Collaboration with your customers can be a game-changer in project management, but it’s not without its challenges. In this Klient Tips article, we’ll dive into the top pros and cons of involving your customers in your projects, helping you make smart decisions that keep both your team and your customers happy.

The Pros of Collaborating with Customers

1. Enhanced Communication and Understanding

When customers are part of the project team, communication becomes clearer and more effective. This close collaboration ensures that everyone’s on the same page, and the final product truly reflects what the customer needs.

2. Faster Problem Solving

With your customers directly involved, decisions can be made quicker. Their immediate feedback and approvals mean you can address issues as they come up, keeping the project on track and avoiding unnecessary delays.

3. Stronger Customer Relationships

Working closely with customers builds trust. This partnership approach turns a simple transaction into a long-term relationship, making customers more likely to return for future projects or recommend you to others.

 How We Do It at Klient:

We use Klient Customer Community to collaborate closely with our customers, especially during the onboarding process. The access to this platform, built on Salesforce Experience Cloud, is provided to all our new customers so they can track their onboarding projects and monitor the details of their implementation through our project Gantt chart. Customers can flag risks or issues if they feel the need, and they can chat live through Chatter, ensuring that everyone stays aligned and informed every step of the way. And because learning a new tool requires hands-on involvement, we assign homework as tasks to our customers and collaborate on its completion.

The Cons of Collaborating with Customers

1. More Work for the Team

Keeping the project always up-to-date for customer visibility adds extra work for your team. It’s important to maintain the balance between keeping customers informed and not overwhelming your team with constant updates.

2. Full Visibility Can Create Anxiety

While transparency is key, it can sometimes cause customers to worry. Seeing project hours increase or noticing little visible progress can lead to unnecessary concerns, even if everything is going according to plan.

3. Too Much Interaction

Customer involvement is great, but it can also lead to a flood of questions and interactions. Without proper management, this can become a distraction, slowing down your team and impacting the project timeline.

 How We Do It at Klient:

There is a certain discipline required, but with the right processes and automation in place, it becomes manageable. Our team updates their tasks and projects daily, including timesheets, as everything is seamlessly integrated within a Klient Task. To ensure accountability, every Monday, all projects are reviewed during the Professional Services team’s weekly meeting, and any necessary schedule adjustments are made at that time.

By having a standing weekly meeting scheduled with your customer during the implementation phase, you can alleviate any anxiety. Your customer will appreciate knowing that they have a regular opportunity to discuss progress and concerns with you.

As for managing excessive interaction, when you log all the hours spent on meetings, emails, and answering questions, and the customer sees how quickly the budget is being consumed, it often encourages a change in their approach, leading to more focused and efficient communication.

Conclusion

Collaborating with your customers can be incredibly beneficial, but it’s essential to be aware of the potential pitfalls. By understanding the pros and cons, you can create a collaborative environment that leads to successful projects and satisfied customers. At Klient, our customer community is the cornerstone of fostering strong, productive partnerships that benefit everyone involved.

Written by Yanick Abraham.
You can reach me on LinkedIn, I’m usually very responsive.