Top 5 Communication Tools to Increase Transparency With Clients
"A lack of transparency leads to mistrust and a profound sense of insecurity." - Dalai Lama
Businesses don't want to earn mistrust and insecurity. The use of the right communication tools is the best way to thwart all inadequacies stemming from ambiguity.
This blog will give you strong insights into the best communication tools for business making it easy to connect, collaborate, and communicate.
Can you expect your business to thrive when there’s a lack of transparency with clients? If you think it can then you are probably the most optimistic person in the world, or should I use the term “ignorant” at the cost of earning your wrath?
Well, I am not writing this piece to offend you. My sole intention behind composing this blog post is to inform and educate readers about the importance of increasing transparency between clients and businesses.
In this time when businesses of all types and sizes are facing extremely tough competition, you simply cannot afford to keep your clients out of the loop.
Even if you don’t intend to misuse your clients’ trust, they might likely feel skeptical of your business transactions and terminate their contract with your business.
Sounds worrisome, right? As a business owner, you have every right to feel so because your business’s loss is your competitor’s gain.
You have worked hard to take your business this far, don’t let your perseverance and tireless efforts go in vain just because your clients feel they are not on the same page with you.
The good news is that advanced technology has proved to be no short of a blessing for businesses today. There are plenty of communication tools for business; tools for automation, project management, time management, design/development, and so much more.
Similarly, these days, there are a number of tools that businesses use to maintain and increase transparency with clients. That said, not all tools are created equal. You cannot randomly pick just about any communication tool and hope it will do the work for you.
To simplify your search, I have compiled a list of 5 communication tools for businesses to build transparency with clients, which further fosters mutual understanding between both. Let’s take a look at these tools.
Top 5 Communication Tools for Business
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM (customer relationship management) software is designed for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and enterprises.
This is one of the major communication tools or software that helps you build better relationships with both team members as well as clients.
Versatile and easy to use, HubSpot CRM offers innovative features like email tracking, document sharing, meeting scheduling, live chat, and engagement notifications that help to increase transparency with clients as they are updated on all crucial information related to their projects.
Whether you’re a team of 10, 100, or 1000, the HubSpot CRM offers you access to an unlimited number of users, data, and no time limits or expiration dates.
Price - Free Basic version. You can unlock premium CRM features that are available with paid versions. Click here for complete pricing information.
2. ProofHub
ProofHub is a top-rated team collaboration and project management software that offers project managers, project teams, clients, and external stakeholders a single, common platform to share all the latest information and updates related to projects and tasks.
The software offers a list of powerful features (File Management, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, Group Chat, Online Discussions, Online Proofing, Timesheets, Task Assignment, Reporting, etc.) to project teams and clients, which can be used by both to share feedback and suggestions. Your clients simply have to log in to ProofHub and see updates across all projects.
Pricing: The Ultimate Control plan, packed with both basic and advanced features, is priced at $89 per month, billed annually.
3. InVision
InVision is the digital product design platform that serves as a unified platform for developing prototypes and designs for ongoing projects. As one of the versatile communication tools for businesses, Invision enables you to collaborate with clients in real-time using an endless digital whiteboard with a blank canvas or pre-built templates.
InVision allows you to quickly create mockups for your designs and share these with clients.
You can discuss your designs with clients by leaving comments within the app that are connected to the point on screen you’re discussing.
Pricing: Free plan for individuals and small teams.
The Pro plan is priced at $7.95/user/month for cross-collaborative teams.
4. ZenDesk
ZenDesk is a live chat software that enables your teams to be easily accessible to your business clients in real time. ZenDesk live chat widget connects you with business clients through live chat on your website. The majority of clients prefer getting in touch with project managers and teams via chat.
Your team can share all the necessary information via the chat widget to share updates, answer their questions, and receive suggestions.
ZenDesk AI triggers make your clients feel valued as your teams can respond in time to their queries. Definitely, a handy client communication tool for modern-day project managers and teams.
Pricing: The Sell Team plan is priced at $19/user/month, billed annually. The Sell Professional plan is priced at $49/user/month, billed annually. The Sell Enterprise plan is priced at $99/user/month, billed annually.
5. Timely
Timely is an automatic time-tracking system that automates company time tracking. This reliable and efficient communication tool eliminates the need to use manual timers and tedious, time-consuming data entry. Useful features, like real-time dashboards, reports, and notifications display critical activity, so teams can spend more time on work that matters.
This accurate time tracking system also presents a clear picture to clients; they can see how much time is being spent on their projects and all related tasks.
Clients can also find out which tasks are taking too much time and which ones are being completed on time.
Pricing: The Starter plan is priced at $8/user/month, billed annually. The Premium plan is priced at $14/user/month, billed annually. The Unlimited plan is priced at $20/user/month, billed annually.
The Final Word
When there’s improved business-client transparency, it benefits both parties in many ways. Businesses, especially, have to win the trust and confidence of clients to get more projects.
Today, clients have become increasingly suspicious when dealing with businesses as they doubt that their resources might be misused.
Hence, it’s important for you to utilize reliable and easy-to-use communication tools that can bring you and your clients on the same page regarding the project progress and share feedback.
Remember, more transparency with clients significantly contributes to building your business’s credibility, and it has more chances of getting more business in future.
Isn’t that what you always wanted? Go ahead and use one of the top five communication tools for business and take your business-client transparency to the next level.
About Nandini Sharma
Nandini Sharma is assistant marketing manager at ProofHub - an all-in-one project management and team collaboration software. A specialist in the field of marketing, Nandini is well-versed with technical know-how, and always stays on top of the latest trends in the digital world. When she is not busy penning down out-of-the-box marketing ideas, she can be found channeling her creativity into art and craft activities.
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