How to Build a Better Relationship with Your Clients

How to Build a Better Relationship with Your Clients How much thought do you put into rewarding your clients, not just for working with you, but for the work they do in their industry and communities?   It is all well and good sending branded tat that most clients don’t really want or need and hardly get used. Money well spent. To me that is the safe option and to me safe is risky. What are you doing to go above and beyond your competitors? What are you doing to stand out? What are you doing to innovate and turn heads? Heres how you can achieve this Think bigger, think honours and awards, think about the leaders of the future and how you can help them on their path. Think of something that will be well respected and widely accepted. This is something The Digital Recruitment Company are working on. We started the year attempting to attract more women to the sector we operate in by interviewing women with some great experiences and stories to share and advice young females on how to climb to the top. And then we hosted a ‘Women in Digital’ networking event to meet more of our clients and candidates in person and also give them a chance to meet some of the women who took part in our campaign. Now we want to take it a step further and reward the future leaders in the digital sector. How does this bring us closer to our clients you may ask? Events could be  the answer Hosting such events will attract a star line up of judges from across the sector, many would be happy to take part and feel privileged to be a part of something that rewards the future of their beloved sector. It will give you the chance to speak with heads of departments and discuss the criteria for each individual category and really understand what makes an exceptional candidate for future reference and reward them at the same time. Industry events will give you the chance to converse on a regular basis with your clients, building those relationships and become increasingly active in the sector you serve in, attracting more talent and at the same time showing off the fantastic company culture within these companies. To go above and beyond your competition you should want to show the industry you are more than just a basic recruitment agency and do more to inspire more. We are becoming increasingly well known for putting on fantastic events in the digital sector, our ‘Women in Digital’ networking event being the biggest so far attracting clients from Edinburgh and Amsterdam to come together and represent the ever growing population of women in the sector. These awards will no doubt be bigger and better and put men and women together on a level playing field. Surely that’s better than a branded mouse mat? There are many positives that can be taken from putting on events for your clients and candidates. Firstly it will give you a chance to showcase your own company culture, as well provide a fresh atmosphere and space for your   industry to network with other likeminded professionals and for both agency and client side professionals to build new connections and fashion new partnerships. Remember to follow up The main thing to remember is to maintain the relationship after the event, this is essential, a follow up email or phone call after the event to find out what people liked and did not like, to make the necessary changes for the next event and what you can do to attract more people to it next time. Events should be put on to please those attending, not just to make some noise for one night and never engage with those who attended again. Especially if you have placed a candidate with them already. Also, if you have placed with a client who attended the event, it is always good to check in regularly to see how people are getting on with the team, and who knows, more business could come from that phone call. Author:  I am Alfred Ajani the Coventry University graduate from South London also known as ‘The CV Man’.  I am Marketing and PR Projects Manager at The Asoria Group, responsible for driving the Marketing and PR function of The Asoria Group. My role is to bring innovative solutions to traditional challenges within the recruitment industry.