September 8, 2011

E-mail is a great tool because it is a cheap and fast way to deliver information to clients. E-mail is also a problem because almost everyone in business has it and is using it to do pretty much the same thing. So, as a provider of professional services, how do you increase the effectiveness and value of e-mail communications to your clients?

In our research of mid-sized insurance agencies, most professionals were “serial e-mailers.” Whatever crossed their desks that they found interesting was immediately forwarded to their e-mail list. Clients were bombarded three, four, five times a week with attached news articles, reports and videos in an effort by the agency to project value.

We identified five issues with this communications strategy:

1. One of the crowd

You are one of hundreds that compete for your clients’ attention each day. Making the assumption that clients read everything you send can do more harm than good in a business relationship.

2. Return on investment

There is no benefit accrued from sending e-mails more frequently to clients. In fact, the opposite is more likely true.

3. Message confusion

E-mails with attachments make it difficult for clients to connect the dots between communications. The connections that may be crystal clear to you may be lost on the client.

4. Commoditization

Your unique point of view can be lost when you consistently use the thoughts of others to convey information. When this happens, you risk becoming viewed as a commodity, which impacts your value.

5. Losing connection

Digital communications can put you at risk of losing direct contact with your clients. What you view as a client engagement may not be counted that way by the client.

Here are four ways to improve e-mail communications:

1. Let information ferment until you are able to identify a trend to share with your clients

Clients hire professional services companies for their insight. They expect that you are reading the reports for them rather than sharing the reports with them.

2. Synthesize and put into context information for your clients

At best, a client can digest a paragraph or two. So cite, but don't send an entire study hoping that the client will glean from it what is important.

3. Post all content that is fit to e-mail on your website

Then, encourage your clients to go there to find additional information that supports and makes clear your point of view on key issues. As a provider of professional services, you want to enhance what differentiates you from the competition, and many times it comes down to how you assess and present information.

4. Provide clients with the opportunity to comment on the content you post and share opinions with other clients about it

Make them part of your knowledge building and refining process.

What helps add value and differentiate you in the minds of your clients is the unique point of view that you have developed about the services you provide. Develop a communications strategy toward this end.

OPEN Cardmember Dennis M. Powell is founder and president of Massey Powell, a strategic communications and digital strategy company headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He can be reached at dpowell@masseypowell.com.

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