Working With Clients While Working From Home
In the past year many companies and organizations have faced the challenge of working remotely. At MIBS, Inc. we have been “working from home” for over eleven years. So, we were fortunate to already have an effective system in place for working with clients remotely to design the perfect website to meet their needs. Below is a list of a few of the things we have learned over the years about designing websites remotely.
Communication:
Of course, when it comes to working with clients on a web development project, communication is key. There are two tools that we use to stay in-touch with clients throughout the process:
1. Phone/Screen-Share Calls:
Not only do we make use of screen-share software, but we also provide clients with our team’s phone numbers so that we are reachable. We begin each project by meeting with our clients using Zoom and discussing their wants and needs for their new website. We will also setup as many meetings as are needed throughout the process to keep clients up-to-date on the project.
One of the biggest factors here is deciding what screen-share software to use. At MIBS, Inc. we have successfully used both Join.me and Zoom to do demo calls, project updates, and training with clients. These days we find that the majority of our clients are most comfortable with Zoom, so that is what we use currently. For more help check out this article on the 7 Best Desktop Sharing Software.
2. Email:
Our team works hard to stay reachable over email. We make it a point to try to respond to emails as quickly as possible. And when it comes to offering clients support, we make sure that they can easily reach someone on our team that they and have worked with before.
Sharing Information:
It is also important to have an outlet for clients to share information like photos and content. Typically, we create a sharable folder where clients can store and share information.
Getting Feedback:
One of the hardest things that companies have experienced with working remotely is the inability to have regular meetings to provide feedback. At MIBS, Inc. we have a great solution to this, and it is one of the things that makes our process so unique. We actually provide clients the link to their site while it is in development. This allows them to track progress and provide feedback in real-time.
There are two reasons this works so well. The first goes back to communication. We make it easy for clients to reach us, so when they request changes we work quickly and efficiently to make those changes. The second is that it means clients aren’t limited by a number. They can request as many changes as they want, and actually see the product, so they can see what they like and what they don’t
Training:
We have also developed an extremely effective method for remotely training clients to update their website. This method is multi-pronged and includes:
- One-on-one training via screen-share call with the lead developer in the project. During this call the project lead walks clients through everything they need to know about updating their website. Clients are also encouraged to ask as many questions as they want.
- A step-by-step tutorial document that outlines how to maintain, change, and update nearly every aspect of the website. This is customized for each client, and is a great tool for them to reference in the future.
- A link to a demo site that allows users to make changes to the demo site, before making changes to the live site.
Our carefully curated and personalized process has proven successful time and time again when doing business remotely. Don’t believe us? Our five-star Google rating and client testimonials speak for themselves. You can also check out our work to see the results of this process.
Contact MIBS, Inc. today to work with our amazing team on your next website development project.
