How To Keep Track of Client's Information [4 Effective Ways]

For many consultants and agency owners, finding the right client information to deliver the expected results at the right time is a constant hassle. Besides the time considerations, struggling through operational inefficiency is a known source of constant work-related stress, especially when you have deadlines. And that's one of the reasons driving people into the action of learning how to keep track of clients.

From past interactions to purchase history, agreed deliverables, meeting schedules, sales data, and client invoices, you need to manage too many moving parts. Unfortunately, if your current operating processes are inefficient enough, these things could stand in your way as real growth barriers.

Maybe you haven't thought about it well enough. But the thing is that inefficient client management processes do have real costs.

In a study of over 2,000 workers, Formstack reported that many small businesses lose up to $1.3 million annually to inefficient workflows. Look around, and it wouldn't be hard to find other work-related statistics around the true cost of operational inefficiency.

Whether or not you know how it happens, such inefficiencies could negatively impact your customer relationships and retention rate.

The hardest part is that you may not be able to notice until it begins to take a significant cumulative toll on your monthly revenue. But then you don't have to continue that way. Perhaps, you might have acknowledged that doing the same thing over and over again, the same way, will not get you or your clients the best desirable results.

Challenges Faced by Consultants, Client Managers & Agency Owners

Before diving into the solutions, let's take a moment to understand the common challenges faced by client managers, account managers, and project managers.

1. Information Overload: With numerous clients and projects, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the influx of data, making it difficult to organize and retrieve essential client information promptly.

2. Communication Gaps: Miscommunication can occur between team members, and loyal customers, leading to discrepancies in client records and a fragmented understanding of client needs and preferences.

3. Time Constraints: As client managers, your time is valuable, and dedicating too much time to administrative tasks can impede your ability to focus on delivering top-notch service.

4. Data Security: In an era of data breaches, ensuring the security and confidentiality of client information is paramount, adding another layer of complexity to the management process.

Why Keep Track Of Client Information In One Place

For some people, the benefits of keeping client data in one place might be unclear to them. However, the core advantages are reserved for business owners who embrace proactive thinking when using client portal software and other CRM systems. Below are reasons why you should use client relationship management tools to keep track of relevant operation and customer data in one place instead of having them dispersed across different platforms or channels.

• Build better client relationships
• Improve the effectiveness of client communication
• Maintain easy access to client information
• Waste less time searching for client data
• Reduce work-related stress
• Avoid missing out on project deadlines

How To Keep Track of Clients Information In Your Business

Among other things, how you keep track of clients' information will affect a lot of other variables in your business.

For example, your client information management systems will impact the effectiveness of client communication, customer experience, sales pipeline, sales team performance, and monthly recurring revenue. While looking for the best ways to get more clients, how you work the existing ones will also affect the client retention rate.

Let's look at how you can keep track of everything related to client relationship management, whether you want to use traditional CRM tools or modern client portal software like Clientjoy.

Leverage Technology For Client Tracking

If you want to improve your process of keeping track of client and customer information, in a way that will make a positive impact on customer satisfaction, then client tracking system can help with that.

Some popular client tracking tools include customer relationship management (CRM) software, spreadsheets, and cloud-based systems.

When your business grows and you have multiple clients to keep track of, spreadsheet limitations could interfere with the management of client projects. Here are some key disadvantages and why spreadsheets might not be the best option to keep track of clients.

• Version Management Is Hard - Whenever a spreadsheet document is updated, the version of the original document changes. Unfortunately, not every relevant stakeholder involved in executing client projects will get notified of such version changes. 
• Lack of Project Tracking Features - Whether you are working on marketing campaigns or web design projects, a spreadsheet doesn't have the features to manage things like due dates, status, assigned roles, etc. In most cases, you have to invent a manual process of dealing with such things. The other thing is that you cannot group projects in a way that allows for easy access between team members working together.
• The Mobile User Interface Is Not Ideal For Everything - Originally, the spreadsheet wasn't built for mobile user access. Hence, the usability of the mobile interface is another disadvantage of using spreadsheets over other CRM tools.
• It Doesn't Have Search Functionality For Tracking Clients' Information - Retrieving information is one of the most common tasks involved in keeping track of clients. For example, there are times when you may need quick access to the sales pipeline, lead generation, sales data, or other client details to make a decision. In such situations, scrolling and browsing through thousands of rows of information might not be the best use of your time.
• The spreadsheet Wasn't Built For Seam Communication And Collaboration - Spreadsheets don't send timely alerts in a collaborative work environment. And we all know the difference that timely notifications could make regarding lead generation and conversion rates.

Contrary to what is achievable with a client tracking spreadsheet or email, most dedicated CRM tools are purpose-built for client relationship management.

CRM software provides a comprehensive solution for managing client relationships, tracking interactions, and analyzing data.

Streamline The Process of Managing Client Files

From the initial contact point of contact to the sales pipeline, invoicing, financial information, communication history, and everything else, there are many client files to manage when running an agency. And when your clientele grows to some extent, things could get messy. That's why it's important to streamline managing client files. Here are a few pointers on how to go about it.

• Create and label separate filing systems for each client
• Group your agency projects separately for easy access
• Assign client management roles to your team members accordingly
• Set reminders and alert systems for prompt actions when needed
• Review your processes to identify and eliminate bottlenecks from time to time

Keep Track of Client Invoices In One Place

One of the major tasks involved in keeping track of clients is invoicing. In this context, sending the wrong invoice to the wrong client could make a bad impression on your company. On the other hand, sending an incomplete invoice might create mismatched expectations among the parties involved.

Especially when it comes to getting information from old invoices, having your invoices stored in different email threads or PDF files isn't an ideal operating process.

Interestingly, this is where an agency CRM software like Clientjoy could help you improve your operating processes. This makes creating, signing, sending, and storing client invoices easy in one centralized dashboard.

The other interesting benefit of using this type of CRM software is how it helps agency and small business owners everywhere to make the accounting process and financial forecasting easy, especially when you want to analyze your customer lifetime value across different client segments.

Use Email Management Software To Keep Track of Clients

Across different industries, many small business' owners and their marketers still use email as a dominant medium for client communication. However, keeping track of different clients with different projects through email has its challenges too.

For example, browsing through layers of email threads to find specific client communication history could be a time sucker, especially when the inflow of emails from different clients becomes overwhelming. That's where email management software comes into play.

Perhaps, you don't have to continue relying on other communication options like phone calls. Whether you are onboarding new clients or trying to serve current clients, here are some specific ways you can keep track of everything while minimizing the probability of communication errors or mismatched expectations.

• Setup private email inboxes for different team members or departments
• Route all incoming client emails to specified team members or client account managers
• Use organized notifications to stay on top of priorities that may need your immediate attention
• Use labeling and filters to streamline the search for client information in your email system
• Integrate your email management software with other CRO tools

Depending on what you choose, a marketing agency CRM tool or software like Clientjoy could also help you automate cold email outreach while keeping track of full-scale client information at the same time.

Make Use of The Best Scheduling Tools

Managing schedules and expectations in agency-client relationships is another complex area. And you don't want to rely on emails or stand-alone online tools for that.

If you make that mistake, you might be missing important appointments. For example, when new leads are coming in but meeting appointments are not scheduled properly, you might also miss out on important revenue sources.

Instead of relying on your fallible memory, the best scheduling tools will help you organize scheduled client meetings before committing to or accepting new ones. Without having an organized view of everything in this regard, you might be falling into the trap of accepting new client appointments that will jam already scheduled ones. And that's one way to disappoint new clients or existing ones.

On the other hand, a better view of your schedules will give clients an idea of the best days or hours to schedule meetings with you or any of your team members.

From generating sales leads to closing deals, manually tracking clients' information will limit your company's potential for growth. One key benefit is the number of hours you'll save in your workflow.

Consequently, the time you save could be invested in other revenue-generating activities.

Benefits of Implementing A CRM System To Track Client Information  

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Managing The Sales Pipeline Effectively

Sales pipeline helps you keep overall track of the deals across different stages. This helps you focus your marketing efforts on converting deals faster and making sure that your time is well spent on the leads that will convert.

Collect custom data of leads - Create custom fields that can be then later used to search, sort, filter - made parts of your reports and more importantly, take bulk actions or use as merge fields.

Centralized Communication and Information Sharing: The Client portal provides a centralized platform where agencies and clients can communicate, share documents, and exchange information. This centralization eliminates the need for scattered emails and phone calls, making it easier to manage conversations, track updates, and ensure all stakeholders are on the same page. Clients can conveniently access project-related details, updates, and files in one place.

Enhanced Collaboration and Transparency: The client portal allows real-time interaction between agencies and clients. It enables clients to monitor project progress, review drafts, and provide feedback directly within the portal. This transparency builds trust and reduces misunderstandings, as both parties can refer to a shared record of discussions and decisions.

Efficient File Management and Document Sharing: With a client portal, agencies can securely share project files, contracts, invoices, and other important documents. Such a streamlined process means you don't have to experience the hassle of emailing large attachments or using external file-sharing platforms. Clients can access necessary files anytime while ensuring important information is readily available.

Time and Resource Savings: Automating routine tasks through client portal software can save valuable time and resources for agencies. Clients can independently schedule appointments, request services, and access information, reducing the need for manual coordination. This efficiency allows agency staff to focus on higher-value tasks, leading to increased productivity.

Personalized Client Experience: Client portal software often allows agencies to customize the user experience for each client.

Clients can have personalized dashboards, access to tailored content, and notifications related to their specific projects. This level of customization demonstrates a commitment to meeting individual client needs and preferences.

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Conclusion

The most important point to observe now is that reliance on manual operating processes isn't the best way to move your company toward its current business goals. On the other hand, using email and spreadsheets to keep track of clients also has certain limitations. Perhaps, you and your team members are still struggling with the operational inefficiencies of such limitations.

Regardless of your industry, most clients expect a more personalized service tailored to their needs, current challenges, or business model. If you don't have the best client management tools to deliver such a service, you might be left behind by your competitors.

Moreover, how you track, communicate, and manage clients will always impact your client retention rate and monthly revenue.