Meeting with Customers: How to Run a Successful Meeting

Have you noticed that some meetings with customers seem to be successful while others fail?  In 2021, about 67% of meetings are considered a complete failure because they didn’t communicate the sole purpose of conducting them. If you want to run a successful meeting with customers, use these tips as your guide. You’ll be amazed at how smoothly the process goes if you follow the steps listed below. Plus, this will show you how to run the kinds of meetings that impress your customers so much that they become repeat buyers, leading to much greater profits for your business in the long run.

How do you prepare before meeting customers?

As a small business owner, make sure you are well prepared before you go into a customer meeting. The most important thing is to know what you’re talking about.

The following tips will help you prepare well to have a successful meeting with your customers. 

1. Research each Attendee

Before any meeting with customers, it’s important to know who you’re talking to. It’s all too easy to assume that every person in your target audience is similar enough that you can treat them all the same way.

But if you take a few minutes to research each person before your meeting, you’ll be able to customize your approach based on their unique needs and interests.

Here are some questions to ask when preparing for a meeting with customers:

• What’s the thing they dislike the most? What do they want most?
• Who are their favorite brands? What are they infuriated by?
• What products or services do they use in their daily lives? How can you make these products or services even better?

2. Set a Main Goal and Objectives for the Meeting

To have a productive meeting with a customer, it is important to have an obvious purpose and objectives. This will help you focus your discussion and ensure that all pertinent topics are discussed. 

When setting a goal for a meeting, make sure it reflects the purpose of the meeting. Is it to present a new project, get feedback on a current project, or just check in with the customer? 

Once you’ve identified the purpose, you can plan a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goal.

For example, the goal of a meeting to discuss a new project might be to agree on the project and the objectives for the next phase. 

A smart aim includes being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. specific, quantifiable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive. 

If the example aim is to review the project proposal with the customer, then some objectives could be to discuss the customer’s budget and timeline constraints and to identify the next steps for the project. 

A clear meeting aim and the primary goal will ensure that the customer and you are on the same page and that the meeting is productive.

3. Plan the Agenda to Support Objectives

Before meeting with a customer, make sure you know what to say. Remember, your goal is to come out of the meeting with achievement and you need to make a plan early to do so. 

When you prepare in advance, you will avoid getting sidetracked from the discussion. You should include topics that apply to the goal of the meeting, as well as topics that will assist you in supporting that goal. 

Besides being clear about what you expect from the meeting and what you will provide, it is also important to set clear goals and expectations.

4. Plan Your Follow-Up Activities

When meeting with a customer, make sure you know what you are going to do afterward.

Not only will this guarantee that the meeting was successful, but it will help you make sure you followed up on any important points. 

The following tips will help you prepare for a customer meeting: 

1. A thank you note and a reminder for a follow-up meeting.
2. Make a list of any actions that need to be taken following the meeting.
3. Plan a timeline for completing these actions 
4. Be sure to get all the materials for the next meeting 
5. Be prepared to answer questions that the customer may ask

5. Testing and preparing all your equipment in advance 

A quick and easy way to get ready for a meeting with a customer is to have all the equipment tested.

Using this method, you can make sure everything works properly and that there are no surprises.

6. Check in with yourself before the meeting

Before any meeting, and as a last chance to find your center, check in with yourself first. If you’re feeling centered, in control, and focused, you can walk into the meeting room confidently.

Deciding what puts you in a calm, contemplative, or productive state is just as important as figuring out what does not. As the adage goes, do more of what makes you green and less of what does not.

Tips for an excellent meeting with customers?

A customer is an investment, and they deserve to be treated as such. They have put their trust in you, and they expect some return on their investment.

Although there are certain ways of working with a new customer, Providing them with exceptional customer service, including an excellent meeting, is a way for you to show them you value their time. Here are a few tips for an excellent meeting with your customers;

1. Be confident and project your voice

If you want to be taken seriously, you need to speak up. We’re not talking about speaking loudly; you don’t have to shout just to be heard above the crowd in an office environment.

Just speak clearly, confidently, and at a comfortable volume that allows people to hear you easily and understand what you’re saying every time.

It’s important that your voice conveys your enthusiasm and passion for the product or service that you are trying to sell. Here are a few tips to help you do just that: 

1. Make eye contact and smile. This will help put your customer at ease and make them feel you’re interested in what they have to say. 
2. Speak clearly and slowly. This will help ensure that your customer understands what you’re saying and that they don’t feel rushed. 
3. Be aware of your body language.

2. Focus on listening as well as speaking

When speaking with customers, you might feel you know what they’re thinking before they say it, but do you really?

Most business owners are experts in their field and very comfortable in their positions; however, when in meetings with customers and colleagues, the only way to connect with one another effectively is to listen intently.

This doesn’t mean you can’t have an opinion or an idea on the topic at hand, but it means your priority is to listen to what the other person has to say.

Not only will this make the customer feel heard, but it will also give you a better understanding of their needs and wants. You can use this information to tailor your pitch and better meet their needs.

3. Use visual aids effectively

Did you know visual aids are an integral part of any successful meeting with customers? It’s true! Presentations that include graphs, pictures, and other visual aids can be more effective than presentations that don’t use them.

Fortunately, using visual aids effectively is simple as long as you keep the tips in mind before, during, and after your next meeting with customers.

Here are three tips for using visual aids in your next customer meeting. Include the following information when creating your presentation: 

• What is the goal of the presentation? 
• What is your key message? 
• What key data do you want the viewer to take away from this presentation? Choose an appropriate chart, graph, or picture that visually communicates this information clearly and concisely.

4. Engage all participants

If you’re running a business, it’s likely that you will be hosting meetings with customers at some point.

While meetings are an essential part of doing business, they can also often be unproductive and frustrating if you and your customer aren’t engaged and actively listening to each other in a meeting.

Here are a few tips to ensure that your customer is engaged while the conservation is going on.

1. Make eye contact with the person you’re speaking to.
2. Don’t speak for too long, give them an opportunity to share their thoughts.
3. Don’t be afraid of silence; it’s not a bad thing if they have nothing to say

The purpose of this is to help your customer realize their opinions matter and should be considered. It also helps you remember that not everyone has all of their information, and it’s important to acknowledge this in a friendly way.

5. Ask open-ended questions

Your buyers can provide you with insights into their needs that can’t be found from analytics or sales data alone. Asking them will give you a better understanding of what they want or need.

We should ask open-ended questions, such as; How can we improve our products and services? And How do you feel about our new marketing campaign?

It’s not enough to have your customers respond correctly, lead them in their responses.

6. Show customer appreciation

During your meeting with your customers, make sure that you show them your appreciation and gratitude in advance and afterward.

For example, you can thank them in advance for taking time out of their day to speak with you. A tangible gift can also be given to them in return for their valuable time during the meeting.

They may enjoy receiving a token like a cookie or a brownie from your business.

As long as it is appropriate for the setting and doesn’t distract from discussions at hand, it’s worth giving something back that says thank you.

This will show them how much you value their input and how much you appreciate what they have to say.

Giving feedback will make them feel good about themselves and will inspire them to seek more of your product or service.

When the meeting has ended, once again, thank them for taking the time to speak with you and shake their hand.

When you speak with them again, don’t forget to mention that the last time you talked, it was such a fun experience.

How to follow up on customer meetings

For many customers, the meeting will be their first time interacting with you, so showing them you care about their feedback and are actively following up will make them feel more confident in your business.

Receiving feedback from clients, even if negative, can help you learn what we’re doing well and what we need to improve on especially after meeting with them. 

As a business, take the time to follow up with customers to gain an understanding of their needs. Here are the best ways to go about it;

1. Ask for the Best Way To Follow Up

In following up with a customer after having a meeting with them, Asking for the Best Way To Follow Up with them will give the best opportunity to know the best way to stay in touch with them.

If they do not provide this information, then it is acceptable to email a report that summarizes what was discussed during the meeting.

2. Get in Touch on the Same Day

It is important to get in touch with a customer the same day after a meeting with them because it shows that you care about what happened.

Mentioning the positives of the meeting and saying thank you for their time will make your customers feel valued.

In addition, follow up within a week of the meeting to reiterate how much you appreciated their input and how much you valued the meeting.

3. Offer Value in Every Follow-Up

In order to help grow your business and customer loyalty, always send a handwritten thank-you card to them after meetings. (This also helps make sure they remember who you are)

In addition, you could include a link to a favorite blog, article, or resource of theirs so that they can take advantage of the valuable information they just learned from your discussion. 

4. Don’t Push–The customer Owes You Nothing

The customer owes you nothing if you do a follow-up on them. You should let the customer know if they don’t have time to go into much more detail or discuss anything further, you will be happy to follow up later. If they are not in a place where you can talk, it is important to call and leave a message, even if it’s just to thank them for their time.

Conclusion

Since you’ve already read the important tips necessary to have a successful meeting with your customer, the next step is to actually implement them in order to be successful when meeting with your customer.