Agencies and freelancers : all your customers deserve better

If there is one thing that annoys customers when it comes to dealing with service providers like marketing or creative agencies or freelancers, it is often how painful it can be to actually collaborate with them 

As professional service providers, we have gotten away for so long with offering our customers a lousy experience, relying mostly on email exchanges and using multiple disparate tools to sell  and collaborate 

Just think about how many times you had to send the same document twice to your client…

And while that may not have been a problem , think about it : you’re now competing not only with other Service providers but also with a growing number of AI-Powered SaaS products that can basically do what you do (whether its copywriting, or design, creative, marketing …) only cheaper AND with a full digital self-service experience 

So long story short, as an agency or a service provider in 2023, you HAVE to step up your customer experience game to stay competitive

And one of the most accessible and affordable ways to do it is to switch from your traditional delivery approach to an interactive and integrated Customer Portal, to boost customer experience from sales to project delivery 

And when we talk about customer experience, it’s everything: from how you impress your client with a customized and branded proposal, where you consolidate all the admin incl. invoices, contracts, how you share documents to how do you update them about how the project is going, offer support, etc.

So if you’re thinking about upping your game, this article is for you

Why Customer Portals ?

Put yourself in your client shoes for a second and imagine you're looking to hire an agency

You end up sending countless emails going back and forth, just to try to agree on the scope and pricing. They may send you proposals and presentations through different channels like email, text, or even WhatsApp (yup we've seen it :)).

By the time you choose a provider (if you don't give up before that), you have a headache

But now the real challenge begins. You have to exchange a ton of information for the onboarding, collaborate and track the project's progress. The documentation is in one place, invoices are in another, tasks in yet another place. ... Now imagine involving other people in your team – Utter and pure chaos isn't it ?

But let's view this as an oppportunity : as your customers now have more and more options to choose from, providing an exceptional customer experience (or just an "okay" one let's face it) immediately sets your service business apart !

And this is where a customer portal can be a game-changer as it is certainly the most accessible and effective way to achieve a great customer experience without breaking the bank

Not only does it :

1) help in creating a unique selling proposition and boosts your branding by positionning you as an innovation leader

2) but it also helps you effectively streamline your business by automating many customer-facing functions (such as support, sales, project management) and improve margin by reducing costs of service delivery !

So What is included in a Customer Portal ?

A Customer Portal is an integrated and interactive online interface that allows services businesses to interact and engage with their customers.

Think of it as a centralized hub where customers can access various self-service features, information, and resources related to the products or services they have purchased.

It provides features such as :

• Project & account management
• Document access (invoices, proposals, contracts...)
• Order/Request tracking
• Customer support
• Knowledge base access
• Communication channels

To access a customer portal, customers typically need to create an account and log in using their credentials. Once logged in, they can navigate through different sections of the portal to perform various tasks.

For example, they can update their contact information, find past invoices, contracts, review proposals, documents, track project progress, integrate data with their CRM, etc...

It enhances service delivery by eliminating too much back-and-forth as a customer portal grants your clients instant and easy access to your services.

But one key benefit that is often overlooked is the streamlining of your own internal operations :

Even without thinking about the customer, from your perspective as a service business owner, a customer portal serves as a tool to organize and automate recurring tasks.

Agencies mostly implement client portals to eliminate redundancies and improve margin by empowering customers to independently manage their accounts, find answers to common questions, and seek assistance only when needed !

Tip : Many customer portal tools forget to include critical documentations such as invoices or contracts. Ideally, with the right customer interface tool, your clients can access all relevant project information, track progress, view invoices, and interact with your team in one place to boost productivity.

Implementing the right Customer Portal Solution for your business

If you're in the market to build or buy a customer portal, your choice needs to be guided by your specific business needs, goals, and the nature of your customer base. 

However it's crucial to understand the key criteria that can guide your decision

1. Customization : Make It Yours. 

The ideal portal should be customizable to reflect your brand, intuitive to navigate, and secure to ensure the safety of customer data. 

2.  Integrations

In the world of modern business, integration is king. Your ideal customer portal should actually be more than that and function as an all-in-one tool, seamlessly integrating with your existing systems and databases. 

Take, for instance, a company that uses a CRM system to manage customer interactions and a separate e-commerce platform to handle online sales. When these two systems are integrated with the customer portal, the magic happens. 

Customer portals who work by integrating other features such as CRM, as well as administrative functions that are key to the customer flow (invoices, proposals, contacts…) are preferred, to reap the full benefit of centralization and productization.

Through this integration, the portal can retrieve and display personalized information to each customer based on their account details and purchase history. This ensures that customers have access to relevant and up-to-date information specific to their interactions with the business.

3. Scalability

Consider a portal solution that can grow with your business, offering features and scale that can adapt to your changing needs. Just because you are a service business, your business isn't static ! so why should your customer portal be? Look for a portal solution that can scale 

4. Ease of use : Simple, Yet Powerful

Should go without saying but we have seen enough impossible-to-use customer portals to include this here. A customer portal should be user-friendly for both customers and your internal teams. It should offer a straightforward interface that doesn't require extensive training. Intuitive is king. 

5. Easy to build

Last but certainly not least. 

Imagine a consultancy firm specializing in business advisory services. They want to provide their clients with a customer portal where clients can access financial reports, schedule meetings, and track the progress of their financial plans. In such a dynamic industry, time is of the essence. This firm needs a customer portal that can be set up and personalized for each client without long development cycles or extensive technical resources, and that can leverage existing client information without having to re-enter it.

In conclusion, when shopping for or building a customer portal, remember that it's more than just a tool. It's an extension of your brand, a central hub for customer interactions, and a catalyst for revenue and margin growth. 

If you're still wondering about customer portals, or have thought about implementing one for a while, but are still scared of the how / how much…

You can sign up for our upcoming webinar to learn all about it

At Hublo, we have given a lot of thought to these very questions to be able to craft the ultimate customer portal with the help of our clients. And we'd love to share our insights.