Overview 

This standard is about working effectively with clients or customers and building productive, enduring relationships with them to increase the chance of them continuing to work with you or use your services.


Performance Criteria

You must be able to:

  1. manage client or customer expectations of relationships and the work
  2. balance your input to client or customer relationships with your organisation’s resources, requirements and practices
  3. behave ethically in your dealings with clients or customers
  4. develop relationships that demonstrate trust, commitment and cooperation
  5. build rapport and communicate in a professional manner
  6. keep records of expectations, communication and agreed actions
  7. make plans and deliver work in the timescale and manner agreed
  8. communicate changes in agreements to clients or customers
  9. identify individuals who are key decision makers and influencers within client or customer organisations,
  10. promote to clients or customers ways they can gain added value from their relationship with your organisation
  11. establish professional relationships with key decision makers 
  12. monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and profitability of relationships 
  13. use feedback from clients or customers to maintain the quality and consistency of service
  14. deal with client or customer complaints or problems.
  15. feedback to others inside and outside the organisation on aspects of relationships relevant to them
  16. identify opportunities to develop new or existing client or customer relationships that will benefit your organisation


Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand:

  1. client or customer needs and priorities and the markets they are in and how they generate income
  2. what can affect client or customer decision making and lead times including their organisational structure and internal processes
  3. your organizational procedures for developing client or customer relationships
  4. the impact of over-promising or acting for the short term on relationships
  5. the contribution that client or customer relationships make to the achievement of your organisation’s strategic aims and creative integrity
  6. the role of other areas of your organisation in managing client or customer relationships
  7. the benefits and disadvantages of different ways of communicating with people
  8. how to assess the risks and benefits of client or customer relationships
  9. how to identify opportunities to add value and save clients or customers money
  10. how to communicate adaptations to agreements and changes
  11. problem solving
  12. how to establish resources required to manage a client or customer relationship
  13. ways to identify and take opportunities when maintaining client or customer relationships
  14. when to communicate with other people or organisations to meet client or customer expectations