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Account Managers play a key role in connecting the business with the clients. On an operational scale they are the pipelines for the services to flow on a structured and regulated basis. Account Managers are capable of adding value to the services while making an impact to the clients and the way they do business. Communication plays a key role in account management. Though the results may be the same, communicating the value that have been added to the client’s business in a precise, quantitative and timely manner makes a huge difference. The following are three of the communication strategies that constantly helped me during my tenure as an Account Manager.

Focus on Growth
Communicate what matters to the client the most. Key aspects of communication must focus on the targets provided by the client and by ways the value created by the service offered to the client helped them to achieve their actual goals and targets. Make sure that you speak numbers and results. Focus on growth and targets on realistic terms. Account management is also about trust.

Value time 
You may lose your resources which you can regain, however time once lost is lost forever. Value the time that the client has invested in your business. Communicate timelines on a regular basis and keep the client informed about every stage of business. For meetings, calls and reports be punctual and make sure that the time set apart is given due importance. Never walk in to a meeting late or unprepared. If you have an excuse then communicate it at the moment of incident itself. Be transparent, let the client understand that you are someone who are reliable even during an adversity. However make sure that the excuses are reversed with quality of effort and results that you deliver.

Listen More, Talk Less 
Account management is also about understanding. Create a communication framework that allows your client to speak more and explain their requirements better and with clarity. Different clients have different targets no matter how similar they seem like. Assumptions weaken the quality of services your business can offer. The purpose of communication is to bring two businesses together and to understand each other even better and to create new opportunities.

Communication is one factor that separates a good Account Manager from a great Account Manager. More than offering services, they strengthen the bond between the business and the client by ensuring that both parties grow and thrive. The role translates more to that of a leader who can bring the best of both parties and take them towards new horizons.

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In the modern day business environment, the entire gamut of client relations boils down to the point of client experience as a vital element of business excellence. By delivering the finest experience, the business can leverage smoother transition of operations with minimum chances of conflict. When it comes to client experience, gamification is one of the most sought after process that can leverage automation into a positive experience.

To start with, Gamification is the process where the user is encouraged to interact and engage with aspects of the brand or product through elements salient to game-play. Each interaction will typically earn points, placings and rewards similar to a game play environment leading to increased levels of interaction and engagement with the brand. The elements of gamification takes away the monotony from repetitive tasks managed through automation and enhance levels of interactivity while developing opportunities for the users explore the brand in detail.

Nudge is a concept in behavioural science, political theory and economics which argues that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance can influence the motives, incentives and decision making of groups and individuals, effectively than direct instruction, legislation, or enforcement. Nudging can provide a directional stimulation without directly engaging the user. In other terms nudging reinforces the judgement of the user to act according to the best option available. When gamification is designed to nudge the customer into a positive experience, the results can be unlimited. However the entire process revolves around how the gamification is designed to create the user experience.

If the customer is not efficiently nudged or nudged too much, it could result as a negative experience or as a hindrance to the overall user experience. If nudged too much, the customer is intimidated to seek alternatives since the experience makes the message aggressive. The optimum level must be ascertained per user by assessing their individual behavioural aspects by using artificial intelligence. However this could get too intrusive and can let the users feel their privacy is curtailed. When it comes to nudging, balance is the key for success.

The key aspects of successful gamified nudging strategies are that they must be gentle, empowering, directional, purpose oriented and invitational. The strategy must compliment the end goal of the user and guide the user to follow the process with least resistance.

The key idea is not to redirect the user but to stimulate the drive in user behaviour towards seeking the best option available. Since gamification can subliminally drive messages across powered by effective nudging, it is the right tool to engineer a result oriented user experience.

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User experience is the totality of experiences a customer undergoes while interacting with the business or an entity through possible channels of communication or interactive platforms. This could be a website, online communication tool or an application. The thumb rule is that users must not be forced to follow a path but be allowed to explore and experience the channel while they are directed subliminally towards the target. So it is a must to set clear and achievable user experience goals.