Keeping Current Clients Informed

Maintaining and Growing the Existing Business Base

A merger can affect clients on several levels, including price of the product or service, the quality of the product or service, the level of satisfaction the clients receive from the company and the options the customer has when conducting business with the company.

In the case of the Project Columbus collaboration, the merger benefits to clients are many and easy to understand. Yet, clients have many of the same questions and concerns that mployees do when two companies become one. Managing change – whether perceived or real – through effective communications from the outset will be important to retaining and growing existing business.

Key to this process will be educating the sales and customer-service forces. They need to be provided appropriate communications tools – containing the appropriate sales and service messages – to give clients not only peace of mind, but also an understanding of how the new business environment was created to enhance their own business prospects.

Communications is a two-way street. Sometimes, the best strategy is to listen and learn.

Action Items