{"id":13333,"date":"2020-04-21T12:36:53","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T10:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage-fp.webenv.pl\/blog\/?p=13333"},"modified":"2021-08-25T09:36:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T07:36:21","slug":"client-engagement-manager-the-perfect-link-between-a-company-and-a-client","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/client-engagement-manager-the-perfect-link-between-a-company-and-a-client\/","title":{"rendered":"Client Engagement Manager &#8211; the perfect link between a company and a client"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>That\u2019s why some of the best players in the industry hire specialists who are, in a broad sense, responsible exclusively for customer service.&nbsp;We call them&nbsp;<strong>Client Engagement Managers (CEMs)<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>CEM: duties and skillsets&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What does a CEM exactly do? There is plenty of responsibilities assigned to this role and the main ones include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>identifying clients\u2019&nbsp;needs,&nbsp;<\/li><li>helping clients&nbsp;shape their&nbsp;vision,&nbsp;<\/li><li>adjusting the offer to the clients\u2019&nbsp;expectations,&nbsp;<\/li><li>increasing clients\u2019&nbsp;satisfaction,&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>extending planning periods (cooperation time) with clients,&nbsp;<\/li><li>building mutually beneficial relationships based on trust and reliability,&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>gaining testimonials,&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>ensuring that a proper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/governance-structure-why-is-it-so-important-in-project-management\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"8\">governance structure<\/a> is in place that supports cooperation.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A CEM is the one who should be equipped with&nbsp;a strong set of both hard and soft skills. He\/ she should&nbsp;also&nbsp;possess profound knowledge of the IT industry.&nbsp;<strong>Every CEM<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;need<\/strong><strong>s<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;to be skilled in coordinating the work and dealing with complex<\/strong><strong>, sometimes&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>sensitive<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;issues.&nbsp;<\/strong>This&nbsp;requires someone who is proactive, assertive, stress-resistant, confident, flexible, creative and open-minded. Plus, it\u2019s super important to have great social skills and plenty of empathy, to be able to put oneself in the clients\u2019&nbsp;shoes and look at&nbsp;anticipated&nbsp;problems from their perspective.&nbsp;Basing on our experience the CEM is critical to both sides of the cooperation.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Top 5\u00a0advantages\u00a0of having a CEM in your IT partner company\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>First point of contact&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br><br>Dedicated Customer Engagement Managers&nbsp;<em>often<\/em>&nbsp;act as the first point of communication&nbsp;\u2013 they are <strong>the link between the client and people within the IT company<\/strong> \u2013 a highly approachable contact&nbsp;that&nbsp;is always there whenever needed.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br><br>In our organisation, CEM <strong>represents the client\u2019s needs<\/strong>.&nbsp;As CEM is assigned to running the communication, other members of the team&nbsp;working on&nbsp;the project can focus on their responsibilities.&nbsp;CEMs&nbsp;are the ones who <strong>build&nbsp;a true network of relationships<\/strong> between the company and clients.&nbsp; <br><br><\/li><li> <strong>Knowledge of the IT services offered<\/strong>&nbsp; <br><br>A CEM has to know the company\u2019s offer inside-out in order to <strong>provide clients with the best possible advice<\/strong> and&nbsp;present&nbsp;the most relevant solutions \u2013 tailored to the customer\u2019s needs.&nbsp;A well experienced CEM<strong> is able to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/software-services\/\">recommend the business solutions<\/a> <\/strong>that have already been used and proven to work in different projects.&nbsp; <br><br>What is more, our <strong>engagement managers don\u2019t make empty promises<\/strong>, as they know our business domain, our abilities,&nbsp;potential&nbsp;and employees.&nbsp;They make&nbsp;sure that the team working on the project includes all the needed roles and&nbsp;people with particular&nbsp;competencies.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br> <\/li><li> <strong>Understanding your business goals<\/strong> <br><br>At Future Processing, engagement managers&nbsp;<strong>(with massive support from technical teams)<\/strong>&nbsp;analyse the plans and risks of the projects. As they&nbsp;know the clients\u2019 businesses almost as well as they know their own company,&nbsp;CEMs&nbsp;are&nbsp;able to share the client\u2019s needs with the development team&nbsp;ensuring that<strong> the contracted services are delivered in accordance with client\u2019s&nbsp;expectations<\/strong>, on both the business and technical levels.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>Additionally, CEMs are the&nbsp;right people&nbsp;to&nbsp;discuss&nbsp;problems the business faces&nbsp;with,&nbsp;as it is possible that, thanks to&nbsp;their&nbsp;experience and knowledge, the right ideas and solutions will appear.&nbsp;CEMs&nbsp;are&nbsp;the ones&nbsp;that talk with clients about potential new&nbsp;projects, future plans, political and economic issues that influence business, new services, successes, CSR, common initiatives and others.&nbsp;This allows us <strong>to prepare long-term strategies for our clients<\/strong>, and become their trusted IT partner for many years to come.&nbsp;<br><br><\/li><li><strong>Higher level of transparency&nbsp;<\/strong><br><br>When there is a specific person assigned to run communications with the client \u2013 the entire <strong>workflow is more transparent and better structured<\/strong>. We put a strong emphasis on transparency in the discussions conducted by our CEMs during regular meetings with the Team Leaders.&nbsp;They are a perfect occasion to prove&nbsp;that the project is run in a transparent way. During the meeting, a CEM&nbsp;informs a client&nbsp;about e.g.&nbsp;any&nbsp;pending changes, performance against KPIs, progress reports for the current deliverable,&nbsp;any&nbsp;risks and issues and&nbsp;a way&nbsp;to address them.&nbsp;<br><br>CEM acting as a link between the contract\u2019s sides ensures that both parties cooperate smoothly, know the actual stage of the project as well as the steps ahead, all&nbsp;in accordance with the agreements.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br><\/li><li><strong>Quick reactions&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br><br>We are always <strong>open to feedbac<\/strong>k &#8211; happy to strengthen the elements that are good and respond appropriately to matters that need improvement.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>Having a CEM ensures <strong>a greater level of agility and swiftness <\/strong>when it comes to reacting to problems&nbsp;or&nbsp;modifications, so clients are not kept waiting for too long.&nbsp;Our CEMs&nbsp;are the ones who listen to clients\u2019&nbsp;and, together with the whole team, work out solutions that would be satisfying for both sides of a contract. They&nbsp;significantly facilitate communication processes&nbsp;as they are always easy to reach and ready for action.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Pros of having a CEM from our perspective&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to realise that our CEMs are not only useful from our clients\u2019 standpoints but that they are essential for us as well.&nbsp;Why is that?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are not just interested in finishing our tasks and then quickly moving on.&nbsp;<strong>We want to continue cooperating with our clients for many years and on many different projects<\/strong><strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>The&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>main goal of our CEMs<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;is&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>to focus on developing and maintaining valuable business relations by building trust and reliability.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it wasn\u2019t always like this. At the beginning, sales and customer support responsibilities were combined within just one role. But the more experienced we grew, the clearer it became that we needed to separate&nbsp;them. This change let&nbsp;the sales team focus on winning new clients and the Engagement Managers on maintaining existing ones. Thanks to this decision, these two processes are now much more effective and easier to handle.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From our perspective, Client Engagement Managers are indispensable in terms of:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>providing support during more difficult negotiation processes,&nbsp;<\/li><li>identifying and managing risks,&nbsp;<\/li><li>focused care of current customers,&nbsp;<\/li><li>facilitating communication with clients, as well as between Future&nbsp;Processing\u2019s&nbsp;Team Leaders and management.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Wrapping up&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The scale of the challenges to be faced in sales and customer service is enormous, especially with larger and more ambitious IT companies. When these challenges are concentrated within&nbsp;only&nbsp;one unit,&nbsp;there is always an&nbsp;area&nbsp;that&nbsp;profits at the expense of the other.&nbsp;<strong>Establishing two separate teams is in the best interest of both the organisation and their clients, helping every cooperation run more smoothly and more efficiently.&nbsp;<\/strong>Plus, the process of gaining new clients can&nbsp;then&nbsp;be approached with the same degree of intensity as&nbsp;building and maintaining relations with current ones, since we are organised along two lines.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our sales team can work on expanding our client list while our CEMs can focus on providing these clients with the most valuable and satisfying products.\u00a0Knowing the client&#8217;s business, we can tailor our solutions to what they need, contributing to faster development of their products.\u00a0It\u2019s a classic win-win situation, without chaos or poorly allocated resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"b-cta-banner m-gradient-light\">\n            <a\n            href=\"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/software-services\/software-development\/%20\"\n            class=\"b-cta-banner__image-container\"\n            data-elementclick=\"article-banner\"\n            data-elementname=\"Deliver high quality software solutions  \"\n        >\n            <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development.png 450w, https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development-400x400.png 400w, https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development-24x24.png 24w, https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development-48x48.png 48w, https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Software-Development-96x96.png 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>        <\/a>\n    \n        <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/software-services\/software-development\/%20\"\n        class=\"b-cta-banner__url b-cta-banner__text-container\"\n        data-elementclick=\"article-banner\"\n        data-elementname=\"Deliver high quality software solutions  \"\n    >\n                    <div class=\"b-cta-banner__text\">\n                                                    <h3 class=\"f-headline-extra-big b-cta-banner__header\">\n                        Deliver high quality software solutions                      <\/h3>\n                \n                                    <div class=\"f-paragraph\">\n                        <p>Work with us and\u202fturn your idea into a <strong>great software solution<\/strong> for your company\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                \n                                    <div class=\"o-button o-button--primary o-button--s o-button--icon-right o-button--arrow\">\n                        <span>Explore our potential <\/span>\n                        <svg class='o-icon o-icon--16 o-icon--arrow '>\n            <use xlink:href='#icon-16_arrow'><\/use>\n          <\/svg>                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is no secret that the fundamental aspect of a successful business partnership is the relation between the company and its clients. When excellent, constantly strengthened and well taken care of, it can result in long lasting cooperation that is highly satisfying for both sides.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":12230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1944],"tags":[],"coauthors":[538],"class_list":["post-13333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-project-management"],"acf":{"reading-time":"7 min","show-toc-sublists":false,"image":null,"logo":null,"button1":{"button1_type":"","button":null},"button2":{"button2_type":"","button":null},"person":{"person_photo":null,"person_name":"","person_position":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13333"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.future-processing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}