In-house client management is a difficult task, and it often leaves you with a heavy workload. This is why clients should invest in using a client portal. Learn more about the benefits of using a client portal for WordPress sites and how they can help your own business in this article!
Why We Need a Client Portal?
You do not need a client portal if your number of clients is too less, but still finding your old clients from your email inbox is not an easy task. A client portal is an efficient way to manage your clients. By using a client portal, you can keep track of all your clients in one place. This makes it easy to see which clients need attention and which ones are doing well.
A client portal also allows you to easily communicate with your clients. You can send messages to all of your clients at once, or you can send individual messages. This makes it easy to keep your clients up-to-date on what is going on (for example, an increase in pricing structure).
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A client portal also allows you to store files securely. This is important because you will often be handling sensitive information. By storing files in a secure place, you can be sure that they will not be accessed by anyone who should not have access to them. Overall, a client portal is an efficient way to manage your clients. By using a client portal, you can keep track of all your clients in one place, communicate with them easily, and store files securely.
Downsides of a Client Portal?
Although client portals have many advantages, there are also some downsides to using them. One downside of a client portal is that it can take time for clients to get used to using the portal. They may be resistant to change at first and prefer to communicate with you traditionally. It can take time for them to get used to using the portal and accessing all of their information in one place.
Another downside of a client portal is that it can be difficult to keep track of all of the different passwords and login information for each client. If you have a large number of clients, it can be challenging to keep track of who has access to what information. Additionally, if you forget your password or login information, it can be difficult to recover it.
Mandatory Features of a Client Portal for Businesses Working Over the Internet
As we have pointed out in the above paragraph, some clients may “prefer to communicate with you traditionally” UNLESS you can prove that your portal is easy to track and manage the order. Hence, you need support for certain services. If communication with your client is more over Gmail or Google Docs then you need a CRM which supports Gmail sync. If you use PayPal more then you need PayPal integration. By any means, your client should feel the communication via Client Portal is worth the effort.
Client Portal Options for WordPress Sites
The first option is WordPress Plugins.
Jetpack CRM is by Automattic (the company behind WordPress), the basic version is free, the CRM is easy to use and basic, and you can easily install it on a sub-domain for the clients. As it is for WordPress, it is not difficult to develop custom plugins or do branding without the need to pay Automattic. The UI is nice and there are paid options for adding modules or reselling the product. Client Portal is a highly customizable WordPress plugin which you can test. Clinked is another plugin which you can test. As because the cost is a prohibitive factor and we have many other options, we have limited the number of plugins to three.
The second option is Open Source CRM. CiviCRM can be integrated with WordPress. SuiteCRM and Odoo are other powerful and popular CRM options.
The third option is using a third-party, cloud-based CRM. Agile CRM, SugarCRM, and HubSpot CRM are among some of the popular cloud-based CRMs.
The above screenshot is of JetPack CRM.
Conclusion
A client portal can improve communication with your clients. By giving them a space to log in and view project progress, you can ensure that they’re always up-to-date on what’s going on. This can reduce the need for phone calls and emails back-and-forth, and make it easier to keep everyone on the same page. Unless you need a powerful solution, Jetpack CRM is probably a good choice for the small sellers on the web.
