Why should you use a digital whiteboard with your customers?

Working with clients presents various challenges

Working with clients can be difficult. Communicating with your customers can sometimes be a bit of a slog. We have all played telephone or email ping pong! There is nothing more frustrating than both parties being constantly unavailable, especially when you are looking for simple information.

Sometimes, something minor can lead to major hold ups. Not to mention that when you finally get hold of someone it can often turn out that you have unknowingly asked the wrong person for the information you need. And so you have to start all over again. People are not always great at listening to voice mails or getting back to you in a timely manner!

There are, of course, various messaging and collaboration apps you and your clients can, and no doubt, do use, but this can lead to you having to constantly check all the different platforms that your various clients use all the time. And no doubt they are all using different ones for different things. This means you need to be on the right one for the right client at the right time to keep up. Sometimes you end up with so many notifications it can be overwhelming!

Sharing files and documents

There are various constraints to collaborating on documents or files, and ensuring that all the right people have access to the correct version of everything – and that they know how and where to find them. If you are emailing different versions back and forth you can end up with the wrong version of a document or having to wait for someone to forward it to another party to check it, and so on. It can be very frustrating!

Clients and customers can not always great respond at the exact moment you need them to, even if it is in their best interests. And then, you would probably need to explain why you got behind schedule. It is likely that they are also managing different platforms with various customers, and experiencing the same problems that you are with managing time and information.

A centralized hub for everything relating to a client and a project can help everyone here.

A digital whiteboard for seamless and engaging interactions with your customers

What would your clients say if you could tell them that everything relating to their project was contained in one workspace? That teamwork and collaboration are made easier by using a collaborative tool that covers all bases? That there is no need for multiple platforms, different apps to worry about, or the right person having to be available to access a document?

Using an online whiteboard with your clients as your main collaboration tool not only helps both you and your customers, it also differentiates you from all those other companies they are dealing with. Many are still using old-fashioned and time-consuming means of collaborating and communicating. It’s a win-win.

Digital whiteboards can be accessed anytime, anywhere

An online whiteboard can help your work with your clients and move forward more quickly and efficiently. There only needs to be one access point with a virtual whiteboard. You are not constrained by time or space because it is virtual. So, unlike a traditional whiteboard it is not limited in scope and is available 24 hours a day from anywhere you have an internet connection.

Virtual whiteboards can be accessed by any of the members of a team, regardless of where they are in the world. They could be working remotely or practicing hybrid work. They might be in a different country or time zone and working asynchronously, but they will still be able to collaborate and participate in a timely manner.

This makes for much quicker and more effective interactions with your customers. They can access information they need and respond to requests for information more quickly. This also means that they can give instantaneous feedback, potentially saving you time and helping to drive a project forward more quickly.

Digital whiteboards are an engaging tool that can be used in many ways

Maybe you are running a workshop or brainstorming session with your clients. Then, an online whiteboard can offer a far more interactive and interesting experience than a straightforward video call. A virtual whiteboard can make the process more engaging and greater engagement leads to better outcomes. This in turn helps with creativity and can help people come up with more innovative ideas. A greater degree of participation and willingness to share can make meetings and workshops more productive and take less time. This is why it is always a good idea to maximize engagement wherever possible.

Visualizing concepts and ideas with a digital whiteboard

With an online whiteboard you have more possibilities when it comes to visual representations of ideas, processes, concepts, and designs. This is a great way to help your customers to better understand complex topics and make more informed decisions.

They can more easily imagine whether a proposed solution is likely to be a viable option, for example. Likewise, some people find it easier to express themselves visually, and will therefore feel more comfortable and catered to if they can use visual management to get a point across. This can also help to overcome language barriers and any technical jargon you or they might use. Diagrams, images, and videos can be useful when explaining concepts. If you can make it easier for your clients to understand and then provide feedback, this will definitely have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and on your further collaboration.

Visual whiteboards allow you to add videos, audio files or pictures files into them, as well as documents and virtual sticky notes. They are not just useful for writing on, like a traditional whiteboard. And if you are using your whiteboard in a meeting or workshop for a brainstorming session, for example, you can of course save everything you have done (and any previous versions you wish to keep for reference). The saved version can then be shared with the team and even amended whenever necessary.

The best ways to educate your customers about digital whiteboards

Explain to your customers why it would help them to use a digital whiteboard: you can create tutorials or share case studies, for example. Explain the benefits using an online whiteboard will bring to their ability to collaborate and how the project should move ahead more quickly. Share your success stories, whether this is in relation to your internal teams or other clients who gave you their permission. You could even consider offering an incentive to encourage your customers to use an online whiteboard.

Offer them a dedicated training: although virtual whiteboards are intuitive and need very little training, many people can be apprehensive when asked to use new digital tools. They can often think they will be time-consuming, unnecessary, and overly complicated. Giving your customers training and support to use an online whiteboard should help to overcome any initial resistance or confusion and is likely to increase the chances of adoption.

By taking a strategic approach to boosting the adoption of a digital whiteboard as your main collaboration tool with your customers, you can differentiate your company as well as increasing engagement and efficiency.

1. Utilizing the functionalities of an online whiteboard

One of the best ways in which you can encourage your customers to use an online whiteboard is to use them in your meetings or workshops with them. And not just to scribble down the odd note! Once your customers have seen how useful they can be in a real setting they are more likely to be interested in seeing a demo or discussing how you can all use one for a specific project or on a more general basis.

2. Icebreakers are a great way to start a meeting or workshop

You could start your meetings with your client with an icebreaker, for example. Icebreakers are a useful way to make sure all the participants feel comfortable participating, especially if not everyone already knows everyone else at the outset. It helps to encourage participation from the beginning and to set a positive tone for the rest of the meeting. If you start with a fun and engaging activity, you are more likely to create a productive and enjoyable atmosphere, which will help with creativity and openness.

With an online whiteboard you do not even need to worry about creating something: you can use a readymade template for whatever you want to do. Icebreakers are just one of many templates available for you to use.

3. Ready-to-use templates to increase productivity, innovation, and creativity

Brainstorming is a tried and tested way to unlock creativity in your team members. There are various templates that can be used, depending on the circumstances and what you are hoping to achieve. Brainstorming is one of the phases in the design thinking process and can be useful for helping people come up with more creative and innovative ideas.

It is vital that your internal teams work well with your client’s team if you are to achieve a successful outcome together. Using templates for certain processes you are undertaking with your client can facilitate better outcomes. There are many readymade temples available for use with your clients that can help you all get to the end result sooner. Whether it’s mind mapping, project management, or client meetings, for example, there will be a template available that is suited to your needs.

Using ready-to-use templates with your online whiteboard can save time as it eliminates the need to create a custom layout each time you have work to do, making you and your team more productive. For meetings that otherwise might lack structure, they can help keep team members focused and productive. They can also help ensure all the necessary topics are covered and that everyone stays on track.

Templates are also a good way to encourage collaboration and teamwork. They can help everyone to contribute to the discussion in a structured and organized way. Many templates are very visual, and this can make it quicker and easier for many people to understand the discussion topics and their relationship to each other.

Using a digital whiteboard with your clients and customers

Using an online whiteboards as the main collaboration tool with your clients and customers is a great way to increase effectiveness and productivity, and to differentiate yourself from your competitors. You are effectively putting two teams together and making one. You would use an online whiteboard internally in these circumstances, so why not with your clients too?

At Klaxoon we have created a collaboration platform with all the tools and templates you need to help you work more efficiently with your clients. An online whiteboard will help enable greater productivity and a better experience for both you and your clients. They help drive creativity and innovation, as well as increasing engagement.

Why not check out our resources page to see how our tools and templates can help you work more smoothly with your customers?