Should we just use Zoom for client meetings?!

We love Zoom at Connect4. Yes you read that right. Personally, some of my fondest memories of 2020 were behind Zoom, on group calls with friends and family. The quizzes and catch-ups were small beacons of joy on the otherwise infected landscape.

So why not use Zoom for business?

Well, Zoom excels at ad-hoc informal video calls with people you already know really well. It’s great too for running virtual events (like quizzes and conferences) in-front of large groups of invitees.

But when it comes to running productive business meetings (especially with clients), Zoom falls short. It’s a fantastic video conferencing platform, but it doesn’t offer a suite of tools that enable you to hold great meetings.

It’s just not designed for that.

You know, as well as I, that professional and productive meetings only occur when accompanied by a number of other things: 

• We need a clear agenda ahead of time to ensure everyone arrives prepared and the meeting stays on track.
• We need a record of what was discussed and decided during the meeting. And we need to agree on actions for the next meeting.
• We need an easy way to ensure everyone has access to any related documents (such as spreadsheets and reports).

And if the meeting is with a client (rather than colleagues) we need even more:

• We need to be able to show-off our brand and what makes us unique.
• We need to make our client feel special and confident that we have an efficient process in place to manage their needs.
• We need a way to ensure we set a follow-up meeting (because clients only understand our value if you tell them about it!).

You don’t get any of those things with Zoom. 

And that’s why we built Connect4.

Make an impression

Zoom looks the same whether you’re joining a boozy catch-up with friends or hosting an important client meeting. Connect4 takes a more tailored, client-centric approach.

• Apply your own branding to build a personalised meeting space — we call them ‘pods’ — unique to your firm.
• Load up your pod with everything that your client will need when working with you. Give them instant access to all documents, reports, software services and any other resources.

Get with the program

How do your clients know that they’re in good hands? It probably has something to do with how well you communicate your processes. You know that you have a plan, but ad-hoc Zoom calls can leave you looking like you’re shooting from the hip. Connect4 provides structure, process and purpose.

• Set a meeting agenda and share this with everyone in your pod.
• Make detailed notes during and after a meeting. Archive these for a complete history of all your interactions.
• Record a video summary of a meeting to play back at any time.
• Schedule your next call at the end of the one you’re on. So you don’t forget. Because better client relationships are built on regular recurring catch-ups.

Strong connections are built on more than Zoom calls

It can be tough to build trust when meeting in person is not possible. The assets that you used to lean on — swish meeting rooms, fancy coffee machines, lavish business lunches — are gone. And replacing those with sporadic and unfocussed check-ins over Zoom do little to develop a truly fruitful bond. We need a better way of working.

Is it time to stop Zooming clients in your underwear and build deeper connections with Connect4?