Although the main reason your client portal sucks is that you don't yet have one, there are a whole load of other reasons why yours may not be working for you, or is working inefficiently. Unfortunately, sometimes it means that you should probably change the software that you are using. The problems with your client portal may not seem so obvious but after reading this article, you will hopefully realise some of its downfalls.

Let's have a look at some of these issues...

You can't brand it

In an increasingly competitive business environment, branding is key for your business, image and relationships. You need to be able to provide your excellent service within your client portal as part of the overall package and using branding in accordance with your business will make your clients aware of this and make you more memorable.

It is badly led

It's very important for people in senior roles to be using your client portal to its full potential. We all know that employees are resistant to change so it's imperative that you're leading by example and not giving your team the option to use inefficient tools.

It is too complicated

Clients don't have as much time as your team to get to grips with your client portal and it's something that will put them off if it is rigorous and laborious. Having a portal that takes seconds for your clients to setup, access and easily navigate will mean that they're happy to use it and make the most use of it.

Its purpose isn't refined

We've all been in situations where we've heard the following words; "that will do". We're often told to work with tools which aren't quite for the specific purpose but if you tweak the way you're working, it will be fine. These workarounds create inefficient barriers to productivity and whilst they may solve a problem temporarily, in the long term these inefficiencies will cost you. Find a tool that is right for your business.

It isn't scalable

Businesses are often in a situation where they've purchased a huge software package in order to prepare them for the future. Using a scalable tool will allow you to upgrade and downgrade your product at the click of a button. This will save you money and ensure that none of your resources are going to waste.

You're using too much

No clients or workforce are going to want to flick between applications, copying data across as and when it's needed. It's inefficient and a waste of time. Having a universal system which contains all of your productivity and management tools means that nobody will have to faff around trying to copy messy file formats from one system to another and failing after trying all day. It also means you have a single login and don't have to worry about remembering different passwords and usernames. It's also less to learn!

So that's it. Managers need to explore a wide range of options whilst ensuring that they're getting the best value for money and be prepared to change if they're not.