Effectively managing client relationships is a core responsibility for any professional services company. With each client having unique needs, it can be difficult to accommodate individual requests quickly while providing high-quality customer service.
In recent years, many challenges of managing customer relationships have been addressed, at least partially, through innovative software solutions. From customer relationship management (CRM) systems to marketing automation platforms, businesses have automated much of the customer service and success experience.
Integrating software applications has traditionally been the domain of highly technical developers. However, low-code development platforms today allow even non-technical users to create integrations between applications, set up automated workflows, and create other client-facing tools quickly and easily.
Let’s look at what low-code development is and how professional services companies can put it to work to increase efficiency and enhance the customer experience.
Benefits of Low-Code Development for Professional Services
Low-code platforms create software applications using a visual interface rather than by writing complex lines of code. These tools offer flexibility and agility in developing and modifying applications to meet each client’s specific needs without starting from scratch for every time. This agility can also help you stay competitive by iterating on apps you’ve already built, so they align with evolving demands of clients.
Low-code development also helps professional services companies actively involve their clients in the development process. For example, if one client has a specific, ongoing data request that normally requires manually gathering data, a custom, low-code app can automate that process.
One key component of low-code development platforms is their ability to scale and integrate with your suite of business systems. This allows you to build applications that grow and integrate with existing systems and any new solutions you add later.
Low-Code Application Use Cases
There are many ways to use low-code development. The beauty of this type of platform is how it can be customized. But many professional services companies have a few common use cases for this technology.
Employee Onboarding
Low-code development can help professional services companies streamline the employee onboarding process.
The platform can create automated workflows that guide new hires through the paperwork, training modules, and IT setup they must complete before starting work. These workflows can provide step-by-step guidance, track progress, and send automated notifications to the new hire and relevant stakeholders, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience and reducing administrative overhead.
Client Onboarding
For client onboarding, low-code solutions can automate the collection of information, creation of profiles, and initiation of necessary contracts or agreements.
These applications can integrate with existing systems, such as CRM platforms, to ensure data consistency across all data sources. Companies can reduce manual data entry, eliminate errors, and accelerate the onboarding process, which improves client satisfaction and results in faster time to value.
Client Dashboards
With low code development, professional services companies can create interactive reporting dashboards that give clients real-time insights into their projects, finances, performance metrics, or other relevant data. customizing dashboards is easy to display key performance indicators, progress charts, financial summaries, and more.
Clients receive a comprehensive view of the data point important to them, enhancing transparency and strengthening the their experience.
Client Experience Automation
Low-code development allows you to create self-service portals, knowledge bases, and automated workflows that can enhance the client experience.
A simple interface can be created to automate approval workflows by adding fields for what needs to be approved, who needs to approve it, how to send the approval request, and any other requiredsteps. Client approval can be secured more quickly along with a digital record and reminder tools to streamline the process.
Your clients never have to wait on you to find and sendthe information they need.
e-Signatures
One of the most time-consuming workflows in the sales process is collecting signatures. It can be a significant roadblock in the quote-to-cash process, potentially drawing out the time it takes to get from agreement to getting paid.
Using an e-signature product like DocuSign can dramatically reduce the time it takes to collect signatures. A low-code development platform lets you quickly create integrations between your e-signature solution and CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot, allowing you to pre-fill contracts with client information, send contracts for e-signature directly from the CRM, track the signature process, and send final copies to all parties.
Compliance and Risk Management Solutions
Professional services companies must often comply with various local, state, and federal regulations and manage the risk associated with their services. Low-code development builds compliance and risk management solutions that automate compliance checks, facilitate risk assessments, and generate compliance reports on demand. These apps can use integrated data discovery tools to ensure adherence to regulations and mitigate potential risks.
Low-Code Development With Boomi Flow
Creating applications is fast and easy with Boomi Flow. You can use pre-built components to build a new app in a matter of hours rather than weeks or months. These applications can then take information from data sources across your organization to create the exact solution you and your clients need.
To see how Boomi Flow can help you, start a free trial today.