In October 2022, I visited Australia to attend the Agile Australia Conference. I am a regular attendee of regional agile conferences, but attending an international Agile event has been on my bucket list for a long time.
As an avid Agile practitioner, the conference was very interesting and insightful, not to mention an exciting opportunity to meet like-minded people. Alongside attending the conference and sightseeing in lovely Melbourne city, I also met a few of our Australian clients.
Gurzu Inc has been working with a few clients from Australia for a few years now. As technology partners for these entrepreneurs, we have built a strong friendship and rapport with them. However, we still needed to have the chance to meet them in person. It was a unique experience that made me realize the importance of personal client consulting.
Virtual Client Consulting - Benefits and Challenges
For an offshore development company like Gurzu, the major method of client consulting is virtual. Online meetings have been commonplace with the ubiquitous use of the internet, especially since the covid pandemic. Even before the pandemic set the trend for virtual, this has been our norm.
And truthfully, it has worked great for us so far! Communication is a skill, and as long as both parties are clear about their agenda and goals, virtually communicating is not bad at all.
We have been able to set meetings with clients from all over the world within various time zones, thanks to online consulting. Online consulting also allows for greater flexibility in scheduling, as clients and consultants can arrange meetings at a time that is convenient for both parties.
Also, there is a cost advantage.
When you are a growing company with a tight budget, you would rather invest the cost of travel and accommodation into something else. Companies can also set multiple meetings with multiple clients within different locations simultaneously, increasing their capacity (and possibility) to take on new projects.
But after you have hit a certain growth curve, retaining clients becomes as important as acquiring new ones. And then, factors like acquaintance and trust come into account.
Person Client Consulting
As it is rightly said, you only know what you’re missing once you experience it.
The glaring difference between online and offline consulting is obvious once you start offline consulting.
I should mention that Gurzu Inc has welcomed many clients to the Nepal office for a visit. However, I found a difference when I was making an effort to meet the clients.
Meeting clients in person was insightful in a different way. Talking with them face-to-face allowed for a deeper understanding of their needs and challenges and the opportunity to build stronger relationships.
Meeting someone in a casual setting expands the conversation into varieties of topics. You get a closer understanding of their persona and their quirks. Somewhere along the conversation, both parties find common ground, and an instant connection is built. Similarly, there are also talks about plans and collaborations. In my experience, when two equally entrepreneurial people meet for a talk, ideas are formed instantly, and new opportunities are discovered.
Personally visiting clients and their work area also means you better understand the overall environment in that geographical area. You can get a nuanced insight into their culture, technological trends, and legal issues, which will reflect in your future work.
After I visited Australia, my professional connections now also have an added layer of personal connection. My clients and I have built a trust and rapport that might not have been possible otherwise. I now feel increased ownership of the products we are trying to build, and the same spirit can be transferred to my office in Nepal.
Our future objectives for client consulting
At Gurzu, we have always been the champions for fostering strong relationships between our offshore clients and our development team. We envision a future where we will routinely visit our offshore clients for consulting, project updates, and feedback.
We will also get our development team to visit clients at their offshore locations and welcome the clients to our own office. Meeting clients is inevitable for certain types of projects, such as those that require hands-on demonstrations or the use of specialized equipment.
By building these face-to-face connections, we can better understand our client’s needs and goals and ultimately deliver more effective solutions. We also hope these visits allow for the opportunity for our clients to feel more invested in the process and confident in our team’s abilities.
Choosing the right tech partner for Australian entrepreneurs
Australia has been a growing area for technology startups and groundbreaking software innovations. However, there is still hesitancy on the entrepreneurs’ part while handing the technological work to a development team.
Here are a few of my suggestions to Australian entrepreneurs - that they should consider before hiring an offshore development partner.
Pinpoint their expertise
Finding a jack of all trades is difficult - most companies have expertise in a certain domain or tech stack. Suppose you are going to develop an IoT product. In that case, it is better to find a company that has developed something similar before rather than going for a company with a long history of developing excellent e-commerce solutions.
Fact-Check their portfolio
Companies tend to forge their portfolio and profile to attract more clients. Verify their past works before making any decisions.
Ask for advice from your network.
Look around in your network and seek recommendations. If someone has already completed a project with a development team, consider them if your needs align with their offering.
This article was written by Ganesh based on his experiences at Australia. Read our technical
