I know this has been discussed on the site in several different ways (scheduling, billing, etc...). Just wanted to add a great way to communicate with clients is via email. It does not exactly take the place of human interaction, but don't be afraid to ask your clients for their email address when gathering their contact information. Every so often you can send a simple "blast" to all of your clients thanking them, letting them know about seasonal services, reminders, etc... If you have 75 year old clients, asking for an email address might produce an odd look, but if your clients are doctors, lawyers, young professionals, and even property managers, they would probably be glad to give you their email address - convenient for both.
I've gone a step farther and set up photograph albums on the web for clients to see their work in various stages of completion. Most of my clients are seasonal residents and they REALLY like having the visual progress reports.
The only problem with using email is that some of the customers will try to take advantage of it. They will fire off lists of things for you to do and then make themselves unaccessable to you when you need to personally speak to them about a problem. Sometimes it is really hard to explain issues with someones properties in an email.
My contracts for maintenance have a spot for people to write down their e-mail addresses, however only about 25 percent of them have e-mail or desire to say what their e-mail addresses are. Im sure there are a number of people who do not want to disclose their e-mail addresses in fear of receiving inappropriate spam. Kate, thats a good idea that you have. Ive also taken digital photos of accounts and passed them on via e-mail to owners located out of the area. Havent gone as far as the website posting idea though
