In many small businesses, where we handle a project for a customer, so much of what we do is geared toward producing the work on time by a discussed deadline. We need to take certain steps to keep the work on track. From our perspective, if we take those proper steps, we don’t need to worry that we might finish late. This is all great, but what about the customer?
It’s important to think from the customer’s perspective as well. If we don’t proactively keep them up to date, we could be leaving them wondering if we’ll finish on time. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the customer asking a question like, “How’s the project coming along?” I’ve found that the best approach though, is to give the customer status updates before they ask. Do it often. Error on the side of too much communication. It’s a rare thing in this world, and I’ve never had a customer ask me to cut back on the communication 🙂