Periods of rapid expansion in healthcare can be energizing. Awareness rises, teams expand, and the opportunity to serve new clients is deeply rewarding. However, that momentum often brings unexpected challenges, particularly for healthcare solution vendors and service providers striving to maintain strong client relationships. As organizations grow, internal inefficiencies may surface, and existing clients can feel overlooked or underserved.
Growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of trust. With a proactive, client-centered approach, organizations can turn growing pains into growth opportunities by realigning their processes and keeping the client experience front and center. Regaining balance and recentering client relationships following expansion is no small task. It is, however, both achievable and essential to scaling with care.
Acknowledge and Address Support-Related Issues
No growth phase is entirely smooth, and recognizing this is crucial. During times of change, mishandling negative feedback or dismissing client concerns can erode credibility. Organizations must acknowledge mistakes and pledge to find timely, transparent solutions. Clients are often more forgiving when they see a company making a real effort to deliver better service. In fact, customers of B2B companies that invest in the customer experience are 7 times more likely to return, 8 times more likely to try other products or services, and 15 times more likely to recommend the company to others.
Company leaders can start the process by having open, honest conversations with clients and truly listening to their feedback, even if it’s hard to hear. This is critical to identifying pain points. Equally important is conducting an internal assessment to detect process failures and systemic flaws that might be contributing to any post-growth challenges.
Avoid the temptation to brush over missteps and, instead, take responsibility and communicate a clear plan for resolution. This sends a strong and positive message to clients, reinforcing their importance to an organization. Honesty and action pave the way for long-term loyalty, which is especially important if new clients are learning about a company and attuned to the impact of recent updates. It’s an opportunity to re-commit to long-term partners and impress those who’ve just started their journeys.
Approach Strategic Realignment with a ‘Client Obsession’ Mindset
Reinventing how healthcare companies view client interactions and service delivery is where lasting improvement begins. Instead of reacting to problems as they arise, teams should shift toward a proactive approach.
This strategic realignment can take many forms and should be tailored to fit a company’s unique circumstances while remaining sustainable in the long run. Start by establishing regular client engagement initiatives, such as offering more customized support or monitoring systems to identify problems before they escalate. Also, leadership buy-in at every level of the organization is key. A client-centered culture must permeate from the C-suite to frontline staff, ensuring support and service efforts sync seamlessly.
Expanding internal expertise is instrumental as well. Strengthening teams with seasoned professionals equipped to handle specific challenges helps businesses anticipate and meet client needs more effectively. A deeply knowledgeable staff reflects a genuine commitment to partnership and positions organizations not just as vendors, but as trusted advisors and problem-solvers.
Equip Teams to Deliver Exceptional Service
Highly capable, empowered teams are central to delivering high-quality client experiences. However, even the strongest teams can be slowed down by internal bottlenecks and inefficient processes. Removing unnecessary red tape and operational hurdles, while giving employees the autonomy to act, allows them to provide faster, more decisive support. Investing in comprehensive training and advanced tools is equally critical to ensuring teams can consistently meet evolving client needs.
Equipping employees with intuitive support systems, AI-driven tools, detailed playbooks, and other training resources enhances confidence and efficiency. Employees who are well-prepared can respond to nuanced scenarios with specialized guidance and establish a greater level of trust and reliability with clients. This is especially important considering 82% of service providers report clients expect their requests to be resolved immediately, with a desired timeline of less than three hours.
Prioritize Personalization and Continuous, Authentic Engagement
Generic interactions won’t get healthcare companies far these days. With the technology and innovation available, clients expect their vendors to provide personalized, high-touch service aligned to their circumstances and needs. To achieve the desired customization, organizations can reduce client-to-manager ratios so that client success teams and account leaders can offer more focused support.
Improved personalization is contingent upon putting the information collected during client discussions to good use. Integrate feedback meaningfully into organizational decision-making and go beyond standard surveys to get a genuine feel for the ways strategies and efforts should take shape. Actively involving clients in the co-creation of services and plans – to ensure their expectations are met – can go a long way. Clients who see their input reflected in tangible improvements are likely to be impressed, which deepens loyalty. A HubSpot survey examining the role of customer feedback found that 82% of B2B customers are more likely to trust a company that asks for and acts on their feedback.
Track Metrics and Measure Program Success
Improvements in trust and the client experience must be measurable. Tracking key metrics helps assess program impact and demonstrates progress to both clients and internal teams.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) might include:
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT): Measure satisfaction through regular surveys and act on the findings.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): A significant improvement in NPS indicates enhanced client relationships.
- Client retention rate: Keeping existing clients satisfied strengthens long-lasting partnerships.
- Resolution time: Monitor how quickly issues are addressed and resolved.
- Feedback participation: Higher engagement through surveys or client polls signals trust and transparency.
Once the effects of their work become clear, team members who understand the difference they’ve made are more likely to ask themselves each day how they can make things even better for clients tomorrow than they were today. That mindset of continuous improvement helps to ensure initiatives stay responsive to evolving client needs.
While rapid growth puts a lot of pressure on internal systems, processes, and client partnerships, it is possible to keep relational costs in check. With a willingness to confront shortfalls, recalibrate strategies, and invest in proactive service, organizations can use expansion-related challenges as a chance to deliver at an even higher level. Change won’t happen overnight, and shortcuts must be avoided at all costs. But in the end, prioritizing client-centered practices and transparency is the most effective way to build strong internal alignment and earn long-term client trust.

Eric Grunden
Eric Grunden is the Chief Client Officer at Intelerad, where he is dedicated to enhancing the client experience and driving operational excellence across all client-facing teams. With nearly 30 years of leadership in customer success, professional services, and operations, he has a proven track record of boosting client satisfaction, optimizing service delivery, and scaling high-performing organizations. He has held leadership roles at Uptempo, ResMed, Civitas Learning, and Greenway Health. Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and information systems from Texas Tech University.






