How Freelancers keep Clients
Freelancers aim to hold on to clients for as long as possible. Of course, this doesn’t mean you need to turn yourself into a one-stop-shop if you currently specialize in a particular niche. Actually, freelancers who are secure enough and informed enough to offer a referral for a related service are valued above those who tend to keep their contacts to themselves.
The following are a few ideas on how to keep your freelance clients coming back for more.
Roll out the red carpet for repeat customers
Customers who have chosen to do business with you time and again surely deserve more than a ‘thank you’. They should be treated like the royalty that they are because without them your business would probably have to spend a lot more time hunting down new clients and opportunities. Taking repeat customers for granted is a big mistake because they may be wooed by the attractive offers of others and if you don’t seem to care they might just leave.
Keep proper client records and use them to communicate
Client records are important not just for keeping your billing in order, they can be used to say “Haven’t heard from you in a while, hope business is booming” or “Happy New Year” or even “Happy Birthday”. There are lots of excuses to drop your clients a line and doing this shows you care about more than their business, it deepens the relationship and builds loyalty in the process.
Provide quality every time
Clients are not going to stick around if you churn out shoddy work. Freelancers need to ensure that their standards of quality are of the highest in every way. An unhappy client will start looking around for another alternative and then all your marketing attempts to win the business would have been in vain.
Respect your client's deadlines
Time is of the essence to freelancers. Every project has deadlines and the client relies heavily on the freelancer to complete their end of the bargain. Freelancers must take a look at the bigger picture to truly have an appreciation for the importance of this factor. Working independently may dull the senses to being part of a holistic plan but successful freelancers understand that their work will be put together with other pieces to make a unique whole and all parts must arrive on time.
Be responsive
This is another important contributor to client satisfaction. Nobody likes talking into a vacuum but too many unanswered phone calls or email messages begin to feel a lot like that. Clients want to know that their concerns and questions will be answered in a timely manner.
Freelancing may be independent work but the freelancer still needs clients. To make sure you are doing a good job of holding on to the ones you have look closely at your business practices and assess if you need to make any changes.
You may be losing clients because of some simple mistakes. Turn the mirror to your business practices to find out if you are doing all you can to hold on to your clients.
