Tips to Keep Clients after A Freelance Project is Complete
The source of steady income for you in freelance writing is your project owner. In this field, building strong and healthy relationship is essential if you want to make a good business. Getting a new customer is just the first part of the puzzle. It is also necessary to keep customers once a project is completed and it is something you need to practice with each new customer that you pursue.
How you can keep a customer after project is completed:
Know your stuff: The most important thing when you work with a client is that you should know your work very well. When someone trusts you enough to hire you, it is your duty to keep that trust going through during the whole process that you are familiar with what you do.
Know your customers: Without knowing your customer, it is very difficult to know what your customer wants. Ask him questions if you need to and spend time with him talking and paying attention to what your customer says. If he has a website or blog, you can take a little time to read it and learn more about the customer and his likes, dislikes and much more. It will help you a lot when you really know your client.
Ask for feedback: Ask for feedback right through the project and at the end of a project. At the end of a project you can utilize a questionnaire to attain feedback and also to encourage the future services from the customer.
Keep documentation: Particularly for larger projects, you should always keep everything documented Keep a log of what you did so you can give him status reports along with the final project. It shows the customer that you value your time and is a true professional who love what he does.
Underpromise and overdeliver: Make reasonable goals for your clients, then work hard to give them a little more each time. You should not make promises that you cannot keep. There should be nothing left to impress the client . One way you can do this is by keeping up with the deadlines. If it's going to take you five working days to finish the project say 7 to client and strive hard to finish it in the fourth day .In this way even if it took you 5 days to finish it completely, it looks like it you did it two days early.
Keep an open communication: Communicating with your client, makes him realize that you are very hard worker and it also helps you in case you face a problem during the work. You need not communicate with the client all the day but you need to communicate at least once a day.
Suggest supplementary projects: Sometimes, your customer need to know what else you can do for him. He could be looking for additional services, but do not know that you are an expert in that area. Or perhaps you can admit a new idea in his brain, which he may not even need. It's so simple and you get a new project in no time!
Provides a referral or repeat customer discount: After the project, offer him that if he refers to a friend or colleague, you will give a discount on his next project. This creates the conditions for future work and you can afford it if you do not want to lose time to find a new custom.
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