Keeping your clients happy is easy – it involves employing your social and networking skills.
- Be willing to share and give free advice without always watching the clock. Take the time to talk to your clients and build a relationship without launching into a sales pitch. It’s all about the “Givers Gain” philosophy that is based on the law of reciprocity.
- Make introductions between people who would benefit from knowing each other.
- Become an ambassador for your client’s brand. Show them that you share their passion for their own brand and be willing to spread the good word on your own social media pages.
- Give regular progress updates while in the midst of a project. My goal has always been to reach out to my clients before they ask me about the progress of a particular project. This is particularly important during a crisis – people feel more comfortable when they are kept “in the loop”.
- Give honest quotes and stick by them. It doesn’t do any good to under-cut a project and then come in over budget.
- Respect deadlines and go out of your way to meet them.
- Be a good listener. Ask lots of questions to gain a good understanding of their business the finished professional product will be that much more sensational.
- Be prepared to accept blame when it is due.
