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Freelancers & Small Business Owners - How Do You Keep Good Customers? - An Article with 10
Tips For Long Term Client Retention
by Rachna Jain
Attracting
and retaining long-term clients is a powerful strategy for
growing your business.
Long-term clients are likely to feel
more satisfied, are more likely to refer others, and are more
likely to purchase additional services from you. The savvy
solo professional or small business owner gains big from focusing
on these 10 sound strategies for long term client retention.
10 Strategies for Long Term Client Retention in Your Freelance / Small Business
1. Focus your marketing on existing clients.
Your current customers have already overcome certain hurdles
to doing business with you and are more likely to buy from
you again. Focus most of your time, efforts, and resources
on better serving your current clients. Go deeper rather than
wider.
2.
Be consistent in your approach and interactions with your customers.
Treat
your clients with honesty, humor, and respect and maintain
this over time. Present a consistent, solid, and professional
style to your clients - one that they can grow to depend on.
3.
Follow through on your commitments to your small business' clients.
If you
promise to send information or to follow up, be sure to do
this. You'd be surprised at how many professionals promise
to send information, but then never do. You will gain loyalty
and trust by doing what you say you will do.
4.
Allow yourself to connect with your freelance business' customers .
Find out about
their lives, their hopes, goals, and desired outcomes. Ask
questions that encourage a deeper sense of shared understanding.
The greater the level of connection, the greater the mutual
satisfaction.
5.
Have fun with your freelance projects.
It's easy to get caught up in goals, outcomes,
deliverable and all of these are, of course, vitally important.
Clients do want outcomes. Also, they want to work with people
who enjoy what they do. The more fun you can have while providing
strong outcomes, the longer your clients will stay.
6.
Position yourself as a resource to your customer for life.
I tell
all my clients, at the beginning, that I want to be their
coach/consultant for life. That means they can always come
back to work with me no matter how much time has passed between
our meetings. This strategy has worked extremely well as I
often get calls from clients from four, five and six years
ago - whenever they are in need of a goals tune-up. Clients
appreciate knowing they can come back whenever they choose.
7.
Ask for feedback and input from your clients.
At some intervals within
the working relationship, solicit feedback and input. Ask
your clients how they feel about working with you and ask
if they have suggestions for how the working relationship
or outcomes can be improved. Asking for their ideas shows
that you care about their opinions and value their contributions.
8.
Share resources with your small business' clients.
Do you know of a good book that
your client might benefit from reading? Tell him about it.
Do you have the name of someone who could help your client
move ahead on her business plan? Tell her about it. Sharing
resources is a terrific way to build loyalty and satisfaction.
9.
Reward Your Customers for staying on.
You might consider implementing
some kind of loyalty or perks program, where your long-term
clients are rewarded for staying on. You might offer them
gifts, products, or services for a certain level of ongoing
participation with your business. These work for things like
coffee, office supplies, and groceries, so why not in your
business, too?
10.
Keep learning.
The more you focus on gaining new
knowledge, new skills, and new experiences, the more you have
to offer your clients. The more you have to offer, the more
they will benefit. The more they benefit, the longer they
stay. Keep focused on your own professional growth and learning
- make this a priority. Both you - and your clients - will
gain.
Implement
these ten tips for client retention, and you too, will have
a business that continues to grow now and thrive into the
future.
(c)
2005, Dr. Rachna D. Jain. All rights in all media reserved.
Dr.
Rachna D. Jain is a sales/marketing consultant and the author
of "177 Low Cost Ideas to Successfully Market Your Professional
Service Business". She shares even more profitable insights
through her monthly newsletter & daily blog. To learn
how you can make more money and have more fun in your business,
please visit http://www.SalesAndMarketingCoach.com
Dr. Rachna D. Jain is a sales and marketing
consultant to small business owners/solo entrepreneurs who
want to make more money and have more fun in their businesses.
Check out her daily insights at http://www.salesandmarketingcoach.com/blog
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COOL IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARDS As freelancers, we need to promote ourselves with business cards. How about putting yourself ahead of the rest of them by designing and printing completely unique business cards? You are about to take a look at the coolest and most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can’t find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
The followup to Brendan Sinclairs successful Web Design Business kit is a comprehensive look at all the business aspects of working as a web designer. It's thorough and has some excellent advice in it.
A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.
All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
