Meryl's Notes Blog

You’ve probably read or heard many experts say that keeping your clients costs less than obtaining new ones. A Bain and Company study reports that boosting customer loyalty by 5 percent improves your profits by 25 percent at the very least and can go up to 95 percent. You can’t ask for better numbers than that.

I’ve been fortunate that 99 percent of my clients use my services a second time. While maintaining strong customer relationships helps keep clients, remember that marketing should always be a part of your job as a freelancer. Overbooked or not, I must keep on marketing as projects end, clients move projects in-house, or a business closes.

Here are six easy ways to hold on to your clients:

1. Listen. Sounds obvious, but freelancers might not understand the client’s request and start working on the project without understanding what the client said. It’s OK to ask for clarification. Better to ask and get it right the first time than produce something off target and have to do it again.
2. Ask for feedback. After working for a client for a reasonable time, I ask for feedback letting the client know it can be short or long — whatever works for the client as I don’t want to take up the client’s time. I ask one yes/no question and one open-ended question: “Are you happy with the work you’re getting from me?” and “What can I do to better serve you?”
3. Ask what the client wants. When starting with a new client, I ask for samples of what he/she likes so I can incorporate that into the content. A client couldn’t provide samples (they were in a language I didn’t know), so I asked for details such as word count, formatting requirements (headers, bullets, etc. acceptable?), quotes allowed, and so on. Something worked because he was pleased with the article.
4. Handle mistakes with grace. You and I are human not machines. We make mistakes. I believe how a person handles those mistakes can make a big difference between success and screw up. You could not charge a client extra for the added time to fix something, provide a discount on the next invoice, or simply apologize and move on.
5. Think of your clients. If I see a PR opportunity that fits my client, a comic strip pertaining to the client’s interest, or some other valuable resource — I pass it on to my clients. I want them to be successful and have all the knowledge they need.
6. Thank your clients. Every year I send a handwritten note to every client. Yes, it means serious carpal tunnel for my southpaw, but we don’t see enough handwriting anymore. My handwriting isn’t special, but it’s more personal than typewriting.

Ready to see your profits to soar over 25 percent? Listen well and watch out for opportunities such as customers asking for a new service or a product that your business should and could handle — get on it! How do you keep ‘em happy?

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