performance reviews

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Client Evaluations: Improve your work and client relationships

Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 9:15 AM Category: Business, Customer Service, Meryl's Notes Blog 2 comments

Do you ask your client for feedback on your work? Some freelancers and contractors don’t have annual or formal reviews. Large contracts usually make reviews a part of the process, but that’s not always the case with individual freelancers.

Sending a client a separate e-mail asking for a project check up signals a few things to the client:

You care about product high quality work for the client.
You’re open to feedback.
You care about improving your relationship with the client.

Even if the client can’t ever give you another project, the client might refer you to others who can. Furthermore, it helps you learn about the areas needing improving so you do better next time.

Most of the time, clients are happy to provide feedback. It just may take a little time before they do. In your e-mail, let the client know to respond when it’s convenient for the client and that the response doesn’t have to be lengthy.

I ask the client three questions to keep it short and doable. Too many, and it might turn off the client from responding. I typically ask the following two every time:

Are you happy with the work you receive from me?
What can I do to better serve you?

The third question depends on what I am doing for the client. If it’s an ongoing client engagement where I work hourly, I might ask if the hours are acceptable or simply leave the question open-ended.

Yes, the first question is a “yes/no” question rather than open-ended. But I make up for that with the second question. One closed question and one open-ended question gives the client balance to open the door for a quick response or a lengthy one.

Some clients take the time to provide a detailed reply while others are short. Get out there and keep those clients happy — as you know it’s cheaper to keep a client than to find a new one.