Nothing is more essential to a successful enterprise than repeat
business. Every satisfied customer allows your brand to be passed around by
word of mouth potentially creating a snowball effect that could be the
difference between the long-term sustainability of your enterprise, or it
ending up being a fleeting experiment. Referrals are your best friends and a
one dissatisfied could spell the end of your business and is to be avoided at
all costs.
Whether you’re a web developer, digital media consultant, graphic
designer, or content creator, the clients that come looking for your services
will bring with them some level of expectation, and it’s your job to manage
those expectations. Below are 5 handy tips and tricks designed to help you
navigate the mind of your client, understand their demands, and keep them and
their friends knocking on your door.
1) Get to know what they know
– No matter what a client might come to you for, if you know what they know
about what you do, it changes the level of expectation. Some clients might have
an in depth understanding about what it takes for you to do your job and some
might be completely clueless and the key to maintaining customer satisfaction
in either case is the level of sensitivity with which you handle each. It should
be clear by the terminology they use when they speak to you, or how they
respond to any questions you ask, so just be mindful.
2) Know what you’re capable
of – Nothing upsets the balance of someone’s expectations more than being
given false information. If you design websites and a client has come to you
saying they need their site to go live in 24 hours, sometimes it’s better to
risk losing the client rather than promise them that it can be done and risk
not completing the work. No matter how much extra effort you might put into
getting it done, the chances are your client won’t be sympathetic to your
plight. They are under pressure too and all they’re likely to remember was that
the work wasn’t completed when you said it would be.
3) Don’t be afraid to involve
your clients – Some clients might not have the faintest idea of what’s
involved behind the scenes of a good marketing video, but everyone who’s in
charge of a project appreciates having their ego stroked. The more decisions
they make, or the more they see of themselves, there is an increased likelihood
they’ll take ownership of the project and value the work you did alongside
them. However, remember that there’s a fine line here – some clients are just
too busy to be bothered, and some can become so involved that it compromises
the quality of the project.
4) Be available – The
work has to get done but it’s not advisable to turn the ringer off on your
phone – ever! The service you provide is meant to be a direct response to what
a client has in their mind and the work has to get done in the spaces between
them communicating to you exactly what that is. Every fragment might prove
useful in you being able to deliver on their wildest imagination and should not
be ignored. A client will remember every time that they tried to reach you and
were unable to because it was time that they set aside, time they thought was
important, and time they eventually wasted. Time is money, and they can give
theirs to someone who will offer them the time they need.
5) Let someone else
disappoint them – It’s time for a reality check – you’re not the only one
who does what you do. Out there in the world is someone who others can go to
for the exact service that you provide, and it’s likely you’re not the only one
they’ve called. It’s also not uncommon to find a prospective client that simply
has completely unrealistic expectations, and there comes a point where it’s
imperative to stand your ground on an issue (work load, deadlines, rate of pay,
etc.) because the integrity of your business will be at stake. A prospective
client might simply hire the cheapest option around and don’t be afraid to let
them. The chances are likely that they won’t be happy with the work that got
done and will go somewhere else the next time. Be sure that if they do finally
come around to you, and not simply the cheapest option available, that you do
deliver the value you promise.
