As a freelancer, your role can often be that of a customer service professional as much as a designer. If you want to keep clients coming back for more, you must create a competitive advantage for yourself through building strong client relationships.
Below you’ll find ten ways to help you make your clients think of you as their absolute best option for design work.
1. Don’t Be On Time, Be Early
Many of your clients will have absolutely no idea what the design process involves. Normal people (non-designers) will frequently make completely impossible requests such as “I want an amazing and innovative website, but don’t spend more than a couple of hours on it.” Obviously, this tip does not apply to such clients. In fact, if someone ever says that to you, take it as a sign that the job may be more trouble than it’s worth.
However, if you’re working with someone who has actually paid for design work in the past, they’ll have a little more insight into what a realistic time table will look like. In these instances, work with your client to develop a timeline that you’re absolutely sure you can meet. Then, if you have the time, put in a little extra effort to deliver a day early. Odds are, this will make an amazing first impression with your clients as they will be comparing you to designers they have worked with in the past who probably never attempted to beat the due date and might have even struggled just to finish by the agreed upon deadline.
2. Communicate Clearly and Frequently
Communication is perhaps the single most important element in mastering the art of making your clients love you. When someone hires a designer and/or developer, they don’t want to hear a bunch of lofty tech speak. You might think speaking over their heads is a good way to impress them with your knowledge, but ultimately it can result in confusion, miscommunication and dissatisfaction in the overall project.
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