There’s nothing better than the right client. What are you doing to keep your best ones? SitePoint recently published some great tips for retaining your clients. Here’s how Outspokes can further help with client work and generate repeat business.
The following points elaborate on the SitePoint post, so I’m reusing their headlines:
1. Go Above and Beyond…Every Time
How do you stand out after landing a contract building a big site for a great client? They probably expect lots of long emails, many screen shots, yet another Basecamp project, and months of back-and-forth communication. Why not surprise them with Outspokes? Introduce your clients to better feedback, faster prototyping, less screenshots, and a tidier inbox. It all starts with targeting: you can express yourself with more clarity and less words by pinpointing exactly what you’re talking about. Every time.
2. Get to Know Them Well
How can you “reach a point where you can anticipate [client] needs before they even have to say them out loud?” Listen and keep listening. Gathering requirements is a continuous process throughout a client project. People always change their minds and nothing ever ends up quite like it started. Instead of fighting it, be flexible and use a fluid & lightweight tool like Outspokes to adjust things as you go.
Our designs feature is an excellent example of this. When your client wants that font size “a little smaller” or that color “isn’t quite red enough”, you don’t have to fire up Photoshop, take a screenshot, or edit CSS. Just open up the designs tab of the Outspokes widget, make the change, and share it without leaving the browser. This kind of rapid responsiveness helps you learn what clients really want faster than ever before.
3. Keep the Lines of Communication Open
We know you’re busy getting great work done but does your client? In these days, with email, smartphones, social media and the like, clients expect you to be ultra responsive. But who has time for even more emails, phone calls, or meetings?
Inviting people to collaborate on a web site via the Outspokes widget is the best way to keep everyone in the loop. Your clients don’t have to ask for updates or wait for you to reach out to them. Clients just visit the site, see the widget on the bottom, and instantly know what’s going on! They can see a page-by-page or site-wide breakdown of ideas, problems, and design suggestions. And with new forthcoming features like the ability to treat feedback as tasks and assign it to people, indicate progress, and email notifications, you’ll seem even more responsive without having to do any extra work! Try that with phone or email.
Obviously using Outspokes won’t replace email, phone, or face-to-face time completely but it will help you move through your day-to-day work faster without making your client wonder what they’re paying you for.
4. Become a “Value-Added” Provider
You don’t have to spend a lot of time just to give your clients that extra bit of value that will make them appreciate and remember you. Start a real conversation with your client about their new site. They’re excited about building and evolving it, so make yourself an enthusiastic person to work with by engaging them! Brainstorm ideas, provide suggestions, and point out new directions based on your wealth of experience. Stay organized and share it all, directly on the client’s new site, via Outspokes.
5. Show How Much You Appreciate Them
This one’s all you. Treat your client like that professor you admired in college or like the family friend who’s helping you out. Approach them as a friend, not a contract. Simply having that mindset will make a difference that everyone will notice.