Keeping Your Clients Happy - 2 of 2

Yesterday, I wrote about how keeping our clients happy is half of the work. Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years that have helped me keep clients long term. 

Ask How They Feel

A great way to make sure your clients are feeling good to is to ask how they feel. If there’s a big deadline coming up, or a change in the plan, or an added rate, things can get stressful for clients. Once you do the work to figure out the next steps with these things, it goes a long way to ask how your clients feel. I usually say something like, “I want to make sure you feel good about this. How are you feeling with this new plan?” 

This gives them a chance to say something if they feel bad. It also leads them to say that they do feel good, and lets them log that feeling for future reference. But most importantly it just makes them feel heard. 

A client that feels heard will feel great about working with you long term.

Ask If They Need Anything

Another simple way to make sure you’re filling the gaps for your clients is to ask if they need anything. If you can sense that they’re busy or stressed about about something, just ask what they need. This gives them a chance to let you know something else you can help with. But most importantly, it makes them feel like someone is on their team. 

A client that feels like you’re on their team will feel great about working with you long term. 

Create Wow Moments

Every few months, I try to create a wow moment. Simply, this is just a moment of good client care that makes them say, “wow!”  Wow moments don’t need to be anything extraordinary; bringing coffee to a meeting, extending a party invitation, giving a small gift. 

Another great way to create a wow moment is to create a report or overview of the work you’ve done together. This helps clients remember all the hard work you’ve put in, and it is really useful for them in qualifying their success to their boss. 

At the end of the day, your work has a price tag. Some consultant can open a spreadsheet, appraise your work, and help the business decide if you’re worth keeping around. But what makes you impossible to let go are the priceless moments you create. There’s no price tag on feeling heard. There’s no price tag on having someone on your team. there’s no price tag on a great relationship, or a good friend. If you can bring these things to the table, you’ll have loyal clients who take care of you for a long time.