Impressions Count: Pleasing Your Clients

I often talk about how brand image affects your business on Profit Duck. This post delves into this topic again, but unlike other posts, we are today focusing on how you interact with your clients, what you do for them, and how this will affect your business.

About a year ago I had a small project on the go; I was making a website for a small charity which is based in my local area. This was my first ‘proper’ web design job and so I was a little bit nervous. As I went on about in a recent article about confidence though, I didn’t let this get to me and instead of having it as a disadvantage I took it on-board and made sure that it improved my work and improved the client’s opinion of me.

Talk to Your Clients

When I was first introduced to the person I was making the website for, I made sure that I found out everything about the charity. Although it was local, I haven’t previously heard of it and this meant I needed to get my knowledge up to scratch. Asking these questions made the client know that I was interested in the project, interested in the charity itself and that I was interested in her. Therefore I was able to create a first impression which not only gave her confidence in me, but it improved my overall image, my brand image.

Throughout the process of making the website I also made sure that after making any significant changes, I contacted my client through email to make sure that it was still in-line with what she wanted and that it looked good enough to continue. Doing this showed her that I was determined to make the website something she would like and in turn this again gave her more confidence in me.

Get the Job Done Quickly

As it was my first web design job I was learning at the same time as making the website, this meant that I spent about 12 hours doing it each day. However, because I spent this much time each day I was able to complete it in 3 days and then hand it over to my client. My client had no idea that I would do it this quickly and because of this she was very impressed. Not only had a scored some extra brownie points, but I now had a couple of days to sit back and relax. For me doing more work in one day to have a rest the next day is that way I work, so for me finishing quickly benefited my client and I.

As well as this, getting it finished quicker means you get paid quicker; in turn this means that you have the money in your bank sooner so in the long run you are benefiting from more interest.

Why You Should Impress Your Clients

When I asked for my payment I received on email in response saying that it was slightly over what they thought it would costs. Despite this I still received the full amount because they also said they were very pleased with how quickly I had got it done and also how helpful I was in explaining how to update and maintain the website. Getting more money isn’t the only reason to please clients though. This is where we move back into brand image; pleasing your clients will also give you a better reputation for the future. It will give her more reason to recommend you to friends and family. Please one client and you will have two.

Image – God Put a Smile on Your Face by Sara* Eloise*’s