Finding clients is often a long and tedious step. It requires time and a lot of personal investment, but it’s the only way to truly launch your freelance business.
However, once you finally have a client portfolio, make sure to keep it! Easier and less costly, retention is the key to your long-term success.
To this end, Codeur.com, the freelance marketplace, today offers you 10 golden rules to encourage your clients to renew their trust in you.
Conduct competitive monitoring
Too rarely used by people working as freelancers, competitive intelligence is a strategic approach that allows small operations to stay in the game.
What is competitive intelligence?
It is the set of means used by a person or an organization to continuously monitor the actions and products put up for sale by their competitors. It’s a surveillance process. More specifically, you will look at products and services newly introduced to the market as well as communication operations, whether the frequency or the channels used. It will also be useful to highlight commercial practices as well as legal and financial data to stay informed about your competitors’ health—good or bad.
These are examples of elements to monitor, but you must determine them based on your needs and the areas to prioritize.
The purpose of competitive intelligence consists of several elements that allow you to quickly implement actions to retain your clientele.
The first is to detect changes that occur more broadly in your environment. This lets you be more responsive to trends. They will assist you in your strategic decision-making. Be attentive, for example, to the following elements:
- Order more of this product because the trend is moving in that direction
- Reduce its trend because it is no longer fashionable
- Anticipate a financial decline among the population following tax increases
- Activate a promotion to counteract a slow period
- …
This competitive intelligence will reveal threats that could cause your clients to switch providers.
- Exceptional offers from competitors
- New revolutionary products
Don’t forget that your clients are also "on the lookout".
Finally, monitoring allows you to anticipate opportunities. Being at the forefront of trends or innovation will always give you an edge over the competition, and clients like that.
Demonstrate added value
Today, most freelancers offer standard services to their clients.
Of course, you should start from your core offerings to find ways to optimize them so you can stand out from competitors.
For example, as a web copywriter, you can offer a 24-hour correction and thus guarantee the client will receive their text quickly in case of an error or misunderstanding.
As an SEO specialist, offer a monthly meeting at the client's offices to discuss your results with them face to face.
Offering to be reachable in case of a problem and available to answer any questions your clients may have is real added value. You can decide to set specific time slots for this and set up a chat for faster responsiveness, a phone number and an email address. You can also offer an FAQ to answer common questions.
Anything that adds value for your clients and isn't automatically offered by your competitors is a plus that can encourage them to keep you as a partner.
Always start from a win‑win agreement
Customer satisfaction is not an empty phrase, especially as a service provider.
Indeed, when a consumer uses your services, it's because they truly need them and expect results. That's why you must give them what they want, no more, no less.
Don't try to sell additional services at all costs that they won't use just to increase the bill.
Conversely, if their budget is limited compared to their ambitions, explain what they can get for the price they want to pay, compared to the budget required to meet 100% of their project. This will avoid misunderstandings and is how they'll agree to hire you again if needed.
Add clients to your social networks
Social networks aim to connect people with one another. Whether we're talking about individuals, partners, or clients, it's a tool that a company or freelancer cannot do without today. Being visible from any device (tablet, laptop, or smartphone) is the promise of this form of communication, which currently reaches the vast majority of people. You can share your successes, products, and services, highlight your new offerings, and exchange information quickly.
Keeping your clients also requires an active presence on social networks. These platforms are essential for both your prospecting strategy and your loyalty efforts!
Consider inviting your clients to contact you through your profile LinkedInFollow them on Twitter (and other social networks where you are present) to encourage them to do the same. Instagram and Facebook are very popular today. Then, regularly animate your profiles with content found in your monitoring, your own content, and a few promotional posts. You will stay in their minds, and when they need your services again, guess which freelancer they'll call?
Offer a discount for long-term collaboration
If you want to build a trusting, long-term relationship, show your clients that you appreciate their trust. Occasionally give a special discount, for example every 10 orders. You can also reward your best clients at the end of the year with a personalized gift in your company's name: a bottle of wine, a gourmet basket, a wellness box, etc.
Reward your clients
Rewarding your clients encourages them to envision a future with you. This could be a loyalty card that rewards that behavior. Everyone likes getting their 10th treatment free!
Free shipping for a minimum purchase amount is also a way to reward a purchase and can encourage the customer to spend a bit more than they planned. Allowing your clients to accumulate points to redeem gifts is also common and appreciated. Be generous with your surprises, and don't just give away outdated products or basic services. Innovate!
In a rewards program, include an expiry date to encourage your clients to come back to you regularly.
Encourage referrals
Still with the aim of pampering your clients and encouraging them to stay with you rather than succumb to competitors' appeals, set up a referral system. It's effective for rewarding your clients and helps you acquire new ones. Recommendations can result in discounts or vouchers, or be part of a points system that leads to gifts. Be imaginative and generous.
For example: If you refer someone to my services, you'll receive a €30 gift card for a well-known marketplace. Then offer a welcome gift to the newcomer… that will encourage them to join you.
Be attentive
It's important to know your clients. Be attentive to what they think of your business and of you as a freelancer and even as a person. Ask for their feedback. Implementing a satisfaction survey is a good way to learn their expectations. Keep it simple and not too long. Reward their participation in the survey with a discount voucher. You can also run a contest that encourages them to click to enter; at that moment, ask 3 or 4 quick questions to get their opinion. By knowing your clients better, you'll be able to set up discounts and other rewards that are best suited to them.
Build a close relationship
To gain a client's trust, show that you care about them and their problems. Don't always be focused on selling at all costs; give a small piece of advice from time to time. If you come across an article that concerns their business or field and addresses one of their concerns, email it to them. These little gestures will help nurture your business relationship with your clients.
Stay top of mind
The goal is to be present with the client without being intrusive. You already do this via social networks, but also consider a measured mailing campaign with your latest blog posts, a greeting card for the end-of-year holidays, or a personalized message for their birthday, for example. Maintaining a privileged relationship with your clientele helps retain them long-term and ensures the sustainability of your activity.
Our tip
Building customer loyalty is essential for the success of your business. It’s how you can make your company sustainable. Besides, keeping existing customers costs you less than constantly having to find new ones. Finally, watching your customers leave isn’t a great sign for your brand image. To succeed, you need a retention strategy. Don’t hesitate to study your customers’ habits, ask for their feedback, and reward them for the time they give you, the products they buy, or the new clients they bring. Pay attention to your competitors to anticipate possible churn. The key is to be able to adapt and react quickly.
By applying these 10 rules, you’ll remain present in your customers’ minds in a meaningful way, encouraging them to contact you again when they need you!
Freelancers: how do you retain your clients? Share your tips in the comments!
