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The art of great customer service as a freelance web designer
Posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 under freelance, web design news by Dustin Brewer.Giving good customer service as a freelance web designer is paramount to the lively hood involved with being your own business. Providing that invaluable level of intimacy with your clients is what distinguishes you from the larger ad agencies. The bigger some companies get the more attractive a freelance web designer can be. In order to be good at what you do, it takes more than great design or meticulous CSS abilities, or even explaining to the client why web standards are so important.
Communication
Being quick to communicate with your clients, responding to their emails as quickly as possibly is extremely important. It is more than just an email to them, their project is the core of their business (typically) and their business can be depending on you to get them going on the web.
Beyond just responding to them timely, it is important to remember that your clients probably don’t know much about the web and so overloading them with web jargon and “geek speak†is a quick way to lose their attention.
Taking that extra step to explain some of the more intricate parts of how their web site may work is important so they can better adapt to doing business on the web or supporting their presence on the web.
Understanding their needs
Clients don’t always know exactly what they need, so ensuring that you understand what their project is and what it needs to be is a vital part of the project scope. It is easy to simply do what will get the project done but going to the next step and ensuring that they understand the possibilities of what their site can be is imperative.
Not only will it probably result in more income, but the client will be much more satisfied with the end result as well as have a more effective web site. This means shopping carts, SEO, contact, catalog requests, forums, member systems and more. There are thousands of things the client should have based on their needs and it is our job to ensure we get them what they require.
Beyond just offering additional services, you may have clients that only need something simple but want the world. Even though it could provide more income it is important to only give them what they need, that mom and pop shop around the corner doesn’t need a forum or a chatroom on their web site.
Following up with clients
Just because you have finished the project doesn’t mean it isn’t your problem anymore. The majority of your work will come through referrals from clients that you have already helped. Even if you don’t have a retainer for some previous clients it is important to let them know you still care.
Sometimes it is good to provide a little free help every now and again to make sure they are happy, that little bit of caring can go a long way towards a recommendation they may give that can lead to another project. It is a good policy to believe that once a client, always a client. With that mentality you can assure your success.
Patience
It can take a lot of patience sometimes to convey your message, but you need all the patience in the world when it comes to freelance. You are the business and your attitude can make or break it. It takes just the right kind of people to be able to freelance and be successful at it. Practicing excellent and unwavering patience is one of those skills that can help you to achieve your freelance goals and aspirations.
What other customer service skills have helped you to be a successful freelancer?
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About Dustin Brewer
Dustin Brewer is a freelance web designer based out of Oklahoma City, OK passionate about web standards, and beautiful web design. Dustin Brewer has been in the web design industry for over 8 years through freelance and professional experience. If you are interested in hiring Dustin Brewer please visit the web design services page to find out more information. You can also checkout the web design portfolio.
Additionally, a client no-no whether you’re freelance or not is to respond and act instantly on their every request. If you do this they will expect every change to be this quick, even the larger tasks. Unless a client actually says (and means) it’s urgent, then work it in to your schedule at some point in the day/week.
I’ve learned this recently, coupled with getting to know and communicating well with my direct client contacts I have grown balanced and thriving client relationships!
The best thing about this article is that it encourages freelancers to try to view things from a client’s perspective. Sometimes we’re so attached to our own views that we forget basic things, such as the fact that a client may not be as familiar with web jargon as we are.
I’ve just voted for this post at Mixx.
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[...] With that in mind (that customer service is our bread and butter) there are four things to keep in mind while dealing with the client according to Dustin Brewer’s article, The Art of Great Customer Service. [...]
[...] The Art of Great Customer Service as a Freelance Web Designer Dustin Brewer offers some wonderful advice on the subject of customer service for freelancers. [...]