While leaving a day job to freelance full-time can feel like you are leaving the world of bosses behind. You are in for a rude awaking if that is your perception. Just like all businesses, you will have many different bosses as a business owner. Each client is both a customer and a boss.
If you can perfect the customer experience as a freelancer, the boss side of your relationship will be much easier to deal with.
Set Expectations
To start, set clear, reasonable expectations from the start of your relationship. Make it very clear what you offer and what you don’t, what you charge, how you will deliver, and how and when you will be paid. Clear expectations for both yourself and your client will ensure everyone knows what is expected from everyone participating in your new working relationship.
I always work to underpromise and overdeliver to ensure a happy client 100% of the time.
Communicate Frequently
It is easy to plow through a job without communicating with your client, but that could lead to your client getting a product that isn’t what they were expecting. To ensure a happy client, communicate frequently with progress updates and other information. Also make sure to ask questions if you are not clear on an assignment or any aspect of a project.
Good communication goes beyond improving the quality of your project. It also helps deepen relationships and ensure that you come to mind first when a past client is looking to outsource a project in the future.
Improve Your Customer Experience as a Freelancer – Make Things Easy
When a client hires you, they are hiring you to lighten their workload. Do not respond by giving them a huge list of to-dos that you can take care of for them. If you can make life easier on your client in any way, they will certainly notice.
There are many methods to approach customer service, but you can take it a step further by following the lead of companies like Amazon and Nordstrom. Make sure the customer is happy by going a step beyond what is expected. They will surely be blown away and impressed by your initiative, which could lead to referrals and make them more receptive to higher rates in the future.
Payments Should be Simple
When you send your client a bill, how can they pay? If you prefer to be paid by check, make that very clear. If you prefer online payments, make it easy for your client to pay. From invoicing to payment, make things as easy as possible on your customers.
You have several options for invoicing and payments including Due.com’s payment solutions. Due.com charges 2.8% for credit card processing and will beat any competing rate. The simple signup process takes just a few minutes to complete.
Be Friendly and Available
The quality of your work is just as important as your client interactions. Are you easily accessible by phone or email? Do you respond right away to client requests and emails? If not, make sure communication is a top priority for your business, and always respond with a friendly, helpful answer.
While your clients can’t see the smile on your face as you speak or write, keeping a positive, helpful attitude during each interaction is noticeable and keeps your clients coming back for more. No one wants to work with a grouch, so keep it light, friendly, and always focus on customer service first. If you do, the sky’s the limit for your freelancing business.
[Related: The Customer Experience-Finance Paradox: How to Deliver Both]
