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How to create long-term relationships with your customers

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We all love a happy ending: the hero slays the dragon, everyone finds true love, the Death Star is destroyed, the new website is launched, and both the client and the users are thrilled and excited. While this last example may not have the Hollywood feel that the first ones do, for those of us in the business, this is the happy ending we look for in every project we undertake.

Much of the attention is paid to how to start projects, or how to best design and develop websites. But the final stages of the web design process are rarely discussed. How we close a project, as well as what we do once it’s complete, are critical factors in creating long-term relationships that will lead to new business.

In this short article we will analyze some ways on how finish projects on the right foot, and also what you can do afterwards to help ensure that the projects you are involved in have happy endings (and many successful sequels).

Avoid unhappy endings

Before you can create a happy ending to your project’s story, you need to make sure you don’t create an unhappy one first. Often, when a project goes wrong, it happens in the final stages of the process. There are a number of reasons why this can happen, but there are a few simple ways to avoid the most common pitfalls:

  • Address issues as they happen – When a problem arises, discuss it with the client immediately. We tend to avoid addressing small issues, hoping to make up for it later. We do this so that we can avoid a small (always uncomfortable!) argument with the client about changing deadlines or budgets. It’s something that is done for the sake of it, but it usually doesn’t work. Budgets don’t magically increase at the end to make up for problems at the beginning. If you wait until the end of a relationship to report a problem, your client will feel surprised by the breaking news instead of being able to solve the problem when it occurs. You will always need to discuss the situation with your client one way or another, but if you do it at the end, you risk leaving them with a negative final impression of an otherwise very positive project.
  • Planning your website launch – The launch date of a website is usually planned very early in the process. Other times, the launch date is more flexible and is only determined as the project nears completion. In either scenario, Preparing for the launch of a new website is extremely important. As much as you test your site before launch, last-minute issues once your site is live are not uncommon. Preparing for a launch means looking at your traffic data to determine the best time (based on traffic) to make any necessary changes. You’ll want to find a time to make changes that will have as little impact on your business as possible. You’ll also want to make sure that your team is available and ready to address any issues and/or problems that may arise. Have your launch date set early or late, so that you know when it will be, and make sure that you have everything ready. By preparing to respond quickly to small but unexpected issues, you minimize the chances that a small issue will turn into a major one, resulting in downtime, frustration, and that final negative memory.
  • Dealing with financial issues – Few of us enjoy talking about money and payments with clients. It’s an uncomfortable (yet necessary!) part of our job. Even if your contract states that the project must be paid in full before the site launches, or you have some other arrangement with your client, payment issues are one of the quickest ways to turn a good relationship into a strained one. There’s no secret formula for dealing with payment issues, just a few common-sense rules you can follow to minimize some of the damage that money concerns can do to your relationship with a client. This includes discussing payment terms and your expectations early on in the process, getting everyone on the same page. You should also allow time for invoices to be paid and be respectful (and as accommodating as possible) when things don’t go according to plan. Financial issues can create tension in any relationship, and how you handle these tensions can either make or break your relationship.

Leave a lasting impression

First impressions are important, but lasting impressions are just as important. Just as a few small mistakes late in the process can kill an otherwise successful project, a memorable end to a project can turn a mundane engagement into a relationship that clients will eagerly share with others. Here are a few ways to leave your clients with a positive memory of their experience with you:

  • Send a token of your appreciation – It sounds so basic (and it is), but it amazes me how rarely we take the time to show our appreciation after the project is complete. This is not unique to our industry. When was the last time a company you hired to provide a service to you came to you to thank you after the work was completed and paid for? It doesn’t happen very often – and that’s why it will have an impact if you do. Your “thank you” doesn’t have to be extravagant to be effective. Some companies you work with may even have a policy against “gifts”. One of our favourite ways to show our appreciation is particularly inexpensive and very simple – to send a handwritten note with a personal message to the client. You can also have another member of the team (including those who didn’t work on the project, or who didn’t have any interaction with the client at all) sign the card. This shows how important this deal was to the company – the whole company, not just the few people you worked with directly. The main thing is to show the client that, even after the project was over, you were thinking about them. The fact that the note is handwritten shows that the customer is important enough to take the time to thank them in a more personal way (instead of sending a standard thank you message). Simple, but effective.
  • Celebrate the launch – A celebration event to celebrate the completion of a project. Again, this doesn’t need to be elaborate. The “fest” can simply be a breakfast or lunch for the client and their staff to introduce them to their new website. Doing this not only shows your appreciation, but also gives you some airtime with a wider segment of the company. It allows people in the company who haven’t worked with you directly to get to know you, and to ask any questions they have about the new website. In some cases, a project may require a larger party. If the new website is part of a larger initiative (such as a company launch or major change), then they may already be thinking about an “open house” type event. Ask the client what their plans are, and if they want to throw a party, ask to be involved. This can be great for you, giving you very positive exposure to everyone who attends. But that’s not all. Over time, we’ve found that clients love this kind of involvement. They appreciate that you care enough to be a part of their event, and they like the idea of having someone from the technical side who can talk to guests about the site. It really is a win-win situation.
  • Share with others – Clients are usually very proud of their new website and want to share it with others. So they will be very grateful if you help them spread the word. To the extent that your contract allows it, you can increase awareness of the project by writing a blog post about it or sharing some lessons you learned along the way. You can also share your work with the web design community through sites like Dribbble or other networks that you use to communicate with your peers and friends. You will also need to be aware of when others are talking about or sharing the new website. If the site is featured in one of the many web design galleries out there, be sure to point it out to your client. Seeing this type of recognition from outside sources is a great way to remind them of the successful process and the positive results of the project.
  • Mention some businesses – Another simple way to do something nice and positive for your client right after the project is complete is to refer them to your business. One of our favorite things to do is to identify two of our clients who can help each other through the services they provide. Schedule an informal lunch to introduce the two companies and not only will you be able to help them, but you will also get some airtime with both of them in very positive circumstances. This process is a perfect lead-in to the next section: how to build long-term relationships with your clients.

An Ongoing Relationship

The best source of new business for your company comes from your current customers. It is much easier to work with organizations you already know and trust than to try to sell your services to companies you have never had a relationship with. Therefore, a process for connect with your customers on a regular basis will be a very important step towards your long-term success.

As the project winds down, one of the last things you should do is schedule a follow-up meeting – or better yet, a series of follow-up meetings (to review the work after it’s launched). Regular meetings with your client will allow you to discuss not only how the new site is performing and what feedback it’s generated, but also what changes may be happening in the company (or what changes you’re seeing in the industry that they need to be aware of). There will rarely be a time when you sit down with your client to discuss these issues and not have more work coming your way. That’s the value of long-term relationships, as a partner your clients trust. When you help them identify their business needs and provide solutions to their problems, you’re getting more work for yourself.

Lest we give the wrong impression, let’s be clear – while there is a sales element to these meetings, these are not sales meetings. Building genuine relationships with your customers is invaluable, and these meetings are part of that process. This is less about selling them something and more about having a candid conversation to determine what they need, and how you can help them continue to be successful.

Customers Spread the Word

Another great way to get new business is through mouth to mouth, the words that come from your customers' mouths carry a lot of weight.

Customers talk to others about your website and the company that helped them build it, so building a good relationship with them will result in more leads for you. You can encourage your customers to talk about the work you did for them by asking for a testimonial as soon as the project is complete. Even if you don’t use testimonials on your own website, asking your customers to provide one (or asking them to provide a reference or recommend you on LinkedIn) allows them to verbalize their experience with you and your company while it’s still fresh in their minds. The process of writing it down will also help them remember it in the future. Later, when someone asks them who built their website and how it went, the positive comments they wrote will come to mind and you’ll have a quality referral.

Your Work Spreads the Word

Your clients’ websites also help spread the word about your services, simply by adding a link to the footer of your website. This practice of “signing” your website is a bit controversial. We’ve heard passionate debates with “both sides” voicing arguments for and against. For a while we thought it would be a mistake to do this, but here are two reasons why we’ve changed our minds:

  1. We saw many other web design agencies, both large and small, do this on sites they had developed. Many of them were ones we already admired and whose teachings and examples we followed in various aspects of our work. We decided to do it too;
  2. After this, we noticed that no one had complained. On the contrary, we had clients who told us that they liked having our link on their website because it made it easier for them to find us or send us referrals.

Needless to say, we’ve completely changed our minds on this subject, especially when we hear someone say something like, “We saw your link on a website and we really liked your work.” Is there a better way to start a conversation with a new potential client?

The Key is Consistency

As you’ve read this article, you’ve probably said “I’ve done that” to some (or even all!) of the examples we’ve presented here – but how often do you do it? You might say that you show your clients how happy you are or that you schedule regular follow-up meetings, but do you do it for every project? Probably not.

It’s easy to put off sending a thank you card, and then forget about it in the midst of all your responsibilities. It’s easy to cancel a meeting and never reschedule it, breaking your regular flow of conversations with your client. The ideas we’ve outlined here aren’t rocket science – they’re all things you can easily add to your projects, but they’re also things that are easy to cancel or forget about.

The key to having a consistent return on these practices is to apply consistently to your work. If you make them part of your regular workflow and essential to your process, then the positive results will also be consistent.

In short

  • Be careful that small problems at the end of a project do not derail an otherwise successful engagement.
  • Look for the little things you can do at the end of a project to leave a positive impression with your client.
  • Connect with your clients for regularly scheduled meetings and build long-term relationships that will result in future projects (and great referrals!).
  • Establish a process internally to make these tasks a consistent part of your workflow so you can realize all the benefits you can reap from them.

By finishing your projects well, establishing quality relationships with your clients, you will be one step closer to ending all the stories related to your projects with a “happily ever after”.

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