Developing a website for any ordinary or normal client is not at all a simple task as it seems to be in the beginning because of the endless amount of time devoted after the debugging, scenes, testing, optimizing for mobile devices, compact images and the rest.
The clients are hardly informed about these slight differences as they assume their job to be simple, such as creating a choice, making some adjustments, or adding some of the details, give them the feeling of satisfaction of completing the work, as they are hardly aware of its challenges.
In order to establish steady communication, it is important to know the manner in which to Keep the clients cheerful and intact as it has the power to rerun the business with a huge interest of fund specifically after some years in business.
The Acquisition Trap
Being in business and not interested in accepting new clients is something that is hard to believe! As in the case of WordPress Development, for many developers, there is a cool combination including the management of current projects and the rise of new leads. “The Acquisition Trap” is a place where you are so much concentrated in creating new sales funnel, searching for leads and converting new clients that you fail to realize the presence of anything.
It is hard to disregard the fact about the influence of developing the link, in case your client has signed their contract and your concentration has been diverted to deliverables, it becomes simpler to ignore the importance of building the relationship and thus there are chances of disintegration. In order to keep your clients and their purchases stable, being suspicious about them is incorrect as we all have “been in their shoes” to experience their grief.
Impressing your client with the excellent services, right from the moment of undertaking the development contract, can ease them about the decisions made.
Are You too Focused On Acquisition?
The feeling that the clients have become materialistic is sometimes doubted by the WordPress Development industry. Because of the experience of price-pressure felt from various corners, there is a doubt about another developer eager to take the same job for 50% less than the required charge. By applying the utility of price for making competitive margins may at times lead to a feeling of being conquered.
It is quite improper to consider developing customer retention strategy as in the greed for bringing in new clients, the old ones are forgotten because of whom we have been placed currently. Irrespective of the price point by developing retention strategies that concentrates on handing over the extraordinary values and building relationships that is sure to establish a competition which is difficult to surpass.
There is of course difference of opinion with regards to the actual value of long- term client relationship while surfing online which shows an increase in retention by 5%, thereby converting an increase in profit ranging from 25% to 95% which is quite noticeable.
For making client retention worthwhile, create your own presumptions deciding upon your own results.
Shifting Focus to Retention
For the construction of retention program and development of client relationship, the following three methods should be followed:-
1. Ink Down your Plan – As an independent and a firm developer, you can imply your short plans. With the help of support staff and Virtual Assistant (VA), development of standard operating policy for encouraging stability is also required.
2. Check, Amend and Clarify – Time must be devoted for optimizing client retention process as is done for optimizing a website and sales process for modifications by trying out for various value added services, newsletter frequency, weekly reporting as against monthly reporting which is profitable for you and valuable for your client. This can be done by applying various ideas and techniques.
3. Request for Criticism if Any – A developer is always in the habit of thinking about his/her client’s requirements. His concentration is divided between providing them with the expertise as well as guiding them and to be sure enough to give ears to their needs. Building up client feedback into the retention program is of great help in sorting out their problems.
Seven Factors Effecting Client Retention Program
1. Define Your Client’s Know-How:-
Needless to say, everyone is aware about the popularity of Apple Products that are famous universally and many of them are much keen about knowing the extent through which it has gone to develop the ‘ideal customer service’ for its flawless design throughout the whole process.
2. Establish Plans for Communication:-
There is no doubt about communication playing a vital role in maintaining long-term client relationship. The question is not about any choice of communication, be it hangouts, Email, telephones as all of them function, depending upon its utility.
By creating a good rapport with your clients, keep them intact so that they do not have time to think about the progress of their project as within a ‘wink of an eye’ email updates can be done at the end of the day or a week as per the priority.
Placing you in the client’s situation when a deadline is attached, which makes them tensed and upsets them, letting them know that everything is alright gives them a sigh of relief.
3. Providing Current Values:-
It is very important to know the requirements of your clients and simultaneously to provide them with the same accordingly which again should be chargeable. The question is What are we generating out of our current client? As we are very much concentrated on the gains, our limitations are adapted towards bringing new leads into the sales funnel.
Instead of exchanging words about the importance of content marketing with each client, a 10 minute video can help in enabling your business along with the case study which may be well accomplished.
4. Become an Indispensable Resource:-
By just Devoting 30 minutes in solving the website crisis of your client, will help them expand their business. This statement can be well understood by the following small incidence-
There was a clash regarding client’s portfolio plugin with the recent WordPress updates, where, surprisingly, the portfolio on their website stopped working. Unfortunately, the developer of the plugin was absent for few days and the client had a meeting that very afternoon, probably with $5k customer who was seriously required to present the portfolio. The developer could have easily shirked away or blamed the WordPress or the plugin developer, but, he proved his honesty by creating a new portfolio in time which is really worth appreciating.
5. Be Interested in Your Client’s Business:-
Treating your client with respect, taking interest in their business and personal well-being as well as developing a strong relationship, all these factors go on to make a strong bonding future business relationship.
6. Minimizing Workload With Automation:-
Automation plays a vital role in expanding your business. Tools like MailChimp, Infusionsoft, and MailPoet are in fact the actual tools which cannot be avoided.
7. Be Available For Your Clients:-
One has to be accessible for their clients as it would be difficult to establish relation with them irrespective of the current clients. Informing your clients to call anytime of the day for business is as good as making yourself available to them, thereby transforming short-term relationship into long-term harmony.
In short, hard work, conversation, intercommunication and people skills, all factors help in building long-term relationships.