What is Client Care, especially in relation to Service Provider Freelancers? Let me start with the basics and go from there. On a very basic level (or definition) Client Care is the management of all aspects of caring for or showing your concern and appreciation for your clients while providing quality services to them (yes common sense for some but not all). Let’s take a look at what client care is and how to manage it.
What Is Client Care?
“Client Care is the management of all aspects of caring for or showing your concern and appreciation for your clients, while providing quality services to them.”
~Tammy S. Durden
Client care is also the basic client care and support that you should pour into your clients on a consistent basis. Taking care of your clients can involve many facets. Every client is different. For some clients, helping them manage their calendar is like a ‘love language’ (from the Book: “5 Love Languages” by Chapman) while others respond to the encouraging notes you handwrite and send them. Every client has their own needs and level of care.
You must stop and think about the areas that your client really responds to having done. What tasks do you help with that seem to get the most return praise or gratitude from your client? You should think about this for each one of your clients and continue to build on it.
How Do I Manage Client Care?
How do you manage your client care? It is very custom to each client (as discussed above) and can include a number of tasks, encouraging words, or simply providing extraordinary services. I thought we should discuss, however, some ways to help you manage client care and may even help you find your client’s ‘love language’ (from the book: 5 Love Languages by Chapman).
Ways To Help You Boost Your Client Care
Communicate Regularly
- Communicate Regularly – making sure we touch base (via phone, text, email, etc.) regularly with our clients is crucial. This can vary with all clients but we do have meetings scheduled monthly with each client (some more often). I make sure our clients can book their appointments on their own through a calendar scheduler.
Professionalism
2. Provide Professional Services and Interact Professionally With Your Clients – Professionalism seems to be a dead art form in today’s casual business world. It seems to have been put away while Levi’s and texting have risen to become the ‘norm’ with business executives. Therefore when you show professionalism and respect to your clients you will often stand out above the rest. It is another way to show you care. And interacting with your client’s clients in a professional manner on your client’s behalf as you represent them can truly show you go the extra mile.
Time Management
3. Show Up On Time To Meetings & Meet Your Deadlines. It seems like ‘common sense” but you may be surprised how often Freelancers speak with prospective clients who share horror stories of incomplete work and unmet deadlines. This is probably the reason they are speaking to you. We should do our best to be on time for meetings as well as make our deadlines every time. Show your clients that they can count on you for not just what is needed but for the extras as well. Showing up will also tell your clients that you value and respect them. We all desire to be respected and want to be valued, why wouldn’t we also show this to our clients?
Get To Know Your Clients
4. Take Time To Get To Know Your Clients. Taking time to get to know them is one of the best things you can do to show client care. When you ask questions about your client’s life and really listen, you will be surprised by what you learn. Do this slowly, as you grow with your client, so you do not seem to be infiltrating their personal life but rather that you are hoping to show thoughtfulness toward them. In doing this you can then bring in some topics about their life.
I keep notes in my digital notebook (OneNote is great for this) so that I can look back at our last discussion, as I take notes on personal things mentioned as well as professional items. Mentioning events, people, and other things they have been experiencing helps you to not only stand out but indicates that you also take the time to listen to them and really hear them.
An example might be that their daughter fell and broke an arm or her father was in the hospital. You should then start the next conversation by checking your previous meeting notes to be reminded of the life events of your client so that when you talk with him or her you can ask about these people are in her or his life. By simply asking, ‘how is your daughter’s arm healing?’, you express concern and care that can truly mean so much to them.
“Managing your client care is imperative and goes such a long way to help clients know how much you truly care.“
-Tammy
Small Acts Of Kindness
5. Small Acts of Kindness – Reaching out in between meetings (piggy-backing on the above) and only discussing something they mentioned that was personal (not necessarily business) says a lot about who we are and shows that we really feel they are important. Making the client feel very cared for by you.
Gifts
6. Gifts – can be another wonderful way to show you care and appreciate clients. It does not have to be large and can even be small fun pins, something your client collects, or something that shows you have paid attention to details about them. If one client loves coffee then perhaps you send a $5 – $10 gift card to them. Small gifts can bring a smile and add goodwill to your relationship with your client. Maybe another client enjoys gardening so you send them a ‘thinking about you’ card with a packet of seeds in it. Sending even a simple card with a nice sentiment at different times of the year can show you care for your client. Gifts do not have to be only for birthdays and holidays.
Be driven by your passion to be in service to them, and not the survival of your business.
-FunctionPoint
WHY?
Why do all of this? Why take the time to develop your client care and pay attention to the nuances of each client? The reason is that Client Care will greatly reward you with loyalty, great reviews, and even some referrals. Client Care’s ROI (return on investment) is significant and should not be ignored.
“Client Care will greatly reward you with loyalty, great reviews, and even some referrals. ROI for Client Care is significant and should not be ignored.”
-T.Durden
If you are truly trying to SERVE your clients and help them, then how do you want them to feel after interacting with you?
You want your clients to feel blessed, passionate, and energized after talking with you!
T.Durden
If this article helped you please share it on your social media and with others! We appreciate you all so much.
Have An Amazing Week My Lovelies!
What We Do...
STARTUP Business Coaching to help you get up and running from choosing a name, business entity, and website to marketing & attracting clients.
SCALE BY OUTSOURCING Business Coaching helps you begin to add your team and grow your business. Step by step help, including holding when needed. You will also receive extra resources within your personal client portal to help you with your business growth.
GROWTH Business Coaching through proven strategies, resources, and professional business coaching to help you continue to grow and take the next steps and beyond in your business.
