So you have finished up the web site, the client loves it (more importantly they love you!) and all is well with the world. Hopefully they tell all their friends about your talent and charm, but when building a freelancing client base, you shouldn’t rely on just this. You have the best source right at your fingertips. The happy client you just finished a site for!

You want to keep your current client happy and you want them to come back to you. You need a little old time charm to perfect the art of the after sale follow through.

What’s That?

Follow-through is an essential aspect of your marketing strategy. Most of the time with a typical freelance project, you hit the client with your best work, wait for the client to say yes, or if not, move on to the next client and start over. There is no follow through, and if you think about it, no real follow through with keeping customer service in mind.

Here is how follow through may work in connection to freelance web design:

After you’ve completed a project with a client, send a thank-you note a few days later. Just a quick email works fine; this isn’t a huge presentation. It’s just a little bit more than the next guy is going to offer. The client is going to be pleased. He’ll remember you sent that note. He’ll remember that you’re the kind of freelancer who’s a pleasure to work with, and an all around nice person.

About a month later, send that client another email. This one should simply ask how the project worked out. Tailor this email to the goal of the project. If it was a new website design, mention you hope your client’s visitors are enjoying the redesign’s features. Draw a little bit of attention to what a good job you did, but mostly just ask about the project’s success. It’s by showing them that you care about their project (and not just getting a paid job) that matters to the client. It is the thing they will remember and it may be the thing that leads to that awesome client referral.

Does it do any good?

As busy freelancers with not enough time, often we are just used to simple transactions – you hire me to do a job, I perform the job, you pay me, we go our separate ways. You need to reconsider the resource allocation that you place on follow-through versus lead generation. Although follow-through doesn’t have to be as expensive – it can be something very simple, like an email of thanks or just touching base. When you introduce the follow-through, you’re not just one half of a transaction anymore. You’re a real live person. You’re someone who cares what happens to your client and his business, and you’re someone who thinks about your clients regularly. That makes you more than a service provider. Even if your client doesn’t have any work for you right now, he’ll probably still refer you to someone else who needs your services. Then your client will feel good that he’s done a favor for two people – you, and this referral.

That’s follow-through in light of complete customer service. It works whether you are selling furniture or your freelance web service.