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July 30, 2008

Being a company that specializes in Websites and Internet marketing it propably comes as no surprise that we have clients based all over the United States – most we’ve never actually met face-to-face. While we realize many clients prefer to hire locally, it’s become quite evident that long-distance clients will happily retain services even without the benefit of a face-to-face meeting. It’s the ultimate compliment to me when we are awarded a project based solely on email and telephone communications. As we are all well aware, face-to-face meetings are time consuming.

In this short article I thought I’d share with you some of the things I do to ensure our clients have the comfort level they need to work with us, whether they are based in Maine or Florida. These aren’t “rocket scientist” tips, just things that have served us well. I hope they help you, too:

A Location. It’s simple, I know, but you’d be surprised how many companies fail to provide their address or location. It’s a major red-flag for me if the only way to reach someone is through a PO Box. Don’t hide from your customers.

A phone number. Again, a no-brainer. But the secret behind this tip is this: someone actually answers the phone! I can’t tell you how many people call me and say “wow – you actually answered the phone…I’ve called several Web design firms today and the phone is either disconnected or it just rings and rings…”

An email address. How many times have you tried to contact a company through their website only to find a contact form? This is irritating because some of those forms request more information than I want to provide. The point of a website is to make it easy for customers and potential customers to CONTACT YOU! So, with that said, make it easy.

A professional and consistent greeting. Whether your caller is greeted personally by you or your message center, be sure the greeting is appropriate for your callers and don’t forget to include important information like your Website address so they know how to find out more about you while waiting for a return call.

Home office dead give-aways. If you work out of your home, which MANY web design firms do, be sure there are no dogs or children in your office while talking with your client on the phone. Sounds of dogs barking and babies crying are not only distracting for you and your client, its just unprofessional in most circumstances. In most instances, no one really needs to know whether you work out of your home or Trump Tower.

Return phone calls promptly. If you tell someone you’ll call them back within 1 hour, do it! If you must, have your phone calls redirected to your cell phone if you’re out of the office. I hear it often “Wow…thanks for calling back so promptly!” It’s as if people are used to being ignored!

Keep your word. If you tell someone you’ll have a report to them by 10AM (their time!) tomorrow, it should be there by 10:00AM or earlier. When you consistently demonstrate your commitment to keeping your word, your will establish a huge trust factor with your clients that will take you further than ever anticipated.

Referrals and testimonials. Give referrals without being asked for them (be sure the person you are giving as a referral is aware though – it’s common courtesy). We ask every single client we work with for a testimonial (and no, we don’t write these ourselves but we do make it easy for them) and they provide them without hesitation. Why wouldn’t they? We’ve served them well.

Consistency. This is something you prove over time, but just be aware every time your client requests something from you and you deliver it without delay or mistakes, you are increasing your value and ultimately creating a very loyal client. Loyalty is hard to come by in these competitive days.

Personality. Be true to yourself and true to your clients. If you say you can do it then do it and do it well. It’s so much easier being genuine and letting clients get to know YOU and how you work. If you're working to service the customer then the personality should be fitting and that includes the times when your clients are not happy.

Obviously I didn’t cover core issues like having a fantastic product or service to offer your clients. That's an assumption on my behalf. To this day I still see website designs and graphic designs that are done by amateurs so the person behind selling to those customers are doing a great job but the designers are not delivering. My ultimate goal is to make my customers completely happy with the service and product we deliver. I haven't had a disgruntled customer yet and I plan to keep it that way.

Leana P. Murdoch