While a satisfied client serves as fuel for further sales and word-of-mouth marketing, an excited client is the jet engine for your success. Unfortunately, many freelancers don’t know how to turn regular clients into fans. In this article, you’ll find five simple and quick tips to impress clients and build a long-lasting relationship from the first sale.
Give Clients Exactly What They Want
Literally: give clients what they ask of you. In most situations, clients do not clearly understand how the design works, how user experience affects the product, and how color theory works. However, as the designer, you have to be careful with how you articulate that with clients.
You’re the one with the brain wired for creativity – the one with the vision. But when it comes to making your clients happy, you need to listen to them. If your client prefers green over blue, let it be blue. If the clients show you the design and say “do it like that,” it’s better to do it like that for the project’s sake!
But what if the client is clearly wrong? Not just a difference-of-opinion wrong, but what they’re asking of you will quite frankly do more harm than good – then it’s not a bad thing to present your professional opinion. Just be sure to do so in a respectful, open-minded manner. (Meaning, never flat out tell them they’re wrong.) After all, it’s the client’s opinion that trumps all.
Include Layout & Color Variations
Before approving the design you have created, it’s better to think of different color variations. In most cases, a designer uses colors from the company’s website or brand, but if you’re creating a design from scratch, it’s better to play around with a few color schemes.
For example, if you’re designing a flyer, show what it would look like on white and black backgrounds. Also, include the flyer in a photo-realistic mockup to showcase how it will look in real life. Let your clients choose what design suits their needs the best.
Display the Design Using a Mockup
When it comes to presenting your design work, mockups are a hassle-free way to show it to the client. Showing them what their design will look like in real life will help their imaginations run wild.
Use them to enhance your presentation for clients or for your portfolio. These days you can find various photo-realistic mockups (both free and paid) for almost any design product – would it be a flyer, business card, magazine, or mobile app. Or you can create a mockup yourself. It will make you look professional and give you a competitive edge in clients’ eyes.
Keep Your Work Consistent
Try to stick to the same style you usually use for most of your designs. Clients rarely enjoy change. They want to know that what they’re paying for will be of the same quality as the designs shown in your portfolio.
It’s all about your own style, which isn’t something you can develop overnight. It may take years to uncover. While there is nothing wrong with finding inspiration from the work of other designers, if you are serious about your business, you cannot just copy their style. You need to try to add your own personality to your work.
Let the Client Choose a Design from a Pre-made Template
Show the client a selection of pre-made templates, just like our flyers, and let them choose. You can create pre-made templates for almost any design project, from website layouts to business cards. Showcase the best work in your portfolio and let the clients choose what style is right for them. Pre-made templates can also help you to save time. It’s better – and way more cost-effective and timely – to remake an existing design than create something from scratch.
Let us know in the comments below how you best impress your clients!
