It's amazing to me how often people forget about their clients and how important those relationships are. They spend tons of time an energy working to bring on those clients and as soon as they've accomplished that they move on to the next one. Your client relationships are beyond valuable. It's a generally agreed upon principle that it costs more to get a new client than it does to keep an old one. So let's talk about how to strengthen your client relationships.

If you're not in the type of business or role where you have clients you might want to replace 'client' with 'boss' or 'employer.' The concepts won't be too far off.

For the sake of this post I'm going to assume that you're already doing the traditional right things to keep your client happy. Doing what you say you're going to do, supplying a quality product or service, and generally providing good customer service. If these things aren't in place then please start there!

Step 1: Meet with your clients! This might not always be practical, especially if you have a geographically diverse client base. Phone calls are fine too, but whenever possible try to schedule some face time with your client on a regular basis. Your definition of regularly will likely vary depending on how many or few clients you have, among other factors.

Step 2: In this meeting get beyond your own products and services. Get to know your client. Their personal interests, their passions. Learn what their goals are, what will help them get there and what's in their way. Through this process you should learn other ways that you might be able to help. It might be your own experience that you can share with them that might be helpful. It could be an introduction to someone else in your network who can help them accomplish their goals or
remove some of their barriers.

Step 3: Ask for specific help that can help you. It might be honest feedback about how your client perceives you and your company. It could be an introduction to one of their other vendors or customers. Just make sure this is a simple and specific request. Asking generally for referrals almost never works. Do your homework before the meeting and know what to ask for.

Step 4: Follow-up on any items you promised, and try to find a way to add value for your client between your meetings.

Step 5: Repeat. Schedule the next meeting when it makes sense. Make sure you're adding value each step of the way and not just wasting their time with meaningless meetings.

If your clients are companies and not individuals it's extremely important to build multiple individual relationships inside your client organizations. This serves several purposes. First, the more people who know you and the work that you do and trust you, the less likely you are to be replaced by a competitor. Second, people change jobs all the time. If you only had a relationship with 1 individual at a company and they leave, you no longer have a client relationship. Having multiple relationships will protect you from this situation, and don't forget to keep up with the individual who left. Often times they'll be in a position to recommend you to their new employer.

Happy Networking!

-Scott Ingram
NetworkInAustin.com