Do you regularly step back and look at your business to be sure it’s running the way it’s supposed to?
If you do, that’s a good thing. It’s important to look for gaps or inconsistencies in your service offerings for your clients.
One of the things you should look at is whether you are keeping your clients at the top of their game.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. Are there new trends emerging in marketing that my client should be incorporating into their business?
2. Is there a new area of support I could be providing for my clients?
3. Are the things we are doing together being measured, and are they working?
These are just a few questions you should ask yourself regularly.
Our businesses change as time goes on and it’s important to recognize whether everything is still a good fit as we move along the line.
Trends
Are you able to stay on top of your clients’ trends? For instance, is there a new WordPress theme that ‘everyone’ is using that your client should be using? Or is there a new strategy that is emerging for social networking or marketing that your client is potentially unaware of?
As a support professional, it’s important for you to keep on top of the trends that can impact your clients’ businesses. Be sure that you have time in your schedule to help your clients stay on top of things that can significantly impact their business.
Support
Is there something that you are not doing for your clients currently that fits in with what you are doing for them? Maybe it’s time to get some support of your own, so you can offer expanded services for them. For instance, if you are doing product launches for your client, is there a social media component that you are not handling for them?
If you are presented with an opportunity like this, consider your options. Maybe you bring on a team member who specializes in social media so you can get your client’s product out there in style. Or perhaps you build a referral partnership with a social media specialist, so you can call them in just when your client needs them. Think of the options and expand your support for your clients!
Measure
Are you measuring the results of what you are doing with your clients? It’s easy to get into a routine with the day to day work that we do for clients. It’s important to look at it regularly to be sure that your client is getting the most out of their support budget with you. For instance, if you are helping a client with networking follow up, are you measuring the results of your follow up campaign? Are there things that could be changed to make the campaign more effectively, or are you both just going through the motions?
Measuring the results of what you are doing in a situation like this is very important, so you can be sure that your client benefits from the efforts, and changes course if things aren’t going in the right direction. Be sure to set up regular analysis of everything you do for your clients, so you can help them with their strategy as well as their support.
Helping your clients look down the road can go a long way in a client relationship. As a virtual professional, you want to build a long term relationship with your client, and that’s the way to do it. Be sure that you help them know what’s coming up, and how they can incorporate that into their business. Expand your support for them where possible. Be sure to analyze the efforts you both put in. These three tips will surely help you to help your clients build their business, and yours will build too!
I’d love to hear your comments on this article.