Nurturing relationships with new clients and fostering current client relationships is an important part of your voice-over business that actually begins before you’ve booked the job.
Maintaining good business relationships is important!
First and foremost, in order to make a good impression, don’t overpromise. Be realistic about your delivery timelines and then, if possible, deliver the work earlier than promised! This demonstrates your positive work ethic and highlights your commitment to customer service.
Be responsive and reachable. If the client is in need of a pick-up, it goes without saying that you would provide them with the revision as soon as possible, but if you’re otherwise engaged, respond to their e-mail immediately and let them know when you’ll be able to get the revision to them. It can be very agitating for someone to reach out to you and not know if you’ve even read their email.
So now you’ve finished the job and have gotten paid. Now what? It’s very important at that point to continue to foster that new business relationship. There are a number of ways to do this.
As you begin to build your client base, it’s important to keep track of the information you’ve gathered. As you begin to gain more clients, it’s worth it to invest in a CRM (Customer Relations Management) software, which tracks a number of different data points including the business name, contact information, lead, type of VO work you’ve provided, rates, etc. There are a number of different CRMs for you to choose from. When you’re just starting out though, it is just as feasible to create a spreadsheet to track this information.
Once you have the basic information entered into your spreadsheet, begin to track each time you reach out to them. In our business, it’s commonly known as “touches.” This just means that you’re keeping track of each time you reach out to a client in order to stay at the top of their mind and foster the relationship.
Here are just a few examples of what would be considered touches.
- After you’ve finished the job, thank them for the work, either via email or a card.
- Every three weeks or so, go onto the client’s social media site(s) and follow them, like a post they’ve made, or engage in dialogue with them about something they’ve posted.
- Ask the client if you may send them your quarterly newsletter. Your newsletter may contain anything that you believe to be consistent with your brand, and includes your contact information and highlights some of your recent work.
- Send them a handwritten card or small gift to let them know you’re thinking of them (without asking for work).
These, along with your professionalism, timeliness, providing them high-quality audio, excellent customer service and good old fashioned kindness will go a long way in establishing a positive lasting relationship that will keep them coming back for more!
