Make client feedback work for you

Client feedback is often seen as something that is ‘nice to have’ but not essential. In fact, client feedback is an incredibly important part of running a successful freelance business. 

Learning from positive feedback

You can learn a great deal from positive client feedback. It helps you to understand the parts of your work that you excel at. It also helps you to learn what makes your clients happy, which is an invaluable marketing tool. 

Positive feedback also has financial implications. It your clients keep remarking that you do something particularly well, you could consider charging more for that service or making it part of a premium package that you offer to higher paying customers. 

Learning from negative feedback

Negative feedback is just as useful as positive feedback. Negative feedback can help you to identify areas of your work where you may benefit from additional training. It can also help you to get to know your clients better. Always try and look at the situation from your client’s perspective and try to avoid being offended by negative feedback. See it as a learning tool and use it to develop your business into something bigger and better. 

Other ways to use client feedback 

There are plenty of other ways in which you can make client feedback work for you. Positive feedback can be extremely motivational. Many freelancers miss out on the camaraderie and encouragement that working in a team or for a boss can provide, so use your positive client feedback as a motivational tool, in just the same way that an employee would use praise from his or her boss. 

Feedback can also be used to tell others about how great your services are. If you receive a particularly glowing piece of feedback then consider asking the client for permission to include it on the testimonials page of your website or your client newsletter. 

Client feedback really is invaluable, so if you don’t already have a process in place to capture feedback, it’s time to start thinking about one. 

Final thoughts

How do you capture client feedback? And how do you make it work for you? Share your experiences in the comments section.