Marketing 101 – Customer Service

As a Virtual Assistant, providing great customer service is the most effective and least expensive way of marketing.  The majority of your marketing time and budget should be spent on building solid relationships with clients.

You can spend thousands of dollars marketing your service but if you are not good at what you do, your clients will not come back.  Worst of all, they will tell others that your services are not up to par.  Word of mouth travels fast.

Even if you are a new VA starting your practice, you should still be thinking of the value that you will be bringing your potential clients.  As a VA, at least 70% of your business will be and should be from past clients and their referrals.

Some things to think about:

1. It is more expensive to get a new client than to keep an existing client.
2. You work more efficiently with existing clients since you are already familiar with their situations.
3. In order to produce superior customer service you must love what it is you are doing.

Adding Client Value

Yes, the little things really do mean a lot. The smallest gestures made on your part can make your clients feel special and coming back for more.  Deliver an “above and beyond the call of duty” service to all your clients.  By doing this you will be adding value to the relationship and intensifying that customer loyalty.

If you haven’t yet, incorporate a few of these ideas in your business:

• Without them asking for it….send your clients resources, articles, information that they would find useful.
• Promote your clients service/product whenever there is an opportunity to do so.
• Call your clients just to say “Hi”, so they know you are thinking of them.
• For special occasions, send your client a card or small gift.
• Always provide opportunities for your clients to use you as a sounding board.

This is only a short list of the items you can implement in your business right away. The cost is either free or very minimal and will make a huge impact on the Client/VA relationship.

The above is an article based on the foundations of the book The Virtual Assistants Guide to Marketing by Michelle Jamison.

Michelle is owner and operator of MJVA (www.mjva.ca).  While managing her company, Michelle is also an instructor for Red Deer College’s Virtual Assistant Certificate Program, where she teaches, Marketing, Starting a VA Business and Office Management. She is the author of The Virtual Assistants Guide to Marketing which is the basis for the MJVA Strategic Marketing Package,  a unique offering for Virtual Assistants who need one-on-one support with marketing their business.