Develop Your USP as a Freelancer

How to stand out

Photo by David Rotimi on Unsplash

As a freelancer or small business owner, you want clients to remember you in order to provide you with repeat business. Naturally, this means you need to stand out for something. That ‘something’ is your unique selling proposition or unique selling point (USP). As a beginning freelancer, you will might not yet know what this could be.

Take 15 minutes to brainstorm what it is that you enjoy doing:

• What areas do you excel in?
• For what have you received compliments from clients?
• What special expertise do you have?
• Ask colleagues and existing clients what they think makes you stand out from the crowd. You may be surprised by their answers, and they will help you to position yourself in line with your (perceived) strengths.

USPs may include the following:

• A particular, unusual area of expertise.

I recently met a colleague who translates handwritten documents from Early Modern Dutch into English. Pretty unique if you ask me.

• A different way of quoting.

If everyone else quotes by word or hour, why not quote a flat rate for each project to keep things simple for your client?

• Unusual technology.

Does your client need his work completed in a certain program or tool? Others may decline because they fear it’s too much effort, but you could familiarise yourself with said system and make this your USP.

• Speed.

If it’s in your nature to check your smartphone every 30 seconds and you have no trouble replying within mere minutes, make this your USP.

• An unusual service.

Can you do something that others may find difficult? Do you have experience in something other freelancers may not? In the language service industry, for example, this might be translating audio in one language directly into another language without transcribing everything in the source language first. This can be a real niche and you’d be surprised how often such projects crop up.

• A ‘can do’ attitude.

If you don’t have much experience yet but are eager to learn the ropes as quickly as you can, display a positive ‘can do’ attitude. This can be a good initial USP for newcomers and certainly helped me a lot in my first couple of years!

Photo by Cata on Unsplash

Gifts and cards

A very effective and enjoyable way to stand out and make your clients remember you is to send them gifts or cards on special occasions and at times throughout the year when they don’t expect it.

Cards

Holidays such as Easter or Christmas are typical occasions when freelancers send their client's small gifts or at least a card. But to stand out, consider sending them cards when your competitors won’t.

Here are some ideas for memorable cards to send to clients:

• Find out your client’s birthday and send her a birthday card.
• Instead of a Christmas card, send a ‘Happy New Year’ card a couple of weeks later.
• Send a colorful postcard from your hometown. This works especially well if you are based in a different country than your client.
• When you go on holiday, why not send them a postcard from your travels? It is likely to be put up near their desk, thus reminding them of you next time a suitable project comes in.
• Send your clients a couple of your business cards in the post, perhaps together with a brochure reminding them of your range of services.
• Send a small thank you note to express your appreciation for your successful working relationship.

Gifts

In general, you don’t want to spend too much on gifts for clients. As a general rule of thumb, I would recommend no more than $20 per client, except perhaps for your especially profitable clients. However, sending out the chosen gifts can of course be quite expensive when you factor in the postage costs. But it can be well worth the investment for your favorite and possibly most lucrative clients.

Photo by Leone Venter on Unsplash

Here are some ideas for client gifts:

• A small magnet with your details.
• A branded calendar with your details, which will be used all year round.
• A mug with your logo and website.
• A branded USB stick.
• A small box of sweets from your country.
• A book or magazine you think your client will appreciate.
• A gift card.
• A gift basket for your top clients or a team you really appreciate. You can even put together your own small basket.

Sending clients gifts or cards is of course not compulsory, but it will surely contribute to strengthening your business relationship and make you memorable. Whatever you decide to send, include a personal message.

Conduct a customer satisfaction survey

As a freelancer, it is important to utilize all available avenues for improving your business, and that means making sure your customers are truly satisfied in order to ensure they remain loyal to you and give you repeat business. Many clients, however, won’t even tell you if they are unhappy. Instead, they will simply stop using your services and you may never find out that anything was wrong.

A simple way to find out if your clients are happy with your services is to send them a brief customer satisfaction survey by email. As your customers’ time is precious, you should limit it to three or four questions that are easy to answer. Websites such as Surveymonkey offer free or low-cost forms to create your own survey.

Questions to ask

• Why do you enjoy being my client?
• What additional services would you like to see me provide?
• Is there anything you feel I could do better?
• May I publish your testimonial on my website? [optional]

What to do with the results

The biggest mistake you could make is to carry out such a survey and then ignore the results. Instead:

• Compile the answers and study the results.
• Look at what you are doing right in your business and ensure that these good practices continue.
• Identify any problem areas that the survey highlights and take steps to correct them.
• Consider any suggestions that your clients have made.
• Identify any positive aspects about your services that clients mentioned; these could be your USPs.

Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash

As a result, you will boost your customer satisfaction, even if your clients are already happy, and your clients will feel valued as you are clearly taking their opinions into consideration.

Branding for Solopreneurs — How To Stand Out!

Make developing your USP part of your marketing strategy. There’s only one you, so take advantage of your unique blend of experience, personality, and services.