Have you ever worked with a client so great, you would want him coming back? If so, you have probably wondered how to keep him loyal and approach you every time he has a new project for you. In this short article I’d like to talk about what I call “The Paradox of a Returning Client”

#1

The paradox is barely a paradox, however it is still quite interesting. I have noticed, that when I started making logos and such, the final deliverables I gave my client were the finalized logo in .jpg and .ai. The clients kept coming back a month or so later asking for an .eps, .png, a black&white version, a different laid version and so on and so forth. And even though they returned to me for extra work on my behalf, they, of course, wouldn’t expect me to ask for a fee for that kind of work.

So we have a client that returned to you, that gave you extra work, but no payment (which is fair). The client might also end up frustrated with you, because you didn’t reply as soon as he wanted you or any other reason there is. Even though you “get your client back”, you hardly are satisfied with this return.

#2

With time passing by, I started preparing logo packages for my clients, where every possible version of a logo is created – whether it is black&white, the name only (if the original logo uses a graphic element apart from the typeface), vertical/horizontal adjustments etc. Every file then is saved as an .eps, .ai, .jpg, .png and .tiff, a readme is included. Everything gets zipped up and posted at my Dropbox account for the client to download.

In the end I get a client that will most likely never approach me with an issue for this particular project. So we get a client who doesn’t return to you, but if he needs a new logo (anything else) done, he’ll probably think of you. The package approach is probably more professional and reliable, so don’t forget to treat your client right, because in the end, you would probably not want your client coming back to you after all ;)

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