If you want your computer consulting business to be more profitable, one of the quickest ways is to get repeat business.  In other words, selling more high-margin, value-added virtual IT services to your STEADY, high-paying clients.

Computer Consulting:  Why is Repeat Business So Much More Profitable?

Repeat business for your computer consulting firm is so much more profitable because your customer acquisition costs, relative to revenue are so much lower.  

To illustrate, let’s say it costs you an average of $200 and 3 hours of marketing and selling time to close a deal with a new customer.  Given that statistic, would you rather that $200 expense and 3 hours of time lead to (a) a one-shot-deal $1,000 project or (b) a client that spends an average of $1,000 per month with your company INDEFINITELY?  Choosing (b) should be a “no-brainer.”

Computer Consulting:  Retaining Long-Term Clients

With that choice (b) in mind, what exactly can YOU do to make sure that you keep your customers and clients for the long haul?

If you’ve been in the computer consulting business for a while, you know that influencing product selection is one of the more valuable services that your firm performs for your clients.

Your clients depend on your firm to guide them toward reliable, cost-effective technology solutions. Along the same lines, your clients count on your firm to help them steer clear of "lemons,” or IT support "quicksand" in their IT spending.

Four Ways to Create More Highly Loyal Virtual IT Clients
 
1.  Newly released technology is often NOT a smart purchase.

If the first year’s depreciation cost on the latest and greatest PC hardware doesn’t deter your clients, this might.  If your clients purchase PCs with processors that have just been released, new kinds of motherboards, "revolutionary" kinds of graphics accelerators, or updated chipsets, your clients (and you!) may get some VERY unpleasant surprises.

1.    Your clients will probably blame you.

Clients generally don’t like unreliable PC hardware. Many clients will even blame you, the highly-paid computer consultant(s). Peeved clients with major hardware headaches can be an ENORMOUS threat to your consulting firm’s survival.

Protect your clients’ IT spending plans and YOUR company’s future by being VERY careful when it comes to being an early adopter with bleeding-edge PC hardware.

2.    Shield your clients from early adopter risks.

As the PC industry continues to experience unprecedented financial pressures, a lot more products are being rushed to market prematurely.

One can only wonder if as the hardware giants reduce headcount, expenses and R&D, will consumers become their extended R&D facility?

3.    Remember that it takes time to fully test new products.

For at least a decade, PC owners and small businesses have had to contend with a continuous stream of updated hardware device driver software and reprogrammable firmware updates.

The trouble is, from the time problems are first reported, analyzed, diagnosed and ultimately fixed through updates, your clients have to suffer with unreliable products. If you’re looking to help clients control their IT spending, you don’t want your computer consulting clients to be a hardware vendor’s guinea pig.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg