Your clients have certain expectations of you.

They expect you to turn up on time. They expect you to listen. They expect you to deliver on your promises. Yes, they even expect you to help them with the issue you told them in your marketing that you can help them with!

They consider all of these as "standard". Which means that when you deliver it, all you're doing is meeting their expectations.

Guess what, meeting expectations doesn't get you very far. In fact, all it really does is keep you in the game.

If you want your clients to refer you on, if you want them to give you a glowing testimonial, if you want them to LOVE you then you have to give them a reason to do all that.

You have to exceed their expectations.

You have to show them you love them first.

So, what have you done for your current clients, past clients or even prospective clients that delighted them?

Once I spotted an article about a well known football team in a marketing magazine. I knew one of my clients, who was a big fan, wouldn't read that magazine so I cut it out and sent it to him with a handwritten note.

After a long meeting, send a thank you card.

If a client refers a major piece of work to you, send them a bunch of flowers.

It shows you care about them without being an obvious bribe.

You don't want to get into a competition about who can spend the most on entertaining clients. You're not a megacorporation with a huge budget, so find ways that cost little or nothing but mean a LOT.