What keeps a client coming back
Repeat work depends on meeting the client’s expectations, making collaboration predictable, learning from feedback and maintaining contact between assignments.
The value of repeat work
In a survey reported in 2019, 60% of 175 freelances said repeat clients supplied more than 75% of their work, and another 24% (42 of 175) said 51% to 75%. Retaining quality clients reduces time spent marketing to new ones, and familiarity helps a freelance deliver work that better meets their needs. Keeping existing clients generally takes less time, energy and marketing resources than acquiring new ones.
A long-term relationship can reduce setup time for later projects: confidentiality and contractor agreements may already be executed, preferred communication methods and writing styles are familiar, and background documents, templates and references are already available. Familiarity with the client’s disease states, products, key references, experts and prominent scientists can make writing easier and leave more time for the document itself. Fewer unknowns can reduce stress, while recurring work can offer both parties greater peace of mind and financial stability.
The client’s definition of quality
A writer should ask what the client needs and values and explain how the service can meet those needs. A subject expert short of time may expect different input from someone who chiefly needs a product for a superior; some clients need reassurance, while others focus on project objectives. Factually accurate, grammatical and logical prose may not be enough: quality can include the client’s interpretation of the message and when it is delivered. Marketing, medical affairs, regulatory and legal teams may need different aspects addressed in the same product.
Repeated changes to a nearly final draft may come from an unseen supervisor, while scientific or clinical training may influence the emphasis a client expects. Writers should ask what each client expects in the finished product. Changed instructions, withheld information and decisions by upper management can also affect the work.
Clients appreciate clarity about scope, availability and progress, quality-control checks and adherence to agreed timelines. Client satisfaction combines quality, delivery and cost: an on-target, high-quality product delivered on time or early and offering outstanding value can satisfy a client, while falling short on any one dimension can leave them unhappy. Reliability and timely delivery build credibility; anticipated deadline problems should be raised early with an alternative solution.
Freelances should help clients by sticking to the brief, clarifying anomalies early and delivering the agreed service; alternative recommendations do not remove contractual obligations, except where the requested service breaches good clinical practice or codes of conduct. Agreed deadlines should be met, even when that requires evening or weekend work, so timelines should be made achievable before agreement wherever possible. One medical writing business owner advises making every deliverable perfect even when extra time temporarily reduces earnings, treating that effort as an investment in future business; the same advice calls for friendly, helpful communication and concealing irritation with difficult clients.
Rehiring decisions
An amicably completed project does not guarantee another assignment: in 2011, one hiring manager reported rehiring about 25% of writers given a first assignment, with about half of those becoming regulars. Her reasons for not calling writers again were:
- Late delivery, particularly on a first project, with notice only the day before delivery, or on successive projects.
- A draft that missed agreed specifications, such as 3,000 words against a contract for 6,000, unless her own miscommunication was responsible.
- A combative response to confusion rather than proactive problem-solving.
- Snarky or passive-aggressive communication, which permanently ruled out further work with her; waiting a few hours before replying could allow frustration to subside.
- Questions or requests so frequent that they suggested a lack of confidence in the writer’s decisions.
The same manager valued a professional, dependable and collaborative manner, punctual or early drafts, polished and carefully referenced writing, all accompanying materials such as learning objectives, post-test questions and source articles, and limited or batched questions. She distinguished writers she would not use again from competent writers who were not quite the right fit and those with whom a mutual match led to a lasting relationship.
Other behaviours that can harm freelance business include invoicing above the agreed price, charging too little, avoiding client messages, missing the key message or audience, submitting errors, making excuses, inflexibility, poor social media judgement and complaints about revisions. Client satisfaction relies on high-quality, reliable service, outstanding value for cost and quick response. Clients hire providers to produce documents within deadlines and save time and aggravation; a document that misses its purpose requires at least substantial revision.
Survey respondents described becoming invaluable through professionalism, checking work, punctuality and integration with the client’s team; some also participated in strategy meetings, critiqued project plans, served as on-call writers or helped with project management. Attending in-office meetings where possible, meeting time and budget commitments, being available to valued clients without overpromising, and maintaining professional skills are advised ways to stand out.
Communication and partnership
Inadequate communication, unwelcome surprises, unaddressed issues and inappropriate invoicing can turn clients away.
Writers should ask new clients how often their best writers contact them and what questions usually arise, because preferences differ: the hiring manager who reported rehiring one quarter of first-time writers found more than one or two questions or requests a week excessive, while other managers welcome frequent questions.
Providers should anticipate challenges, look for opportunities that benefit the project and offer solutions while maintaining boundaries; when a request cannot fit the budget or deadline, they should propose what can be done. Prompt acknowledgement can tell a client when a fuller answer will follow, and communication should be confident, positive, appreciative and personable. Meetings should be prepared for, with attention focused on the client rather than multitasking. Updates should reach the client before their own internal reporting deadlines; email permits information exchange and a considered reply, while calls or online meetings support group discussion and shared visuals. Prompt confirmation that materials have arrived and progress reports the day before delivery or at intervals suited to project size can reassure clients that work is advancing.
Interview-dependent deadlines should be made conditional on sources being available, with prompt notice when interviews are hard to schedule or are cancelled. Extensions, changed terms and potential changes to scope, timing or costs should be discussed before delivery is due. Providers should be honest about experience and needed direction; misleading clients or requiring too much hand-holding can cost repeat work. Medical communication companies should present the team that will actually perform the work, because clients may choose personalities as well as competence and resent a team switch after awarding a contract.
Occasionally absorbing a minor additional request can build goodwill worth more than its cost; charging for every small question or change can undermine a sense of partnership. Even a change large enough to justify a modest scope adjustment can be weighed against the client’s overall value before seeking an additional fee. A small helpful addition, such as alerting a client to relevant information, may be free or outside the current scope and may lead to further work, but should be accompanied by clear boundaries.
Professional and courteous conduct matters even with challenging clients in a small, circulating profession, because people who change jobs may remember the writer’s work and attitude when new opportunities arise. Thank-you notes and availability can help maintain valued relationships. Contacts who move jobs can be congratulated as a reminder that the writer remains a resource.
Feedback and complaints
After delivery, writers should ask about satisfaction by email or telephone rather than assume silence means success, then ask what else they can do and remind clients of work delivered on time, on target and on budget. Happy clients typically say so, while unhappy ones may say nothing; requesting feedback shows interest in improving the service.
Feedback can be requested when a new client receives a draft and again at project end; with established clients, a new kind of project may be a useful occasion. An email with the invoice can ask whether everything is satisfactory, offer revisions and further work and express appreciation for the project. Inviting feedback with every delivery allows client preferences to be incorporated into style sheets. Opinions differ on surveys: one freelance considers them uncomfortable for clients, whereas another recommends an annual survey of all clients to preserve anonymity and reveal trends.
Without a manager or annual appraisal, client feedback can support a freelance’s professional development: praise encourages strengths, while constructive criticism identifies weaknesses, although receiving it calmly can be difficult. Research reported in a business magazine links better handling of negative feedback with greater success. Dismissing negative feedback as someone else’s problem can do harm; accepting it requires self-awareness that even good work may be improved. Writers should try to understand the complainant’s perspective and take steps to prevent recurrence, because attitude and handling can influence the outcome.
Complaints remain possible despite careful preparation, and someone who explains their dissatisfaction gives the writer a chance to respond. Feedback should be acknowledged and treated seriously and graciously, while neither assuming every criticism is justified nor dismissing it all; improvement requires resilience and discrimination between useful and unhelpful feedback. A change in a client’s tone or frequency of communication warrants a gentle request for feedback to distinguish external stress from problems with the work, followed by attentive listening and joint problem-solving without defensiveness or blame.
Contact between assignments
Periodic contact helps clients remember the writer when a project arises; information should be helpful, with frequency restrained by the recipient’s workload and information overload. Contact preferences vary: two participants suggested reminders every couple of months and monthly respectively.
A quarterly newsletter can report recent document types, therapeutic areas, training, publications and writing tips, with some appropriate personal detail to strengthen the relationship. Occasional relevant guideline or legislative updates can remind busy clients of the writer’s usefulness and availability, and updates about newly acquired skills can help when clients consider subcontracting. Blogs, newsletters and useful emails should be sent from a desire to help, with any resulting business treated as a bonus.
A note about a recently completed project, with a link, can reinforce capabilities for a previous client. Other ways to reconnect include sending an interesting paper abstract, suggesting how recent work could help the client and offering free brainstorming about building their business during slow periods. Contact details should be easy to find: email signatures can include name, company, telephone, email and website, mailed material can carry a business card, and electronic document properties can include contact information. Records of earlier work are worth keeping because clients may return to repurpose it in another format.