Last step in a project isn’t payment. It’s testimonial.

At emdash, we have a policy. We don’t close and archive projects in our project management system when they’re delivered. Not even when they’re paid for. We close them only when we’ve received a testimonial from the client.

In all fairness, we may or may not use these testimonials for marketing or sales. But having that conversation with the customer is an integral part of good closure. 

It helps you understand what your customer appreciated and what they didn’t. For instance, a client of mine was more impressed by my brief for her development agency than the entire website that I had written for her. Another loved the fact that the video script I wrote for them was in the film script format (typed in Courier 12pt ‘n all). Yet another, couldn’t stop being surprised about how we always met the deadline.

When you ask for feedback / testimonial, they articulate their feelings about your work, which they might not have taken the time to consider so far. As in, most clients don’t ask themselves, “how did emdash do?” Why would they! But, when you ask them and they spell out what you did well, they also remember it longer. And you want that.

So, get a testimonial at the end of every single project. Even the ones that don’t go as planned. 

P.S (more like a public commitment): Writing about keeping up timelines reminded me that I’ve fallen off the wagon in the last 2-3 months. I should go back to being the woman of her word.