Don’t Lose Your Clients
So everyone has read about The Software Development Life Cycle.
1. Planning
2. Defining
3. Designing
4. Building
5. Testing
6. Deployment
Now a small scale development agency tries to follow the same cycle. But due to many factors(we will cover these factors later), they tend to either lose client, face financial losses or end up with an unhappy client. Even after providing every possible module client remains unhappy or find it very hard to implement the software in his business(Especially in the case of ERPs)
In my experience, planning & defining are the phases where most small scale development agencies go wrong. The majority of our clients don't know how exactly software development works. What amount of hard work we have to put in for proper development & deployment of particular software.
Here are few ways(As per my experience) to avoid these problems.
- Never commit client a fixed cost: Especially in projects where the product is uncertain (By clients side & development side both). Even if you have already provided the client with a fixed budget go with work-specific quotes which allow you to charge extra money for extra work. Now, this may create disturbance first but with valuable service from your side, you can make the client understand that this is a win-win situation for both.
2. Always deploy in phases: Always look to break down the project in phases. This gives the client a sense of security that the project is being developed & also the chance to see how well it can be implemented in his business. (This does not apply to ready product selling like billing software, marketing software, etc,.)
3. Pitch Post Deployment Maintenance Charges: A client post-deployment will always call for extra support. Many small scale development agency owners will accept that they have received 10+ calls per day by a single client post-deployment. Many of which were after working hours. Make sure you charge post-deployment service charges to your client. Now, these charges can be as low as 1000Rupee/month based on your project. But do charge this. Firstly these small revenues will help you with overhead expenses, second, once you charge the maintenance service you also get a sense of responsibility towards your customer.
I have been running a development agency named OSKARTech.com We have developed hundreds of application, ERPs, Games etc,. I hope this article may have added some value for you. Thanks
For any suggestion or collaborations please visit: OSKARTech.com Or Mail us at Support@oskartech.com
