How to Be the Queen of Client Experiences
Alexa, play "No Ordinary Love."
Now crank it up, because it’s time to get into the right headspace. As a small business owner, your customer experience is essential to your success. So how can you give all that you can give? How can you make it no ordinary love? And why does it matter so much?
Being the Queen of Client Experiences leads to...
Increased customer loyalty
Increased customer satisfaction
Better word-of-mouth marketing, positive reviews, and recommendations
Let’s break that down one more level. Why does your client experience matter? Because increased customer loyalty, satisfaction, and word-of-mouth marketing translates into more sales and abundance for your business.
And we all know a business without revenue is just a hobby.
My PR + branding agency has run for 10+ years on word-of-mouth alone! Zero spend on advertising dollars. Zero spend on social ads or sponsored banners or commercials or anything that required money to put my name on it. And I'm proud of that!
Have you ever gotten great service from someone, but you didn't love the process, so you never told anyone else about it? Maybe you got a great haircut but you felt rushed and didn't appreciate the way they spoke to you at checkout, so you never went back, and you never recommended them either.
Or maybe you had a logo designed and the design was good, but you had to check in all the time on the status and never really knew if it was going to be delivered on time, so you never used that graphic designer again.
Sure, the value of your offer matters. No one is debating that. But so does your client experience.
Let’s talk client experience.
How does someone feel from the moment they first connect with your company until the last day of the service? We're going to break that down so that you create the foundation for your truly epic customer experience journey.
A few things will make you stand out from the crowd:
Make the sequence of events crystal clear
Create an intimate connection with your clients
Make the customer experience as personalized as possible
Wow and delight them from beginning to end
Listen more by providing an outlet to collect anonymous feedback
Step 1: First, the courtship.
How can you make your client experience feel far from ordinary? Before they even say yes, is there something you can do to make them feel special? Make that part of the experience from day 1, not just from the day they enter their credit card number.
Step 2: They said yes. Now what?
Create a sequence of events that makes them feel like the queen of the ball. First, draft your ideal sequence of events on paper. Try to anticipate their needs. Put yourself in their shoes - what would you want or need? Writing this down on paper helps you connect dots and develops your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) as you go. Win/win!
When the journey feels complete on paper, decide what you can automate. If you use a business management platform like Dubsado or Honeybook, you can automate a lot of your email communication, which will save you so much time as your business grows.
From the first welcome email with the welcome guide to your scheduling email that prompts them to schedule their time with you, to any forms you need them to fill out, and of course, the invoicing process - odds are it can all be automated or pre-written at the very least so all you have to do is copy/paste/personalize, and send!
P.S. If you want to set up your client experience, invoicing and more with Honeybook, use my referral link for 50% off your first year. And I highly recommend scheduling a VIP day with Kelli, owner of Kay + Co. Studio to automate your customer experience journey. (Tell her I sent ya!) She created my onboarding sequence in one Saturday, and I'm obsessed! It saves me gobs of time and allows me to show up and deliver an exceptional customer experience every single time.
Remember, you want to be the QUEEN, so now that you've listed out the Must-Dos for the client experience, what are the Bonus-Dos that will set you apart? Can you send them a welcome gift?
If you're a coach, maybe it's a surprise Starbucks gift card on the date your services begin? If you're a senior portrait photographer, maybe it's a special lip gloss that will make them feel glamorous on the day of the shoot? If you're a graphic designer, maybe it's a surprise when the final Brand Guide and assets are being delivered on a thumb drive attached to a bottle of champagne? It’s your company - you set the rules!
Step 3. Part ways with style.
Your client offboarding process should not be overlooked. If you do an amazing job with your service but you botch the ending, what do you think will be top of mind?
So what does a stellar offboarding process look like? Here are few things to consider depending on your line of business:
Polite farewell email or handwritten letter thanking them for choosing to work with you
Delivery of the final assets in one tidy (virtual) box
Recap of everything you accomplished together
Farewell guide that reminds them how to reach you, where they can get their assets, and any other helpful tips you think will set them up for success
Present or small unexpected surprise
Request for testimonial
Anonymous feedback form
Don't just ask for testimonials at the end. In order to understand where you shine and where you have room for growth, make sure you supply a way for clients to give you anonymous feedback during and after their time with you.
Creating a client experience that makes your customers feel like a star is important for the growth of your business. If you’re able to create an experience that turns your fans into superfans and makes you stand out, you’re going to find abundance in your life and business. So, put on that tiara and let’s get to work!
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this blog post, which means we may receive commissions for purchases made through these links. We wouldn’t recommend them if we didn’t personally believe in them and use them for our business. Thank you in advance for your support and we hope you find our suggestions valuable as you grow your business!
