Five Easy Steps to Client Delight
You feel that you do a good job for your clients. You deliver what you promise, you return calls promptly, and you offer a quality product or service. So why is your business a bit lackluster lately? Is it just the slow economy? Or are you unwittingly making big mistakes?
Chances are, you're not doing anything wrong. It's just that you aren't doing everything really, really right.
Here are five tips on creating rich, rewarding experiences that will keep your clients happy and coming back for more:
- Live by the "80/20" Rule. You remember this rule, the one that says businesses get 80% of their revenue from 20% of their clients. Typically, these same businesses spend 60-80% of their marketing dollars on prospecting. What a mistake! You should be 80% client-focused and 20% prospect-focused. Otherwise, you'll end up in a situation where the customers that bring in the bulk of your income feel vaguely dissatisfied. They may very well leave you and, even worse, go around telling everyone what a bad experience they had.
- Market to your existing clients. It pays! "I have a client who has been a financial advisor for more than a dozen years. During his first eight years in business (before I knew him), he had built his business to the point where he managed a total of $10 million in assets. He was acquiring 80 percent of his new clients by prospect marketing. When we began working together, I advised him to add client marketing to the mix. We put together a marketing system that included regular phone and mail communication to his clients, client-focused seminars and events, open houses, a commitment to periodic client reviews, and ongoing client appreciation activities that included notes, letters, cards, gifts, and social events.
- Ask your clients what they want. A novel concept, huh? It's all too easy to assume that you know what they want. But unless you're an extremely gifted mind-reader, you probably don't!
Clients will consciously and subconsciously rate you on several factors, including satisfaction, delight, service, communication, your staff, etc. How do you think you rate with your clients? Have you ever thought about discovering their level of satisfaction, and what's really important to them about you and the business? Asking your clients what they want is the best first step to providing the basics of client marketing. Written questionnaires, personal interviews, focus groups, advisory boards, and evaluation forms are all useful tools to determine what your clients expect or desire, and what would delight them. - Think of imaginative ways to set your business apart. Will clients want to remember the experience they have at your business? What is it that sets you apart from your competition?
- Establish a KIT (Keep In Touch) Program. If you tend to sit around and wait for clients to contact you, you're missing out on some great opportunities to really cement your relationships. Right from the start, plan to wow your clients with a program of proactive communications that will surprise and delight them. Take the time to regularly contact them, even if the conversation or note is short."
Within three years after putting this client marketing plan in place, his business increased from $10 million dollars to $100 million dollars of money under this management.
I know of a realtor in one of the nation's fastest growing counties who found the answers to those questions. He has hundreds of competitors, all of whom have access to the same inventory, and whose fees are identical to his. Nevertheless, he's the first realtor most people in the area call when they're ready to put their homes on the market.
Unlike his competitors, he doesn't just show up when someone wants to buy or sell a house. Each spring, every homeowner in the area gets a tiny tree from him to plant in their yards and, in October, a pumpkin, with a note from him, appears on every front porch. In mid-summer, his antique fire engine, loaded with neighborhood kids, is at the head of the local Independence Day parade. Yes, he spends more to market his services than others do, but it isn't a business expense, it's an investment that pays rich dividends, year after year. He's become the top realtor in his area because he does what his competitors don't do. He creates experiences!
A few suggestions:
Get the email addresses of all your clients and enter them in your email address book. Now, whenever you come across anything that might be of interest to them, you can reach them all in a matter of seconds.
An educated client is a happy client. You can videotape or audiotape regular information or seminars and mail it to your clients. A newsletter is another good way to keep in contact with and educate your clients.
Always take a proactive approach; contact your clients before they contact you. Admit mistakes, take responsibility, and fix problems as quickly as possible every time. Your actions will represent a positive, memorable experience.
Make sure every member of your team follows the same game plan. If someone in the marketing department faithfully contacts a client or prospect every month, but client service representatives consistently misspell a name, get the address wrong, or fail to follow up on a request or complaint, the company as a whole suffers the consequences.
With a little imagination and a passionate commitment to service, you can create the kinds of client experiences that transform mundane transactions into a dynamic, thriving business. Start right now. ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression' may be a cliché, but it's as true today as it's ever been. The more you delight your clients from the very beginning, the better your long-term relationship will be, and the more your company will profit.