Clients have so many choices nowadays. Competition is fierce in most industries, whether it's
Food & Beverage, Property Management, Construction, Speaking or Coaching - if you are in business, you have competitors.
How do you not only win clients over, but retain and ultimately turn them into your biggest advocates?
While this is a subject that is part of a bigger body of work - a book I have not yet completed, but am working hard on (promise!) - I will give you a high level idea of what it takes to make your customers your biggest cheerleaders.
First, it starts with a strong desire to serve and a high-quality product.
No amount of publicity or marketing will gloss over bad service or a bad product. There are restaurants that have the most amazing food and yet will not get my continued business because of terrible service. I have too many choices. Why would I choose a less than exceptional experience?
Perhaps you have Business Development friends that you would love to work with, but the product they represent is not as good as their glowing personality. I have personally walked away from high-paying Sales jobs upon finding out that I could no longer in good faith stand behind the product or service I was hired to sell.
You may be an effective Pushy Salesperson, but you will not retain your clients if you cannot deliver what is promised and beyond.
Then, If you do have a great product, it must be consistent. One bad experience can turn a person off forever and that translates into many more people hearing about that bad experience - bad Word of Mouth - running wild, like rats in a dirty kitchen. Make no mistake, Word of Mouth is still the strongest method of marketing and promotion, whether it be verbal or social media. How many times do you check out Yelp before making a decision on where to eat or what moving company to hire? What's worse is that people are more likely to spread the word about a bad experience than a good one. Sad but true :(
If your product is good and consistent, you still have to find the WOW factor -
What makes your product or service stand out from your competitors?
How do you make your clients FEEL?
A person will remember how you made them feel above all - good or bad. You have to practice active listening, read the client, find the Clues - What Clues? The clues to those opportunities that turn an ordinary interaction into an extraordinary and memorable moment!
What are your "Moments of Truth," or "Defining Moments." Those are the times when you either take a bad situation and recover so gracefully, or take a special moment and make it so spectacular that your client becomes a life-long fan.
One time we were looking for a good vet after some greatly disappointing experiences. We tried out a new animal clinic in hopes this would finally be our furry baby's spot. The vet came into the room and shook our hands firmly with a genuine smile, not the rushed "I am too busy to connect" attitude we had become accustomed to from any medical professional. This was her first time meeting our dog Scarlett and, while our dog is a total couch-snuggling baby, she can look intimidating to some who don't know her. This vet took her time to listen to our concerns and then dropped to the floor - dropped to the floor!
Suddenly, there she sat, legs sprawled, playfully engaging, connecting with and ultimately winning over our very nervous girl. We were amazed - touched by her intense level of care and attention. She instantly had our trust and our loyalty. Then she backed it up by exceptional service from her and her top-notch staff. Not only were we huge fans, we urged everyone we knew who had a pet to go nowhere else. Advocates.
What is your "Drop-To-The-Floor"?
How do you make your client feel like the most important person in the world in that moment?
We are just scratching the surface here of client service, but the main point is this -
Make a client feel listened to, understood, cared for and special, and that client will become more than a client. She will become an advocate.
It begins with a strong desire to serve and a very keen attention to the details -
Active Listening, Genuine Connection.
Connecting with clients in this remote climate can be extremely challenging.
Learn best practices for setting up and delivering a truly engaging Zoom meeting, workshop or webinar.
PLUS - Ideas for connecting beyond formal classes.
Dates & Times:
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Thursday, June 25, 2020
6 PM - 7 PM ET