Introduction
If you’re in the business of providing a service, then it’s important to remember that your clients are the ones who pay your bills. In fact, if you don’t have enough clients or high-quality clientele, it’s hard to run a business at all. So how do you make sure that your prospective and current clients are happy with their experience? You can do many things as an agency owner or in-house team member to ensure that your clients always feel like they’re getting top-notch service—and it doesn’t even take much effort!
Respond to every inquiry within 24 hours
Respond to every inquiry within 24 hours. This is the standard we hold ourselves to, and it’s become one of our most important business practices. If we’re not responding within 24 hours, there’s something wrong.
There are only three exceptions:
- You have a poor internet connection and you can’t access your email or phone messages. In that case, let us know when you’re back up and running so we can reach out again!
- You have an urgent inquiry that needs immediate attention—for example, if someone has an emergency situation and needs help right away (e.g., a medical crisis). In this case, call us right away so we can address their needs immediately!
- Your inquiry isn’t actually an inquiry at all; it’s spam/spoofing/phishing attempts—in which case please report it to our abuse department immediately!
Get your prospective client on the phone
The best way to get your prospective client on the phone is to reach out and ask. You can email them or send them a tweet, but you’ll have much better results if you call them directly. Phone calls are more personal than emails, so it will show that you care about getting a relationship off on the right foot.
Over the phone, it’s easier for you to ask questions and get information that will help you understand their needs better and make informed recommendations as a result of this conversation. The more information you gather during this initial conversation with your prospective client, the better equipped you’ll be when it comes time to write up an estimate or present your project proposal at an in-person meeting (which we suggest scheduling soon after).
Create brand standards and make them available to prospective clients.
>Have a clear brand identity.
>Be consistent in your use of colors, fonts and style.
>Make sure the brand standards are easy to find on your website or elsewhere online.
Go above and beyond from your first meeting through the final product.
A client who feels like their needs are being met will be more likely to refer you. This can help you build a long-lasting relationship with that client and make clients more loyal. The more satisfied they are, the better your reputation in the industry!
Add a “Thank You” note to welcome kits or gift bags.
- Add a “Thank You” note to welcome kits or gift bags.
- Include a personal message, not just your business card.
- Include a gift or sample of your work.
- Offer a discount code for future work.
- Include a coupon for a local business in the client’s neighborhood (e.g., “$10 off at [insert name of favorite restaurant]”).
Invite your client to an industry event.
- Invite your client to an industry event.
- If you don’t already have a client who works in your industry, do some research and find one. This can be as simple as asking around at networking events or through your professional networks on LinkedIn or Facebook. The best way to get someone excited about attending an event is to make sure they know what it will look like and what they can expect from it.
- Follow up after the event with thank-you notes and other ways of expressing gratitude (like sending them relevant content).
Follow up with your past clients to see how they’re doing and make sure they’re satisfied.
The best way to make sure you’re providing the best experience is to ask your clients. Take a survey or send out an email asking for feedback on how you could improve your client experience, and let them know it’s completely anonymous unless they want to leave their name. You can even offer a small gift card or something like that for their time, but don’t let that influence their response!
If you want more information about how well things are going with clients after they walk out of your store or office, use a service like Survey Monkey (free) to create a short survey tailored specifically for this purpose.
Taking the time to follow up with past clients shows that you care about them as people—and not just transactions—and will help build trust in the relationship between you and your customers so they feel more comfortable coming back again when they need another service like yours!
Ask for feedback and improvement suggestions.
It’s important to ask for feedback and improvement suggestions throughout the life cycle of a project, but you can also do it at each milestone. At the end of each phase of a project, I ask my clients to rate their experience with me out of 10 and answer a few questions on how I could improve. I also ask them what they think went well during that phase, so that we can repeat our successes in future projects.
It pays to put in extra effort when it comes to client experience!
It pays to put in extra effort when it comes to client experience!
- Your clients will appreciate the attention, and you’ll stand out from the crowd.
- You’ll make more money in the long run.
- Your clients will be happier doing business with you.
- And your relationship will last longer.
Conclusion
Making an investment in your client experience can make a huge difference in the long run. You want to show potential clients that you’re invested in them, and you want to keep them satisfied after they’ve hired you as well. The best way to do this? By going above and beyond what they expect from their experience with your company–whether that means getting them on the phone for a consultation or creating brand standards so they know exactly what they need from day one!
