Hello Chasers,
If you have been following our business development blog theme (Creating Consistent Cashflow) this quarter, we are now going to focus on a very important and often neglected aspect of business. And that is to create a simply awesome customer experience for them, which happens to relate to the 2nd Way to Grow a Business – increase the number of times a customer comes back!
We all work hard to gain actual paying customers and need to spend even more resources in securing them. So, it goes without saying then that it would be a terrible shame not to take care of them in the best way we possibly can.
In actual fact, we need to go beyond just caring for our customers if we want them to continually come back, be a source of referrals for our business and spend more. We need to become smart businesses who consistently wow them, a business who is delivering more value than what we promised.
Now you might think, ‘well this is simple and obvious, but in the grind of daily work, it’s often neglected and overlooked because we are simply too busy or focused on getting new customers.
Let’s think about this for a moment …
… think about the last time you were completely impressed by a business.
What did they say?
What did they actually do?
How did you actually feel?
Now if they created moments that made you go ‘WOW they are amazing!’, you probably went back and purchased again, told a few of your friends and continued to be delighted by that experience.
Wowing your customers involves going that extra mile to create a memorable impression that will create customers for life. Start off by satisfying customers by providing the service or product your customers pay for in a timely fashion. Then WOW them by going above and beyond their expectations and provide additional value.
The good part is that this can be systemised so that no matter which member of your team has the interaction with your customer, your customer will get the same consistent WOW treatment!
Here’s how to do it.
- Do what you said you were going to do
The first step to wowing your customers is not upsetting them in the first place. That starts with doing exactly what you said you were going to do, without exception. This can be extremely difficult, but it’s a must if you’re truly dedicated to impressing customers.
The key to this is internal communication within your business. Make sure everyone knows what was promised to the customer, and ensure all deadlines and deliverables are met. CRM software can be a huge help here in automating the process.
- Follow up when they least expect it
When you have the element of surprise on your side, it’s easy to wow a customer. Your personal touch can go a long way to building a longstanding business relationship. Pick up the phone and ask your customers how your product or service is treating them just for the sake of doing it – no strings attached. This has two distinct benefits. First, it lets you know early on if
they are having any problems you need to remedy. Second, if everything is great the customer still has the satisfaction of knowing you’re thinking about them and that you care. Goodwill goes a long way.
- Give them more VALUE than they expected
This can come in the form of a gift, such as access to the next generation of a product or simply applying a new rebate that wasn’t offered when they purchased.
Everyone loves to feel like they are getting a good value, and any little things beyond the norm that a business can offer to existing customers are a plus. This also comes in the form of customer service. Giving a customer more help and support than they are expecting helps create brand advocates that eventually bring in more customers.
- Offer them something they didn’t know they needed
Here’s your opportunity to consider the upsell, but you can approach it in a delicate way. It’s important to make sure your customer knows about everything you sell or provide in your business, in case they have a need they didn’t realise your business could help with. This happens all the time when a customer comes to a business for one specific thing and never considers other products or services. It’s up to the business to fix this and let them know all of the ways you can help.
Try the softer upsell approach, this is an opportunity to give your customers free trials of other products or services related to what they already have. If you can address another one of their pain points, they will be very grateful for it because it is far easier for them to buy from a business they already have dealt with and trust.
- Express your gratitude
There are infinite creative ways to thank people for their business, and it doesn’t have to be a complicated thing to make a big impact. The key is to put in the effort, brainstorm with your Team and then do it.
The simplest way is to send a little birthday gift – whether it’s a hand-made card, box of brownies or a coupon code for your own services. What about ways you can support your customer’s business. It could be as easy as attending an event they are hosting or purchasing from them and gifting to your other customers?
The key to all of these ideas is to be genuinely caring and supportive in the truest sense of the words. If you have your customers’ backs and you continually wow them, you can look forward to more business and more referrals.
Now armed with this information, what can you do to WOW your customers?
Have a great day!
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