Every buying experience can be a great lesson for you and your business.
As a business coach, I make a point of observing what businesses do and how they choose to treat me as a customer. It makes me a better coach, and a better business owner.
You can become really observant of that too. It’s like a business school, giving you a whole range of experiences and ideas. It’s readily available to you every time you choose to buy something, which I’m willing to bet is at least a few times a week.
Something I love to see is a business really excelling at making customers feel welcome and letting them know that their business is very important, while at the same time leveraging the connection for increased sales.
A recent experience with my local optometrist was a brilliant case study in how to treat customers, while optimizing sales.
In the initial call to schedule an appointment, many questions were asked. It was unexpected, and took some time. The person did, however, acknowledge the time and explained the purpose in asking the questions from my perspective. This step provided the business with a great deal of valuable information about me as a customer.
Every person who was in contact with me was remarkably friendly and helpful. Most importantly, small gestures of service above and beyond the usual were provided. I was offered a beverage while waiting, an unusual item for this kind of business that demonstrated caring. When my appointment was slightly delayed, I was informed and an apology was offered, showing respect for my time.
Each person was willing to take the time to explain and answer any questions. No time pressure was exerted or felt. Again, unusual in this environment of scheduled appointments. What I experienced was interest in me, caring about what was important to me, and respect.
All of that was great and created a positive feeling about the business. What this business did above and beyond the, ‘thank you and I appreciate your business’, aspect of customer service is what I call leverage.
Imagine having a customer experience that anticipates your every need, your every question. Everyone is friendly and helpful, and you get all kinds of free stuff.
That kind of treatment creates a relationship with the customer that is ripe the acceptance of additional offers.
This business was masterful at utilizing every single opportunity that I could see to offer enhanced service. At each offer point, they explained the enhanced service, the benefits to me, and when asked, the cost. I was fully informed and everything was explained from my perspective. If I chose to give a negative response, it was gracefully accepted and the process moved smoothly on.
That’s what leverage looks like. Make use of every opportunity to delight your customers with your treatment of them, and you create a solid platform from which to present opportunities to sell additional services or products.
Delighting customers with surprises that make their process easier or anticipates what they might need is a great way to build good will and connection with your customers. Here’s where the unique way that you choose to operate your business really comes into play to directly improve your bottom line.
Be creative! How could you delight your customers in how you serve them?
Even observing a negative customer experience is useful. You get to see firsthand the impact of how a business chooses to treat you and what you don’t want to do in your own business.
Bad customer service has repercussions.
Not just in the lack of referrals, but also in the energy around your business that this puts out into the world. A withholding, greedy energy never ever pays off in the business world (or any other world, for that matter).
You yourself can create a stellar customer experience by thinking through your client interaction process in detail. From the moment you first contact a customer, what do you do? How would that feel at the customer’s end? How could you improve that experience at each and every step?
This thinking through can provide you with new insights on how you can improve the experience for your customers. Improvement includes consideration of aspects like: making it easy and pleasurable, anticipating needs, and delighting customers with little surprises that enhance their relationship with you.
Even if you feel a little uncomfortable with continuous offers of additional products and services, consider this. What you offer and what you do is of value in the world. Making people aware of it is a great service. When you look at it this way, you will feel more at ease with this process.
Once you have a clear idea of your enhanced customer experience process, share it in detail with anyone who works with you to provide that customer experience. This includes those who may not contact customers directly, but their work does impact your customers, e.g., your website designer.
Maximizing each opportunity to create a great experience for your customers will pay dividends in enhanced connection, expanded goodwill, and multiple opportunities for customers to engage with you even more through additional service and product purchases.
Leverage is a powerful tool to grow your business. Make the most of it!
What fabulous customer experiences have you had? How would you apply that in your own business? Share with us in the comments below – we can all learn from each other!