Categories
Business Blogging

4 Ways to Prioritize Your Client Experience and Customer Journey

The 1960s were some of the most unique and intense times in American history: civil unrest, war protests, and drug use were prominent.

Television was a more pervasive and influential medium; the boundaries of fashion and the social contract were being pushed to the brink.

People were paying closer attention.

Television gave them more access to information on all fronts. Access to that information altered the course of history and how future generations would make their decisions and exercise their choices.

Sound familiar?

Swap out television for the internet, and much of what is described above can be said today. How people experienced the world changed with the introduction of a new, more efficient way to communicate information.

It’s All About the Customer Journey

The customer journey has changed drastically over the past decade. The accessibility of information has made us impatient for it. The client expectation threshold has increased drastically.

Customers want instant responses to their messages and seamless experiences across digital platforms. Despite these changes, many businesses have not risen to the challenge and have falling profits because of it.

 So, what’s a small business owner to do? How can you prioritize your client’s experience and customer journey? Here, we’ll show you how to do that in four simple steps.

4 Ways to Give Your Clients a World-Class Experience Without the Price Tag

The ubiquitous nature of the almighty smartphone and social media replacing the morning paper means that people are using the authentic experiences of other customers to inform their purchase decisions. They also lean into instant gratification and ease of use: Amazon, anyone?

But you’re not Amazon, you don’t sell every product under the sun, and you can’t solicit 40,000 reviews to your site every day.

Don’t worry. We’ve got you with four simple steps to give your clients the experience they’re craving without breaking the bank (or, you know, being Amazon).

1. Listen Well, Empathize, and Validate

So simple and yet so undervalued. As business owners, we’re used to our clients having similar issues. When we sell that solution, it makes sense that we are ready with the answer. Sometimes, just letting your client share their concern fully will make them feel better. They already believe you have a possible solution or they wouldn’t be talking to you. Letting them feel as though their concerns are valid can make the difference between them hiring you or hiring someone else.

2. Automate Where Possible

There’s no shortage of automation solutions available regardless if you’re a solopreneur or an enterprise-level company. Sending follow-up emails or thank-you emails automatically work well to maintain those extra touchpoints when you’re not available. You can also choose to run active social media accounts where you interact with customers and interested prospects, answer their queries, run promotions, and so on. This is a good way to improve customer interaction. 

3. Always Follow Up

Good news or bad news is always better than no news. If you don’t have an answer for a client or won’t have an answer right away, tell them. While there will always be pressure to have an answer right away, when you don’t, talk to them anyway and give them a progress report. People feel most comfortable when they know what to expect, even if it isn’t pleasant.

4. Be Consistent Across All Communication Channels

Two of the most common customer service tips are having multi-channel communication and being consistent in all channels. Even if you’re a sole proprietor, you likely have a few ways to communicate with your clients. Keep your brand messaging consistent across all channels. One of the areas where this best practice is overlooked is on your company website. An outdated site or a site that is hard to navigate points to what an experience with you might be like. Build your site and social media in a simple, user-friendly fashion and you’ll delight your clients with a great experience.

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix released his first album, Are You Experienced. It is still regarded as one of the most innovative and groundbreaking albums of the last century. The album literally changed how people experienced the electric guitar and psychedelic music. It wasn’t the album cover or Jimi’s face. It was the experience they had when listening to his music. Their experience is what sold millions of copies.

How Well Are You Prioritizing Your Client Experience?

It’s not easy to put your clients first, but by doing so, you can reap the benefits. Want to know more about how we can help you simplify this process? Contact us at GoBeyond SEO today!

Categories
Marketing Small Business Marketing

Provide a First-Class Client Experience — Even on a Budget

Are you familiar with Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If—”? This poem hits on a concept here; one so often lost in our post-pandemic digital world. What does it mean to walk with kings? What does it mean to lose the common touch, or in this case, not lose the common touch?

At its core, Kipling is talking about effective communication. Kings are faced with issues that are different from the issues faced by the common folk. Does it make sense to speak to the masses the same way you’d speak to a king? In most cases, it depends on the topic, right?

There’s a lesson to be taken from this concept when it comes to digital marketing: treat all your clients like kings, but from different kingdoms.

The concept of “the client is always right” has been lauded for decades, but to be clear, that’s NOT what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about giving your clients a first class client experience whenever they’re dealing with you and your company.

So how can you possibly give your clients first-class treatment? It’s unrealistic to make yourself available to every medium out there, and your time is limited. Here’s how you can impress your clients even on a budget!

Make Yourself Accessible to Your Clients

In keeping with the theme of kings versus the common folk, the key difference is access. The kings have access to you right away, or at least it feels that way. The common folk are those who are kept waiting on hold. 

Just because we’ve all become more comfortable making purchases or buying services online doesn’t mean that your clients aren’t looking for human connections. Here are a few tools to give all of your clients, and potential prospects, the king’s treatment without costing you a king’s ransom.

  • Website Chat. Many have seen the website chat feature on websites, but it does seem to fall short when the chat bot is really just a robot with an auto generated message. There are several tools available to give you the ease of automated chat and give your clients/prospects the personal touch they deserve.
  • Virtual Receptionist. There’s an endless supply of talented people who can help you fill in the blanks. BUT, that’s not what we mean here. How cool would it be if every time you missed a call from the office, your cell phone was pinged with a message from that prospect or client? If you’re in a highly competitive field, missing out on a call could cost you.
  • Google Reviews. Even if no one reads your reviews, having enough reviews to prove that it’s not just your mom saying nice things about you (thanks mom) is enough to show that you’re a player in your industry. But how do you get them? Do you go crawling to your clients, hat in hand, and humbly ask for a review? Sure, that’s one way to go. But wouldn’t it be just FABULOUS to have an entire streamlined process that will not only get reviews, but manage and promote them?

When you take the time to understand your client, but also make your marketing work at its most efficient, you can easily give your clients a white-glove client experience without taking a second mortgage on your castle. 

“If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

How sharp is your axe? Find out about these tools and more by scheduling a free, no-obligation call with us at GoBeyond SEO!

Sign Up for the GoBeyond SEO Blog

Kristy is an Assistant & Coordinator of Awesome. She has worked extensively in academic administration and brings a varied wealth of knowledge. As a self-starter, she is ready to take on news projects and see them through to completion. Always curious, Kristy is an avid researcher and delights in the challenge of learning new skills.

When Kristy isn’t organizing or researching something, you can find her listening to a true crime podcast, re-watching How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory and coming up with some crazy shenanigan for her family’s next adventure.

5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT KRISTY

  1. Kristy prefers the Harry Potter books over the movies. Her favorite book is The Prisoner of Azkaban and her favorite character is Luna Lovegood. Ravenclaw house. She just started her 8-year-old son on listening to the books.
  2. Kristy has a nail technician license, esthetician license, medical assisting certification, associate degree, and bachelor’s degree. She didn’t get her full cosmetology license because she can barely do her own hair, she shouldn’t be trusted with someone else’s.
  3. She doesn’t know how to gamble but is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. She moved to Colorado three months before her 21st birthday.
  4. Her high school graduating class consisted of only 20 people.
  5. Kristy loves gift giving. One of her great joys in life is finding the “perfect” gift.
Kristy Elias