Now that you’ve got the clients, what do you do with them? You know what they want, you know how long it will take and how you’ll deliver it. But what does it look like while your customer is in your “pipeline” What’s their journey through your company? For most companies, this is one of the best places to brand yourself. We’ve probably all had the experience of working with a company that we absolutely love. We gush to our friends and they use them too. One of them comes back and says, “That was great! Thanks for the referral.” The other says, “Man that was rough. I got the work eventually but it was not smooth. I don’t know why but I sure didn’t get the experience you did.” And man doesn’t this suck? You put yourself out there and told your friend that they would get what they needed and it would be a great experience! And it sure wasn’t. Now in your own business, imagine how powerful it would be if every client got the same basic experience. Of course individual projects will vary but if every customer gets the same level of service, that’s predictable and reliable, and that is your brand, what would change?
First, everyone that refers you, will only get glowing reviews from their referrals. Which will only make them want to pass your name along more. Second, you and your staff will be less stressed because you have a system and a plan for communicating with clients. Third, you’ll be discounting a lot fewer projects because you’ve defined expectations and delivered on them. Clients will want to do more business with you in the future and they’ll know exactly what to expect. Finally, you’ll be defining your own company and brand in a way that is almost impossible to do even with the best marketing firms.
Guiding your customers through your company in a way that’s effective and reliable will do wonders for your client retention, staff satisfaction, client satisfaction, and your bottom line. Tune in next week for how to build the journey!