How do you know if you are giving your clients a five-star experience?
You can check your google reviews, but that gives very limited info.
Here are two stories to illustrate the need for clarifying your customer service vision in today’s uncertain economy.
Example 1 – Growth covers up your sins
I was recently helping a friend of mine (an entrepreneur in another industry) with his 3-year growth plans.
Over the past few years his business has scaled nicely, and he was enjoying the sweet spot that he called ELF (Easy, lucrative and fun).
He wanted to keep growing, but it was not clear what direction he should take his business.
Should he change direction, or do more of the same?
You could argue that when things are working well, you should not rock the boat.
My argument to my friend was to think deeper.
It’s not enough to measure your success by:
- Employee morale,
- Top/bottom line growth.
Because it is easy to get fooled by success.
As we dug deeper in his business, we found that his client retention rate was lower than I expected.
His strong growth covered up a less-than-ideal client experience.
(Sound familiar?)
Ironically, his clients loved him, and would buy more from him if he offered a more comprehensive service.
It is not enough for you to have a vision for growth, you also need a vision for your clients’ experience.
His story is similar to what I see in the landscape industry.
Example 2 – A 9M landscape firm.
Earlier this year the owner of a landscape firm brought his leadership team to NOLA, and we dove into the details of their business.,
Looking from the outside-in, they were a success story.
But as we pulled back the curtain, we uncovered gaps in the client’s journey.
- In the sales/estimating process
- In the hand-off to install
- During construction
- As a maintenance client
- And even for outside maintenance clients coming into the firm.
Luckily, my client had a vision for improving the client’s experience.
His challenge was getting his key employees on board.
He needed to free up their time and get their buy-in to work as a team on improving the customer-facing and supportive processes.
Five-star reviews are not enough.
You can build a great online reputation by doing the basics well.
To develop a true five-star reputation, you must understand and consistently solve your clients’ deeper needs.
Your challenge: Develop a roadmap for your clients, so they will love working with your company.
While it’s critical to clarify your company’s vision for growth…
It’s more important to clarify what your business stands for, and how you will meet and exceed the needs of your ideal-clients.
There are many tools and books to help you do this.
One tool is the Client Focus Group.
When done right, with the right group of clients, a focus group can uncover the holes in your services, and help you clarify your clients’ deeper needs..
Once you get your client vision solidified, and your client’s journey mapped out, it will become easier to put together your company’s growth plan.
If you want world domination, start with your customer journey.
Let me know where you stand in all this…!
Regards, Jeffrey!
P.S. If you would like help clarifying and accelerating your company’s path to success, reach out to me and we can have a conversation about your larger business goals and how I can help.
