Anticipate What Clients Need And They Won't Forget You
Welcome back to our series on connecting with clients and customers.
In "Connecting with Customers,” I've been sharing five personal customer experiences I’ve had that bring to light key elements of how to change and improve your small business brand.
We’re focusing on this because it’s an easy thing to overlook as a small business owner but packs a lot of opportunity for you to grow your business and its reputation.
In today's story, we'll look at:
Anticipating and meeting client expectations
I could probably do a whole series on client expectations, but today, I just want to talk to you about the value of anticipating client’s needs.
Here’s how this works.
You earn clients and customers by anticipating their experience needs and delivering them before they ask.
When we were in DC a few weeks back, we went to Newseum, an incredible institution dedicated to the history of News. Six stories, thousands of newspaper headlines, and unbelievable exhibits including the largest collection of the Berlin Wall in the US.
The exhibit on 9/11 is particularly powerful. It features a two-story crushed news communications tower from one of the Twin Towers that collapsed on 9/11. Behind it, a wall three stories tall covered in newspaper front pages from the day after the terror attacks.
It knocks the wind out of you.
I felt myself tearing up. Then I saw it, a box of tissues.
Small, unassuming, but there - ready for anyone who needed it.
Newseum gets it. They know this is heavy and they were anticipating my needs as a guest of the museum. It cost so little and yet, made such a major impression.
This is what great customer experience does: it anticipates your needs and delivers on them before you even realize it’s what you needed.
As with this example, it doesn’t have to be something expensive or elaborate. A $2 box of kleenex made a lasting mark and communicated the brand behind Newseum in a way that will always stick with me. It crystallized my entire experience.
Opportunity awaits to delight your clients and customers - you just need to be a few steps ahead.
Here’s what I’d love for you to do today. Pick an action step from the below and make it happen.
Any one of these will impact your business and make the right impression on the people you want to reach most.
Ask past clients what you could do better in the future and if there’s anything you could add to your business to have improved their client experience. (More on this here).
Brainstorm the top 5-10 most frequently asked questions you get about your business from customers. Use this to make an FAQ page on your website or Facebook page. Anticipate the questions and answer them before they are asked.
Consider if there’s anything you could add to your process (or product delivery) that would add more immediate value to your clients and customers. For example, if you sell drink coozies - could you also throw in a branded bottle opener? Or if you have project timelines, could you create a shareable calendar that your client can view the same dates with you? (We’ll touch on this more next week, too).
Let me know what you tackle - love hearing your stories!
Looking to Next Week
For our last post in this series, I'll be talking about making your client experience a little more exciting.
What questions or stories do you have about customer experience and branding? Let me know - I'd love to hear more.
For more reading:
Stop 'Listening' and Start Anticipating Your Customers' Needs (Forbes)
The Importance of Anticipating Your Customers' Needs (Daniel Burrus for Huffington Post)
