If you want more clients, get your clients to tell stories about their “magical” experience working with you.
You don’t have to give them a 25% discount, but you do have to provide an experience that shows you care deeply about them.
When your contacts with customers or clients are simply what they expect, they have no reasons to tell stories about your service. You’re doing what you’re supposed to do. There’s no story in that. Stories come from the extremes: either extraordinary, magical experiences or terrible, disastrous experiences.
Several years ago, our washer quit on us at the same time as the central air conditioning (but that’s another story). We purchased a new washer and dryer from a major department store chain for delivery that weekend. On Friday evening, an automated phone call informed us that delivery would take place between 1:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. So, although it was the hottest day of the year, we stayed home that afternoon in the heat to await the arrival of our new machines.
When at 4:00 p.m., there was neither a delivery nor a phone call, I called the store’s 800 number. Three things happened on that call: I was required to go through a litany of personal information to be certain I was authorized to speak on my own behalf; I was told “We’re sorry for your inconvenience”; and I was informed that the delivery men were running late, but were on their way.
At 6 p.m. I called a second time, having heard nothing from the company and having received no delivery. After the litany and the standard apology for my inconvenience, I was first told that the delivery men had tried to make the delivery, but no one was home. When I protested (it would have been hard to miss a big truck in our driveway or a phone call requesting our whereabouts), the story changed. The new story was that we had been number 9 on the schedule, but they skipped 9, 10 and 11 because 12 and 13 were closer. But, they assured us, we would receive our delivery.
At 8 p.m., my wife Hannah called them. After the litany and the apology for our inconvenience, Hannah was told they had finished their deliveries for the evening. Hannah’s response was—(how do I put this?)—less than friendly, And it seemed persuasive because they promised they would get the truck to us.
At 10 p.m., however, I called again, and after the customary preliminaries, I was told that they simply were done for the day. Then, the call center employee presented me the ultimate irony—an offer to reschedule delivery–another opportunity to spend a day in the heat waiting and hoping for a delivery. I canceled the order immediately.
While we spent an entire afternoon at home in sweltering heat waiting for a delivery that never came, what was worse was that not once did they call us. In fact, they never called—to find out why we canceled or to apologize for the terrible service or to tell us that they were processing the refund.
In my book, Become A Client Magnet, I devote several pages to the importance of communication. If just once, someone had called to say they were running late and offered to reschedule, the story I’d be telling now might have had a happy ending.
Customers and clients expect Respect, Empathy, Action
Without proactive communication, the stories your customers tell about you may not be the kind you want them to be telling.
Let me help you give your existing customers an experience that results in powerfully positive stories and you’ll attract plenty of new ones.
But whatever you do KEEP REACHING…
