11 Steps For A Perfect Client Experience

A step by step process to make your clients beg for more.

Below I share my strategies and process for growing and retaining revenue.

While in Orlando, Florida on a business trip, I had the pleasure of meeting Russ Klein, CEO of the American Marketing Association and Former CMO of Burger King.

Russ gave a very interesting presentation on Client Experience Design and how your business, no matter how large or small, needs to have a defined strategy for tracking and measuring your clients’ journey with you, your staff, and your products or services.

This struck me because I had recently prepared a presentation of my own called “Converting clients into Promoters”, which covered a step-by-step process for retaining clients. This also followed our process at Array Digital for turning our new clients into happy clients that not only stick around but also refer us to other businesses and give us raving reviews. 

In business, retention is huge! Why work so hard to gain new business if you lose it in 12 months or less? 

When we think of marketing, we think of the obvious mediums such as TV, radio, print, out-of-home, and, of course, digital. The use of these are essential when it comes to marketing yourself or your business, but I want to talk about building a powerful marketing team by converting your clients into promoters, create long-lasting clients, and build a steady stream of referrals.

The client’s experience in the first 90 days is what will make or break you. During this time, the client is still unsure, can jump ship, have buyer’s remorse and so on. There is no room for error in the first 90 days. 

Below is an example process, which happens to be the process we’ve implemented at Array Digital, which you can use as a starting point. Of course, I run a digital marketing agency and odds are that you do not. Regardless of the type of business you have, you need a client experience process. 

Note that my process below is not for converting existing unhappy clients into happy clients. It starts at the beginning and with your first encounter with the prospective new client. 

Client Experience Sample Template

*Pro Tip: The sample below is for a marketing agency like mine, but I hope you can apply some (or maybe all) of these steps to your business. Take some time to develop your own strategy that works best for your company.

If you wish to listen to these 11 steps, you can tune into our podcast Journey to $100 Million on your favorite podcasting platform. Click here to listen. 

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#1. Define your ideal client: Know this well and only focus on pursuing those clients. Pursuing and signing a client that is not a fit can result in a bad experience for both parties. 

• Do they have a need for your product or service?
• Can you solve a problem that they have?
• Can they afford your services?

#2. First Interaction: Creating a promoter starts before they are a client.

• Respond to leads or referrals immediately. 
• Have a 15-minute call to make sure you both are a fit.
• Communicate what sets you apart to set expectations up front.
• If they are a fit, proceed to set up a meeting.
• Be transparent and honest. Don’t force a deal.
• After the meeting, send a signed “why hire us” letter via snail mail. This is another thing that will set you apart from your competitors. 

#3. Really, only sign if they’re a good fit. Even if you had a great meeting and they want to hire you, it’s unproductive to go into business with someone that isn’t a good fit.

• Questions you should ask yourself:
• Can you help them with a need or pain point?
• Can you get them results?
• Do they have unrealistic expectations?
• Can you exceed their expectations?
• Can they afford your product or service?

#4. Celebrate and Share: Once signed or sold, the real work begins.

• Send a handwritten thank you card to your new client.
• Have a process for documenting each new contract.
• Inform accounting or billing of the new contract and any exceptions that were made. Special billing requests or discounts. 
• Inform your operations team of the new client so they can begin to become familiar.
• Celebrate the win with your team.
• Prepare for on-boarding.

#5. On-boarding

• Introduce the appropriate team members (Billing, Project Manager, and Team Lead) to the new client.
• Schedule a kickoff meeting.
• Have a process in place for each department or team member involved.
• Make sure billing practices are clear and understood.
• Make sure a schedule is presented and future meetings are set.
• For the kickoff and meetings, make sure both parties confirm the meeting location.
• Never be late or miss a meeting.
• If applicable; capture the meeting with photos or video for social media.
• If applicable; share, promote, and tag your new client on social media.

#6. Exceed Expectations

• Don’t just be on time, deliver with urgency.
• Surprise them with extras (This could be a gift card, special gift, lunch or extra services at no extra cost.)
• Have project status updates automatically sent everyday to the client.
• Maintain constant communication.

#7. Monthly Call: arrange a call or meeting every 30 days with the client

• Talk about issues and address them.
• Ask about your performance. 
• Ask about their business goals and any changes that may be on the horizon. 
• Make sure your team takes notes and knows what steps to take in order to improve results.
• Write up lessons learned or an after-action report for any mishaps.
• Schedule the next 30-day call.

#8. Offer a referral to your client

• If you don’t have one, go out of your way to find them a good referral.
• Talk to your client and ask how you can better refer them.

#9. Ask for a referral: If they haven’t already, ask them for a review, testimonial, or referral

• If you have done your job and they are happy, ask for a review or a referral. 
• Upon receiving a review, testimonial, or referral, send a gift and handwritten thank you card.

#10. Quarterly Review {For the business owner or account manager}

• Arrange a meeting every 90 days with the client.
• Review progress and accomplishments.
• Ask about their business goals and any changes that may be on the horizon. 
• Plan the next 90-days.

#11. Track your performance

• Use Net Promoter Score to track your client satisfaction level.
• Only ratings of 9 and 10 are considered promoters.
• Call each and every client that gives a 1-8 rating. 

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Conclusion

Take good care of your clients and the rewards will be great! In order to consistently convert clients into happy ones and retain their business over time, you absolutely need a process in place. Stop winging it! 

Make sure you have a process you can implement, track, measure, and scale. The goal is not to stick to the same set process forever, but to ensure that your team can improve the process and your value to the client time and time again.