How to demonstrate appreciation at every stage of the client relationship

An important part of client attraction involves knowing how to make your current clients feel special. There’s a concept I really like by Joe Polish and Dean Jackson, my friends and brilliant marketers. They think beyond attracting clients to keeping your current clients happy and then staying in touch after your work has been completed. Here are some things to think about: - What are you doing that makes current clients feel appreciated? - How are you “wowing” them on a continual basis? - How are you surprising and delighting them? You can make a long list of the things you do to answer those questions. For example, depending on what program client joins, may get a box of brownies and a note from you. It’s the little unexpected things sometimes that make people feel most special and significant. Think of all the touch points where you connect with clients. Think about where you experienced superb customer services and see if you can build on that with your business. The idea is something that really hit home for me when I first heard it. I thought how I’d been focusing on the first part – client attraction, doing a little bit of client appreciation, but completely ignoring the third part of client service after the work is done. Once you create your list of ways to show client appreciation, then you want to find a way to automate and systematize so it doesn’t always need to come from you directly. You’d be shocked at how few businesses carry client appreciation through all three stages of the client relationship. Doing this is an extension of your brand that makes people feel really good and continue to be drawn to you so they come back for more or refer their friends and colleagues because it comes from such a loving place. If you do this, you’ll never be without clients or customers. Your Client Attraction Assignment What can you do to show your appreciation to clients? Think of all three parts of the relationship, while you are winning them over, while they are clients and after as well. What can you do to wow your clients and make them feel special? Make a list of what other businesses have done to wow you and what you can do that fits with your brand. Then set it up so everything is automated so it gets done without your direct involvement.