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Showing the love to your biggest fans
When it comes to growing our businesses, we all know that Word of Mouth is often one of the best sources of leads and new clients. We all know that warm fuzzy feeling when a prospect calls or drops in and says “Mary told me to talk to you”. Even so, many business owners I talk with do very little to encourage referrals and even less to thank their clients for referrals. Where’s the Love?
There are a handful of steps that you can and should be taking to show you clients the love, and to turn that into business growth and profitability. Did you know that 80% of your profits probably come from 20% of your clients? There are lots of ways to look at this; they may buy the most products/services from you, they may take up the least amount of your team’s time and energy, or they may give you the most referrals. Today let’s talk about the clients who send you (or should send you) the most referrals. The book “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles is an easy read on this topic as well.
Every business has a variety of clients, all at different levels of interaction, from one-time buyers to weekly repeat customers. We all know that repeat business is profitable business, because we don’t have to spend nearly as much to get a customer to come back as we did to get them in the door in the first place. But what if we could spend even less, and get even more? What if you customers were such raving fans that they pre-sold their friends and family to do business with you? That is the definition of a Raving Fan – someone who sells you and your services for you. These are your Biggest Fans.
So how do you create and the nurture your biggest fans? Well it is simple really – solve their problem(s) like no one has ever done before, and build a strong relationship with them along the way. That is, don’t just sell to them, get to know them and anticipate their needs. Don’t be transactional, build a true relationship. Reward them for their business long before they reward you with the gift of referrals. Make them a Member of your business, so they feel like part of the family when they come in. You do it by serving up Customer Service on steroids, going beyond taking care of their needs to anticipating them. Give them more than they expect, make sure they know you appreciate them as not just a customer but also as a person. Paddi Lund calls these Critical Non-Essentials, or CNEs.
So what are you and your team doing to create and nurture your biggest fans? How do you reward them for their loyalty and ongoing business? What do you know about them personally – their birthday, anniversary, spouse’s name, kids’ names, dog or cat person, etc.
If you want to take your Customer Service and your Referral business to the next level by taking care of your Biggest Fans, call us at 502-625-5646 or contact us online to schedule a free 30 minute Strategy Session with one of our coaches. We’ll help you with your Customer Service levels and help you learn how to create more Raving Fans, to make business more fun and more profitable for you and your customers.
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