I’ve written and deleted this note several times. I originally typed out three, yes, three separate incidents I experienced this past week alone, where I purchased services from three different startups, only to be disappointed by their awful customer journey, from start to finish.
So, instead of airing out their dirty laundry, I’m going to highlight a few takeaways that I feel are important for you to think about, and hopefully build from. Very rarely will you come across a company who scores a 10/10, but if you plan on staying in business, you better be aiming to get pretty damn close to it.
At every turn, you should be assessing your customer journey map (google it). From the minute someone engages with you or your platform (step A) to the minute the project or service is completed and they are off-boarded (step Z), each phase should be documented and implemented by everyone on your team.
Recently, as a customer, I had to school a few startups on their processes. One lacked punctuality, the other had a different and complicated payment process, while the third was completely unaware that parts of their website weren’t working until I flagged it. This shit is so confusing to me.
Why am I jumping through hoops to give you my money?
Most startups I advise falsely believe that when business becomes slow or finally reaches its revenue goals, it’s solely because of marketing, publicity, followers, branding, etc. And that’s where my frustration grows, because some of y’all are focused on the wrong things. At the first sign of the smallest hiccup, you’re ready to rebrand your business, instead of diagnosing and remedying the real problem.
So many of the founders I mentor get stuck trying to secure new customers at the expense of their existing customer base. What they forget, or overlook, altogether, is that their focus should be on how to double down and enhance the current relationships they have with their existing clientele. In the five stages of the customer life cycle, the final level is loyalty/advocacy (some reports interchange the two). And if clients aren’t sticking around (repeat business), ask yourself why. Or better yet, ask them. No, really. Send a survey, email with an inquiry, or pick up the phone.
Over the years, I’ve invested a lot of time studying and implementing how to retain our client base through remarkable experiences. Some of the talent we support have been re-hiring us for as long as I’ve owned my company, which is more than five years. Oftentimes, very small changes to your customer journey map can make a BIG difference in how your clients interact with your brand, and whether or not they’d tell a friend.
I love when emails land in my inbox and start with, “You came highly recommended.” It indicates to me that we are doing something right, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do better. Research shows, customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on customers. Something to think about.
While I know the easiest thing to do is to turn your attention to everything BUT the customer, remember the value that they hold. So many business owners are hyper-focused on charging their worth that they ignore the need for offering worthwhile experiences. Whether it is paying for ads, creating email funnels, or doing handstands on Tik Tok, the answer to gaining and retaining your clients is simple: turn your attention to them.
One of my favorite customer service professionals is Joey Coleman. Feel free to check him out.
I have more than125 recommendations and testimonials on my LinkedIn profile, and even more rave reviews via our company website. Shit ain’t perfect, but I tweak my engagement strategy the moment I receive feedback. As a founder and CEO, service starts from the top down. So before you start redesigning the wheel, start refining what your customer journey means to you and your team.