In a perfect world, you’d teach the pants and skirts off your clients with award-winning modules and training materials And they’d gather so much information from you they’d do nothing less than become loyal for life.
If ONLY that’s what clients truly needed.
To be perfectly clear, that IS what clients WANT when they BUY. Initially. They want a step-by-step framework to follow. They want someone who will show them exactly what to do to reach their goals. And they want someone to eliminate every ounce of guesswork or trial and error from the process for them. They want to reach their goals faster than ever before and they want the blueprint to follow. But that’s not what compels them to STAY in your ecosystem and become loyal.
Years ago when I was the Director of Client Success and Experience for a large-scale coaching company.
I’ll never forget the moment I stood up in the back of a gorgeous Four Seasons ballroom With my arms outstretched to accept a stack of renewal order forms from our clients on the second day of a live event. Our founder had just put on yet another tremendous event full of transformational experiences Her invitation to a room of 150 existing clients came straight from the heart, no pitch script. This group of clients had been with us for an entire year, so we believed the love fest was mutual. Until…
One by one as our clients lined up facing me at the back of the room, I realized their order forms were empty.
“I won’t be renewing.”
“I’m going to use all the modules and training you already gave me.”
“I haven’t even had a chance to go through all the materials from the first year yet.”
“I already decided who I am working with next year.”
“How is renewing for a second year any different than what I already learned?”
In that moment, I was completely surprised. I thought for sure more than half of our clients were going to renew. We’d even mapped out our next launch and marketing plan based on that assumption. But that’s not what happened. After wiping our tears and licking our wounds, we pulled it together And went straight into fierce launch mode to reach the company financial goals.
To the tune of well over $2,500,000 from a single launch. Talk about pressure to go out and FIND all those people!
Which now had to come largely from 250+ brand new clients. Costing the company tens of thousands of dollars in unplanned marketing and other expenses. And stretching every member of the team way too thin.
The unfortunate part is that it didn’t have to go down that way. The blessing was figuring out exactly what was required to delight clients for years.
Here’s 54 things you need to know about delighting and retaining clients…(Part 1 of 5)
1. New clients will decide whether or not they continue doing business with you between day 0 – 90, even if your program is 12 months long.
2. Clients will question their purchase the minute they feel like they’re in the wrong room.
3. The initial reason clients feel like they’re in the wrong room is when they begin to gauge how beginner or advanced the other clients in the room are…which they’ll base on the quality or type of questions being asked by fellow members.
4. If new clients find your initial content in the program something they already mastered 10 years ago or just heard in the program they just left to join yours, they’ll think they’re in the wrong place and are more likely to ask for a refund or to leave early.
5. The sale doesn’t happen until someone becomes your client. Read that again.
6. You absolutely need a 90 day client retention plan in place.
7. Every client goes through 8 different emotional stages throughout the client experience and your communication must speak to each one throughout that journey.
8. It’s 7X more financially expensive for your company to acquire a new client than it is to retain an existing client.
9. On average, business owners spend more time finding and nurturing leads and potential clients than keeping the clients they have. To their detriment.
10. Clients are more likely to renew when they feel a strong sense of belonging to other members in the program.
If you aren’t sure where to start with trying to implement a client retention plan and to systemize your clients’ experience en masse, what processes you’d put in place, or how this could even be possible, I can help.
This is exactly what I help you implement as a consultant, among countless other processes to scale your business without it taking over your entire life or having to do everything yourself. This means that we can grow your business exponentially…without having to choose between your business and your life.
If you’re curious about how I will help you do it too, I lovingly invite you to DM me to book a time for us to get to know each other now, sooner rather than later.
You can have it all, whatever “all” means to you.