One of my favorite things is giving back to the design community. Whether it is putting together meaningful programs for our local NKBA (National Kitchen & Bath) chapter or speaking at a Design College to rising Interior Design professionals. I love giving the behind the scenes look at running a thriving and joyful design business.
One of the key topics I like to cover is THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE. This is the unique way you pull each client through a design project, this is all about managing expectations, going above and beyond, and it is EVERYTHING to your business!
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou
I want to introduce you to the basic 3 E’s in Creating an Exceptional Client Experience. I learned this from listening to business coach Ashley Uhl. She is amazing! You need to look her up! This topic is something that all of us can relate to!
THE THREE E’S OF CREATING THE EXCEPTIONAL CLIENT EXPERIENCE
- Take Care of the ESSENTIALS
This means be ready, be one time, and for goodness sake have all the tools you need. When we show up prepared, we are showing that person that they mattered to us. Don’t show up late, or without a pen, measuring tape, or any other supplies you need! If you need to- fix up a bag that stays in your car. By being prepared and taking care of the basics, We are saying to them in the most direct way that we care about them, their home, and their project. One funny example someone gave onetime is –” Don’t give me the nice latte and gourmet cookies in your lobby, but take longer to work on my car than you said it would take!” This is so true! The essentials matter!
2. Manage their EXPECTATIONS
Most of our clients have never gone through a Remodel, New Construction, or Design Project. Even if they have, they don’t do it every day. So one thing we need to remember is that they need to know what to expect. In our firm we break down their project by week. We put all of the tasks related to each week in an Asana template. Then we make the client a presentation to go over in our Kick-off Meeting that reviews what happens each week, during each phase of design. One of the things that we get a lot of feedback on (even later in the project) is we have a slide that shows them the emotional journey that they will go on. We know that remodels and construction are stressful, and we want them to know they are not alone, and we are here to take care of them!
3. Make it EASY!
If it is hard to work with you, the client will be frustrated and most likely move on or not work with you again. So we work hard to make things easy for our clients. Here are some of the things we like to do to make working with our firm easy.
A. We have a client portal they can access online or with our app. It is by Mydoma Studio and they are the best project management software for Interior Designers and Decorators! I have been using them since 2017 and I am still so impressed with how much value they continue to add! In Mydoma your client can log in to their project and schedule appointments, collaborate on inspiration, fill out a questionnaire, see the mood boards, designs and products you suggest, pay invoices, message you through the portal, you can track your time, and so much more! You can create packages for your website that make it easy for people to purchase. You can curate your own products and clip them from your trusted vendors and sources. AND just recently they added a task manager and 3D Rendering Tool!
B. We make scheduling with us easy! We use Calendly and link it inside Mydoma. This eliminates all the back and forth and gives them the times you are available so they can book time with you. You can set this up for a discovery call, a first appointment, or any additional appointments. In fact, we have our clients set up each meeting in the beginning of a project, so we can all be accountable to each other and all decision makers can attend.
C. We send our clients a weekly email (inside their portal) that updates them on their project. We usually do this when they are in the design phase. If we are going to go into construction, we are usually passing the baton to the Builder for them to do regular updates. If we are going into product ordering, we continue to send those weekly updates. Sometimes the painful parts are in the waiting. IF they know you are going to follow up, they are more secure and know you have got their back!
These are just some ways to create an Exceptional Client Experience. Check out our video with KBB editor, Chelsie Butler on Managing the Client Experience below. In this video I go through more ways we manage our client’s expectations and give them the best experience possible!
Check out more tips for Design Professionals by checking out our TO THE TRADE tab by clicking the link OR found in our footer’s menu. We have other helpful ways to help you build a Thriving and Joyful business!
Be the first to comment