Yes. Saying that feels great, doesn’t it? And it’s even better for the person you say it to – perhaps a smile even appears? One of the secrets to creating a memorable customer experience is to make your clinic ‘better than it has to be’. A simple way to start doing that is to master the art of ’yes’, which in turn gifts your clients with a smile.
There’s a Chinese proverb that says, ’A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.’ That about says it all in our industry. Why is that? It’s been shown that saying ’yes’ strongly correlates to customers having higher satisfaction and loyalty and more purchases
– all of which helps give them an exceptional customer experience. A survey by Gartner, a US-based marketing research firm, found that 89 percent of the companies surveyed expect to primarily compete on the battleground of customer experience. Four years prior, the same survey showed only 36 percent of respondents felt that was their future.
Now the fact that businesses are striving to dazzle customers with unforgettable experiences probably seems like a big ‘duh’ to you, especially given that our industry has been striving to satisfy their clients for decades. However, the sad news is that for most clients, satisfaction is now their barely acceptable minimum.
Why? Because being satisfied isn’t meaningful, marvellous or memorable. However, giving them an experience that’s wrapped in a smile – from something you’ve done, said or given – starts your clinic on the path to more than just ‘satisfying’ and heads you towards delight and surprise.
There’s a Chinese proverb that says, ‘a man without a smiling face must not open a shop.’ that about says it all in our industry.
So where do you start? You start with what you give, say and do…
Something you give: create gifted moments
There’s no greater gift than customer service painted the colour of love:
- Start the experience with a lagniappe – a ‘little gift’. It’s amazing how gifts can bring a smile to clients’ faces – it doesn’t have to be much – but it must be meaningful. It’s an easy, cost- effective way of thanking clients for the effort of getting to know you better.
- Throughout your clinic, great ‘Yes’ service comes from modelling the same love for your work that you want your staff to display. By telling the right stories about clients, your affection will be infectious.
- When you smile at your clients, what do they do? They smile back. It’s a two-way exchange of emotion that clings to their impressions of your service, attitude and generosity of spirit.
- When you love what your clients do for you, gifted moments happen. Generally, when you think about someone having a passion for great service, you only consider the serviceperson’s passion for the customer. But real service passion happens when that person also loves the service or product they’re representing.
Something you say: make them a bubble client
Every client should feel like the last client on earth:
- Clients appreciate your respect for their sanctuary and space. The BUBL concept (pronounced bubble) – as detailed in Micah Solomon’s book Culture of Yes: Practices and Principles of Great Hospitality – focuses on how each customer is surrounded by an individual, invisible protective bubble. To provide great service, staff need to be aware of this and conscious of when that protective shell is open (for interaction) or closed (for solitude).
- Your clients want to feel they’re at the centre of your world. And as a service provider there’s enormous power in creating that impression. What they want from you is not for your story to take centre stage, but for them to hold the stage – in both your world and theirs – even if it’s only for a moment.
- Treating your client as your only customer – and focusing on what he/she needs beyond their scheduled treatment and so forth – is where you’ll find the opportunity to distinguish yourself. That’s where you’ll build an advantage that is considerably harder for your competition to knock off.
- No matter how many clients your business grows to serve, never stop believing in the importance of the individual client. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there’s an infinite number of people out there for the taking. Instead, remind yourself you have just one client, the one you’re facing right now. It’s the same one who needs specific, individually tailored service.
Something you do: hire for a spirit of ‘yes’
When it comes to customer service, it’s more important to be nice than smart.
- In a people-oriented business you need to have the right people. Who are they? They’re the ones with the right traits for service.
- You can’t send people to smile school. If potential staff don’t smile easily, it’s not something you can teach them. Only select people who are willing to go out on a limb to help or delight a customer. A ‘spirit to serve’ is inherent, and just like smiling easily, it can’t be taught.
- Apple stores hire for personality, not technical knowledge. They’d prefer to hire someone with no computer know-how, but is great at teaching, instead of an expert who can’t teach. It’s attitude not aptitude that counts.
- Your emotional skills are pretty much baked in by the time you reach your 20s. Put simply, that means it’s hard to make people like other people, to teach real empathy or to enjoy being part of a team. From the start, find people who match the nature, energy and attitude you want. Don’t wait to see what washes out on the job – that approach can lead to carnage amongst your clients.
Clients are the lifeblood of every clinic. You know that. But here’s the real question for you: do you know how your staff treat clients when you aren’t around? Could you confidently say your service culture was one of always saying ‘yes’ or does it sometimes lean more towards ‘no’?
Not sure? Well, the right answer, starting today, should be ‘yes’! AMP
Neil Osborne is a master trainer, business coach and entrepreneur. He has worked exclusively in the salon, clinic and aesthetic markets for over three decades, teaching businesses and brands how to be profitable and commercially clever.
Created by Neil, the Spendsuasion® method blends ‘spending’ with ‘persuasion’. It’s specifically created for cosmetic physicians, practice owners, nurses, dermal therapists and injectors – giving them the exact words, and when to say them, to create persuasive conversations with patients.
As a business coach, he’s grown hundreds of service-based brands and businesses, using industry-specific methods that grow their revenue, develop their consultation and persuasion skills, and multiply their turnover. Contact Neil on +61 419 233 439 or at www.spendsuasion.com.au
