How To Go The Extra Mile For Your Customers

Lor Bradley

Today, I’m going to go a bit deeper to talk about what you can do to kick start your business growth AND your income by going the extra mile for your customers! If you haven’t yet watched my earlier video, “how to grow your business during a recession” then you can check that out over here.

 

I’m Lor Bradley, author of Grow Your Tribe. And I’m a business strategist and I show women in business smart ways to escape the 'feast or famine' trap by working smarter, not harder.

 

What Is Going The Extra Mile?

 

So, what does ‘going the extra mile’ actually mean for your customers? Well its basically going above and beyond what you’re promising to do for them and it’s working in a way where you’re striving to exceed their expectations. And many customers nowadays are looking for more than just a great product or a bargain, and the level of care and customer service is becoming one of the core parts of their decision-making process. And, as I say in many of my videos, happy customers are ones that will return, they’ll reinvest, and they’ll refer your business to others!

 

And, it doesn’t matter what type of business you operate; you can easily scale and skyrocketyour business growth by going the extra mile for them. And, if you improve how you onboard after the sale is made and build deeper connections with them, then you'll have a much higher chance of retaining your customers for the long term, you’ll get those referrals from them, and it goes without saying, you’ll increase their level of satisfaction in your offerings.

 

Now, I’m going to touch briefly on some of the ways that you can go the extra mile here. And there are so many things you can do, so I’m just going to share with you some of my favourites:

 

Be Consistent

 

Ok, so firstly if you’re going to go the extra mile then Be as Consistent as you can be! So what that means is, build a workflow so that you start to handle your most common customer queries and problems in the same way each time and if you have a team then make sure everyone knows the same process that they should be following so your business is delivering a smooth and consistent service. 

 

And if you do this well, it’s going to make your customers feel reassured and is going to clearly set expectations. So, make sure you and your team (if you have one) are all on the same page and everyone knows how to handle any potential problems that might crop up.

 

Build Good Relationships

 

It’s also really important to build good relationships with your customers and get to Know them Well. So, make it your business to learn everything you can about your paying customers. I keep a database of my clients (I call it my little black book!) and I keep a note of how they’re progressing, how much they’re investing in me, potential upsells they might be interested in as well as any notable personal interactions I have. And this helps me to tailor my service, so it feels personal to them.

 

Treat Your Customers As Individuals

 

So, that leads onto my next point which isn’t actually that obvious to many but, always treat your customers as individuals.  Ok, make the extra effort to talk to your customers personally as much as you can. Interact with them and respond to their problems personally. Its SUPER important that you don’t automate this interaction.

 

Also, try to learn about your customers and get to know them on a personal level and a really easy way you can do this is by hanging out with them on social media. By treating them as individuals you're going to naturally create a much better experience for them and also have a great opportunity to find out more about them, which in turn, is going to help you to understand how you can serve them better.

 

Put Your Customers First

 

And then, put your paying Customers First. And that means when you make any changes in your products or your internal processes, then think in advance of how the change will be received by them and how it might impact them. So, make sure any major changes you make are always in their best interests.

 

Deliver A Fast Service

 

Ok, another great way of going the extra mile is to respond to your customers and deliver a faster service than you have committed to. And this will really help improve their experience and your customers will also naturally start to refer you to others. So, if you’re a product-based business; explore other shipping options to see if you can find something that's a little quicker.

 

Another great way of expediting the delivery process is to use real-time chat messenger because you’ll know the moment someone is trying to reach you and you can start building that connection with them from the outset. And respond right away, even if you don't have an answer there and then, you can just say something like, "Leave this with me, I’ll check, and I'll come back to you." 

 

So, Chat messenger won’t expedite your delivery times but my point here is that your ability to respond quickly will increase your chances of securing an order, which you can then deliver at lightning speed! And if you’re a business offering digital products, or coaching then think about what you can do to expedite your enquiry, sign up, payment and onboarding process.

 

Ask Customers For Feedback

 

And lastly, Win People Over by asking for feedback from your customers. And that means, whenever you come across an issue or perhaps a negative comment on social media, then do your best to help your customer solve their problem and offer them something extra as a goodwill gesture to win back their trust and maintain that great relationship with you. And don’t forget, customers who’ve had a negative experience CAN be turned around if you manage your follow up response well, and they can become your biggest brand advocates. 

 

So, I hope my tips have helped, they’ll get you off to a great start to grow your business during a recession and in a pandemic, and the great news is, these are really simple things you can put in place and see the difference in your business pretty much right away!

 

Lor Bradley.

Lor Bradley. Lor wearing a black t-shirt and is standing smiling in front of a white background.