Bonus: Turning clients into superfans with great customer service

Jennifer Mackey Mary of Everyday Style, our guest on our last podcast, is super passionate about customer service!

When we hear the words "customer service" we tend to think about retail stores--the service that you get from a store associate or how someone helps you in a retail environment. But customer service is really what we do with our clients every single day. It's how we interact with them from the time that they first contact us to the time that we show up in their home. It's how we communicate with them, it's how we get them on as a client, it's everything we do to make them feel valued.

I thought it was so important that I wanted to bring it to you as a bonus episode, because it's something that we can think about with our organizing clients as we move through 2021.

She can be found at her podcast, Everyday Style School, on all podcast platforms. 

Jennifer can be found online at youreverydaystyle.com, on Facebook, and at her podcast, The Everyday Style School.

If you are considering starting or growing a professional organizing business, we have a brand new for 2021, totally free workshop you can take that goes beyond this podcast--you can register here if you want to check it out!

Links for listeners:

Jennifer's Website, Everyday Style
Everyday Style on Facebook
Everyday Style School Podcast

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FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Melissa Klug: Hey organizers. It's Melissa Klug from the Pro Organizer Studio Podcast. 

Our last podcast featured Jen Mary from Everyday Style, talking about how she moved her service business online, part of our conversation, which I didn't include in the original podcast.

I thought it was so important that I wanted to bring it to you as a bonus episode, because it's something that we can think about with our organizing clients. Jen is really passionate about customer service and about making your customers into super fans. 

When we hear the words “customer service” we tend to think about retail stores, right? Like the service that you get from a store associate or how someone helps you in a retail environment. But customer service is really what we do with our clients every single day. It's how we interact with them from the time that they first contact us to the time that we show up in their home.

And it's how we communicate with them. It's how we get them on as a client. It's how we end our client relationship with them when we're doing. It's all sorts of things and how you provide that customer experience to your clients. I love Jen's take on this. And I talked to her a little bit about how we can incorporate elements of customer service into an organizing business with our clients.

So here is Jen.

Jen Mary: Well, if you've read Pat Flynn’s Super Fans, which I recommend every single business owner read Pat Flynn, Super Fans.

Part of it is giving them the ball, giving your fans the ball. And that's what that is really about as well. Not only do you not have to be the expert, but my ladies get to step up and they get to be the expert. And that feels really, really good to them. So, I mean, anything that takes the pressure off of me and also makes other people feel good to me, feels like a very good thing to do.

Melissa: Yeah. So I know that because of conversations you and I have had that you are a huge fan of really knocking the ball out of the park on a customer service perspective. I know this is a little bit different topic, but can you give us, maybe there's some other books you like besides Super Fan or any like great tips you can give to people to really increase that customer service experience for your people?

Jen: Super Fans is a really, really good one. And it, especially if you're working online with customers that talks about how to just turn a follower into a super fan. And there's another book that I have read, and I'm just going to tell you the title and now you don't have to read it, but it's “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless.” And literally now you don't have to read the book because that's really the gist of it is that if you are a satisfied customer, Great. That's fantastic. Satisfied. Customers are completely poachable by other people now. 

You know, I, I like to think about the show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Have you seen this? On the Food Network?  It's a fun show. If you don't know what it is, it's like celebrity chefs from the food network, mostly talking about the best thing that they ever ate and they'll do like desserts and they go into these descriptions of these foods that you're like, I must fly to El Paso, Texas right now and get that. I must have that right now. 

The show is not called “the last time I ate something and was satisfied”, right? Yes. And is a terrible story. That's like I was hungry. So I grabbed a handful of almonds. Now I'm not hungry. Like. That's a terrible story. And so if your, if your business is focused on giving people a handful of almonds, nobody is going to tell other people about you.

Nobody is going to stay with you. You know, I have people who have stayed with me from in-person to one-on-one one-on-one virtual to bind these capsule guides, to all of these different things for nine years, you know, and part of me is like, Girl, you got to know how to dress yourself by now. Right. But they stay because we have this relationship and I will do just about anything for, for my clients.

I will do just about anything within boundaries, within reason, obviously, but it costs so little, so little to create that, that loyal customer, that one who doesn't see another organizer doing something, you know, the same thing as you do for a little bit less. 

Those people satisfied people are completely poachable. Loyal people are not,. When they rave about you, they're yours for life. And then they tell other people about you. And so I really think that part of good customer service, a big part of it is just really clear expectations and really clear, “Here's what they can expect working with me.” Here's what, you know, here's what I need from you walking them through the process.

I think that when people find businesses like ours, they're nervous about it, how is this going to work? Is it going to be worth it? Can I even do this? Oh my gosh, I'm a slob. That's all it's ever going to be. And they need to know that it's going to be okay. And when you take charge as a business owner, it lets your client know that it's going to be okay.

I also think the number one thing that businesses can do better is offboarding. Everybody does a great job of onboarding. Like, okay, you've hired me. Here's what you get. We, you know, here's a confirmation email, blah, blah, blah.

Off boarding when we are done--what does that look like? Because if you're not clear with that, and for me, after I worked with a client, they had me for two weeks via email and they could send pictures of things they bought when we weren't together or things naybe they ordered and had to come in. That they could ask for feedback and follow up. But before I started doing that, people either never wanted to ask me a question because they just assumed we were done and that was it. Or they thought they had a personal stylist for life. They didn't, you know, and that left me feeling resentful and not wanting to give my full service right.

With two weeks. I know that that is built into the cost of their service. I know that that is taking care of them.  And so we both had that mutual expectation of, of what does this relationship look like going forward? And my last email to them was always, if you want to book a follow-up session, here's how to do it.

They knew what was next, the expectation and the communication was always clear. You know, and I, I also think as much as you can being flexible. Being flexible with people. If, if somebody needs to reschedule the last minute because of something, yes. You should have your policies in place of what that's, what does that look like?

But also be human, also be human where you can, because you know, We've all had things. We've all had things come up or whatever. You have to have be a business owner with boundaries, but you also have to be a person providing service to another person. 

And I finally, I think, just being passionate about who your customer is I don't do a ton of things well, but one thing I do really well in my business is I understand who my customer is.

I mean, I have given her a name. I know exactly what she's struggling with. When you get clients saying, Oh my gosh, you're talking about me. That's when you've hit that. And I think when you really understand who your customer is, that's when you understand what they're truly struggling with, because you know, it's not about the stuff.

Nope. It's never about, it's not about the pants, you know, it's, I always say it's, what's in your heart, not what's in your closet. Right. That's holding you back. So when you, and really understand who that customer is, That's when you can serve him or her back. 

Melisssa: Yeah. We have a, you know, your business and our business as professional organizers, there's a lot of Venn diagram overlap of who those people are and what they're struggling with.

And you're right. It's never the stuff, it's the stuff underneath the stuff. And then some of the stuff underneath that stuff and getting to that real person and serving that real person and knowing that they're probably struggling with a lot more than you're gonna know on the surface. And knowing how to serve them. I love your customer service focus. Like that's one of the things, when you talk about it, I just think it really speaks to, you know, how to be an entrepreneur. And I love hearing you talk about it. 

Jen: I think it's really low hanging fruit because nobody's doing it anymore. Yeah. 

Melissa: Well, and in my corporate career, we talked a lot about , customer acquisition versus just your customer.

So acquiring a new customer versus just keeping the one you have happy. Infinitely less expensive. And that is very true in our business. So finding a brand new client sometimes can be a slog, but keeping a client and keeping them having them ask you again for sessions, having them ask you to come to their friend's house, whatever like that happy customer brings so many dividends.

Jen: Yeah. I've had happy customers. Fly me to Barbados to work for you. I think that was a good, I've had happy customers asked me to speak at events all around the country because I took good care of them because they took good care of them. And customer acquisition is so important. It absolutely is.

I don't know any business that will grow if you don't get new people, that is just a fact of life. But that doesn't mean that the people, you know, When that little sale notification shows up on your phone or your email. No, it's not done. You know, it's not, that is the beginning of the relationship, not the, not the, and especially, you know, if you were working online and selling things like digital courses or, you know, virtual sessions or things like that, it's easier to give good customer service.

One-on-one it just is, it is more challenging when you don't. There are some people that don't join my groups. I don't ever see them or talk to them, but. What I can do is make sure that they're using the things I can send out additional tips. I can make sure that they are taking care of the best I can and not just treat them as a transaction, but find a way to, to build a relationship.

Melissa: I hope you enjoyed that bonus from Jen Mary of everyday style. She is someone that is in my business network and I'm so grateful for her because she is just super inspirational and brings her clients great things every single day. 

If you are looking for business inspiration, we have a brand new free workshop that is called The 4-Part Plan for Landing Your Dream Clients in 2021. Jen Obermeier leads you through that workshop. Sign up for that poroadmap.com. If you are interested in our Inspired Organizer® program, you can find us at www.inspiredorganizer.com and don't forget, we have a whole library of podcasts here, our YouTube channel, and  you can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Pro Organizer Studio.

Have a great week.

Thank you so much for listening into the Pro Organizer Studio Podcast. If you'd like to get our roadmap for success as a pro organizer, head straight to www.poroadmap.com.

Thank you so much for listening into the pro organizer studio podcast. If you'd like to get our roadmap for success as a pro organizer, head straight to www.poroadmap.com.

Still not sure about starting your own Pro Organizing business? Cick here to read about the 5 things you need to know BEFORE starting your organizing business.

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