Last Updated on October 31, 2017
Quick Ideas:
- Organize a golf day for their company
- Drop off Dippidee
- Drop off Wallaby’s gift cards
- Write a thank you note
- Drop off movie passes
- Drop off gift cards
- Send an Edible Arrangement
- Send them some Sebo swag
- Celebrate milestones in their business or personal life by sending small gifts
- Give them a free package upgrade for the month
- Ask them for their feedback on your work and implement their suggestions
- Send referrals to their business
- Send cards on unique holidays
- Throw a party for one or many of your clients
- Send them your favorite book
- Take them out to lunch
- Publish and send an article that will teach them something and help them most the most of our services
- Send them a gift that is relevant to their personal interests
- Visit their office and buy their team lunch
- Connect with them on social media and tag them in a post
Decrease response time
One of the most important things you can do to wow your clients is to respond quickly to emails and phone calls when problems and questions arise. Responding quickly to clients makes them feel important and listened to. Make it a goal to respond to client emails and phone calls within a few hours, or at least within a day.
Always offer a solution
Whenever a client asks for something we can’t offer or don’t have an answer to, always find them a solution that works for what they are looking for. This could be directing them to a competing company or referring them to someone who knows how to help. Don’t leave them with an apology or an “I don’t know.” Do the extra work to fix their problem.
Offer the same level of service to every client
Regardless of how much or how little a client is paying you, always treat every client with the same level of service. When free customers get treated like paying customers, they are more likely to we wowed by their experience and sign up for paid services.
Do what you said you were going to do
Make realistic promises to your client and deliver on those promises. The first step to wowing your customer is not upsetting them in the first place. Make sure both parties involved understand the expectations of the relationship and then ensure all deliverables and deadlines are met.
Check in when they least expect it
Regularly checking in with your client and adding a personal touch to your communications can go a long way in wowing them. Every once in awhile, pick up the phone or send an email and ask your clients how your services are working for them and if there is anything you can do to increase their satisfaction. This helps you discover smaller problems early on and address them quickly. It also helps your customers feel that you care about them.
Go above and beyond the expected
Along with providing the agreed upon service, you can wow your client by going above and beyond the call of duty through free gifts, thank you cards, exceptional customer service, or a free upgrade. Here are some examples from Zappos:
- In 2011, Zappos sent flowers to a woman who ordered six different pairs of shoes because her feet were damaged by harsh medical treatments.
- In March 2010, a customer service rep physically went to a rival shoe store to get a specific pair of shoes for a woman staying at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Vegas when Zappos ran out of stock.
- The same year, it overnighted a free –free! — pair of shoes to a best man who had arrived a wedding shoeless.
(source: https://blog.bufferapp.com/7-ways-to-stop-satisfying-customers-and-start-wowing-them)
Understand the client’s goals and what success means to them
Before you can suggest additional services to your client, you need to understand what they are trying to accomplish through their business and what goals they want to achieve. Take some time at the beginning of the relationship to discuss their short and long term business goals. By knowing what your client values and where they want to go, you can identify areas where they can improve and suggest products and services to help them find success.
Set and track measurable goals
At the outset of your relationship with the client, determine and agree upon measurable goals for their company. Develop an action plan with milestones and start tracking progress of that plan. Having goals and a plan in place can help you figure out if there is a need for additional service. If the current plan falls short of their goals, you can then suggest a better product or service and use the data from your tracking to back up the argument.
Celebrate small wins and suggest upsells with project milestones
Clients are more likely to invest in additional services if you can deliver actual results for their business. Focus on providing quick, small wins as soon as possible to prove your worth to the client. Take advantage of their satisfaction and success by timing upsells with project milestones. Once you finish a project or achieve a certain goal, it is natural to start talking about what you want to do next. Take this opportunity to suggest new ideas and additional services when the value of your service is most apparent.
Identify real needs for additional services with business reviews
You should never try to push upsells on clients that don’t need any more than you are already providing them. If the upsell isn’t going to benefit the clien’ts overall goals, it is not an upsell you should be pursuing. Instead, focus on upselling to clients that have gaps in their current goal plans and need additional services to help them achieve those goals. One way to recognize action plan shortcomings is to perform regular business reviews. Gather data on what is going on within the company. If the current plan isn’t delivering on promised goals, suggest additional services that will help the client get to where they want to be.
Pitch ideas, not upgrades
Always pitch a new service upsell in the context of an idea, not an upgrade. The client needs to fully understand why you think an additional service is a good idea. Instead of just telling them they need to spend more money, come up with a plan for how the money will be spent and how it will benefit the client.
Suggest upsells in your customer support interactions to help solve their problems
Use customer emails and phone calls regarding problems or questions as opportunities for upsells. If the client has a complaint about the service or their business, try to solve their problem with an additional service. By offering an upsell that can solve the customer’s problem, you can help both you and the client win.
Make the upsell relevant to the customer’s original purchase
Offer additional services that complement what the customer already purchases from you. Explore several options with the client and select an upsell that offers the maximum benefit to them. The upsell should always be relevant to the original purchase. Improve the original purchase by augmenting it with an upsell. “You sell a knife. Sell a knife sharpener. You sell software. Sell premium support. You sell sunglasses. Sell a microfiber cleaning cloth.” (source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/12/21/how-to-upsell-any-customer/#7f7ee77cc406)
Set limits on your services to make customers sell themselves
Built-in limitations are a great way to encourage upsells. When you limit your services and time to a certain level, customers realize the need on their own for that additional time and decide to purchase as the need arises. Make sure you are firm with the amount of time you will provide at the agreed upon pay level and stick to that. If the customer feels like they need more support from you, you should be fairly compensated for that upsell. The most successful upsells are those in which the customer realizes the need and makes a willing purchase.
Discount additional services
Most customers don’t want to spend more money and will become disinterested if an additional service is too expensive. Make the upsell more appealing by offering a discounted price, granted the numbers make sense for your ROI.
Make the upsell after the original purchase
Offering an upsell before even completing the original purchase can be a huge turn off to customers. If you get too eager too quickly, you could lose the sale completely. Instead, upsell the customer after they’ve made a purchase with you and you have provided some value to their business.
Eliminate risk
Offer guarantees or free trials of the additional service to eliminate risk to the customer and to prove that the upsell is worth the higher price. If you can gain their trust through a guarantee, your upsell is more likely to be successful.
Create a customer case study
If you have a customer that is greatly benefiting from one of your services, capture and record their story in a case study. You can then use this case study as a real-life example when trying to upsell your other clients. Send the case study in an email and invite the client to reach out to you to learn more about the additional service. The case study allows them to see how a real business can be affected by the product or service and encourage them to try it out for themselves.
Set yourself up as an industry expert
People are more likely to purchase from someone who knows what they are talking about and can be considered a thought leader in the industry. Establish yourself as an industry expert by writing a blog post on a topic related to the upsell and post it to your website or LinkedIn profile. Share the blog with your clients to emphasize why they need the additional service. This approach comes off to the client as more helpful than salesy, encouraging them to engage with you and learn more about the service.
Be confident
Confidence can go a long way in persuading your customers to purchase an upsell. Be straightforward and tell them why they need the additional service to be successful in their business. If your client sees you as an expert in your field, they can trust you in telling them what they need. When you tell your client directly what services will work best for them, you have a higher chance of closing the upsell.
