Being a Virtual assistant involves (well for our customers anyway) us being an integral part of their business, a trusted pair of hands and somebody that is more efficient at doing the mundane stuff.
Sometimes, when your start out working for yourself, you are desperate to get your first customers – it makes sense you get paid. However, they need to be the right customer for you in order for them to fall in love with your business.
A small amount of time spent before you agree to work with a potential new customer can save you stress in the mid term and will ensure you have a strong relationship for the long term.
- You need to have aligned core values – there’s nothing worse than being asked to do a something which you feel is unethical or misaligned with your values. Our core values are effectiveness, dependability and partnership. I always ask any potential clients what theirs are too, it gives me an insight into them and their business.
- You have to be authentic, we’ve all heard people buy from people they know, like and trust. If they feel like you’re not being authentic they’ll move on to someone who is. This coincides with being honest – all of my customers know I have children, so I work around school runs and appointments. They’re OK with that because I told them up front.
It costs 6 or 7 times more to get a new customer than to retain one, customer service is crucial to this retention and holds the key for your customers falling in love with your business.
The stronger the relationship the more they depend – Our customers all started with minimal hours, the more work we did for them and they understood our capabilities and the extra value we added the more work they passed our way.
Here’s some pointers to help your customers fall in love with you:
- Do what you said you would do and within the agreed timescale.
- Consistently provide a high-quality service, it is easy for customers to stay loyal when they are assured of an exceptional service.
- Be open and honest – we can all make mistakes – if you’re honest and upfront people appreciate it, there is nothing worse than finding out after the event or when you’ve hit the deadline. Forewarned is forearmed as they say and what’s even better is if you’ve found a solution already.
- Get personal – ask them how they are, how their family are. Things come out in conversation where you can help or offer a bit of guidance. These extra little things make dealing with you easier and add value. Last year we started working with two multinationals and dealing with various members of their teams. One asked how I managed to do the task so quickly, so I pointed her in the direction of some great training resources which would help speed up her excel skills and save her time. If I didn’t add in that personal touch, she would never have felt secure enough to ask me. – It also helps not having to deal with any office banter or participating in tea rounds!
Once you have that key relationship with your customer it makes so many things easier, such as the occasional poorly child, a rate increase or an urgent appointment.
If you do a great job consistently, are proactive and the service you provide is exceptional, your customers fall in love with your business and become your biggest brand ambassadors. They tell people how great you are and let’s not forget they probably have friends and acquaintances that are potentially your ideal client!
98% of our customers have come through word of mouth referrals from other happy customers, so I like to think they love us. But that’s only because we work with ones where we are a good fit and we’ve worked hard to ensure we’re effective, dependable and create a great working partnership with them.
What do you do within your business to help your customers fall in love with you?