Stellar Client Service in 10 Simple Steps For Your Pilates Business
If you’re like me, you’ve had plenty of experience with BAD client service. Just think about the last time you had a bad experience with a product or a service. Perhaps the product or service did not live up to the sales pitch. Maybe the company was unresponsive to your calls or emails. Maybe they did not do what they said they were going to do.
A lack of client service usually stems from a lack of client focus. Over the last number of months, I’ve been watching real closely (don’t tell them!) my personal Pilates business owner clients who are crushing it right now and identified a number of trends in their client service approach.
In addition to the 10 points below I’ve noticed one common theme – all of them fundamentally GET the expression “Our job is to serve you”
The good news is, it’s not hard to give great client service in your Pilates business. You simply have to be aware and make it a priority. The following 10 tips will help you offer stellar client service:
- Be Accessible
Your Pilates clients should be able to get a hold of you if they have a question. Provide multiple ways for your clients to get in contact with you.
2. Respond in a Timely Manner
Make it your policy to return all phone calls or emails within 24 hours or less. And, if you cannot commit to that, then determine what timeframe you can manage and let your clients know upfront they can expect to hear back from you within that amount of time.
3. Listen to Your Clients
Often when a client calls or expresses a complaint they just want to be heard. In fact, sometimes, just listening is all you need to do. Take the time to listen to what your clients have to say before you start responding or defending your service. They may just have a point. This simple rule has won so much business for these clients – I can’t count how often these business owners have told me they have turned what appeared at first to be a complaint into a sale by listening.
4. Treat Your Clients with Respect
It goes without saying, right?, however as your Pilates business grows and you get more personalities coming into your business it does get tougher at times. Even if the client on the other end of the phone is acting irrationally, or being rude, don’t lower yourself to their level by reciprocating. Treat everyone with respect and you will be respected in return. Plus, you never know when someone’s just having a bad day, and they happen to be taking it out on you (we’ve all done it).
5. Don’t Argue With Your Clients
You can never win an argument with a client. Because if you do win, you’ve more than likely alienated the client and you’ve lost their business. We all know the client isn’t really always right, but instead of focusing on what went wrong and defending yourself, focus on how you can solve the problem or fix the situation.
6. Honour Your Commitments
If you say you will answer emails, then answer them. If you offer a guarantee, then honour it. Nothing spoils a client relationship faster than being promised something and not getting it.
7. Do What You Say
If you say you’re going to call someone on Tuesday, call them on Tuesday. It’s as simple as that. If you want your clients to trust and believe you, you have to follow through and do what you say. Goes to another point that these Pilates clients of mine are all highly organised. Little things matter to your clients and once you get that it makes all the difference.
8. Focus on Making Client Relationships, Not Sales
The long-term success of your Pilates business rests on your ability to make long-term client relationships. If you sacrifice relationships to make short-term sales, your business will be short-lived.
9. Be honest
Don’t exaggerate the results your Pilates will provide just be honest and direct about what you can deliver and the role they have in making their experience a success.
10. Admit When You Make a Mistake
No one’s perfect. We all make mistakes; it’s part of learning. So, when you do make a mistake, don’t try to cover it up or deny it. Just admit it and if necessary, do something to make the situation right. Your clients will appreciate it and they’ll be more likely to stay clients.
So how does your client service measure up in your Pilates business? Are you practicing these 10 steps and offering stellar client service? If not, I challenge you to take your service up a notch. Approach it like Ken Blanchard and instead of just being satisfied with happy clients, create “Raving Fans” (a great little book if you haven’t read it).
Commit to putting these 10 tips into practice. Get to know your clients more. Continue to make them the focus and feel extra special. It’s one of the keys to business success and best of all, it doesn’t cost very much!
To Your Success
Brendan
3 Ways Brendan can help your Pilates Business to grow right now;
- Join the Free FB group dedicated to Pilates Business Owners only to get free resources, information, support, training and much more.
2. Run your business through his Profit Acceleration Simulator and see all of the potential growth areas – many you won’t even have thought of!. Download your personalised 12 month roadmap – all absolutely FREE.
3. Book a no obligation Pilates Profit Acceleration Jumpstart call with Brendan and see for yourself the proven steps he’s taking with other Pilates business owners to transform their businesses and lives. In this session Brendan guarantees to uncover anywhere between €25k – €75k of hidden profits within your business.
Book an inquiry session today and change the direction of your business and your life forever.