It might seem counter-intuitive that automation can help you be more personable with your clients. But the truth is: automation can be personable and show our clients that we care about them. Here are a few ways that you can use the HoneyBook client workflow automation software to build relationships with your clients.
Personalize Your Emails
Personalized emails contain content that is catered toward the client based on the information that you know about them. In HoneyBook, you can create email templates to reuse, including subject lines, dynamic fields, body content and formatting, as well as an email signature. In need of a professional looking signature? With an email signature generator, you can create one in just seconds.
Use Dynamic Fields to Fill in Information Unique to Your Clients
Dynamic fields can be placed in emails so that your clients feel like the content is written specifically for them. For example, if you’re a business coach, you may want to personalize information like your client’s name, their business name or their stage of growth. In HoneyBook, you can set a dynamic field for “Client First Name,” so that every email is addressed to your client. Sometimes meaningful personalization can be as simple as just using their name.
Create Email Drips Dedicated to What Your Potential Clients are Interested In
As a small business owner, you probably have a few ways that people can be added to your email list (different lead magnets on your website or social media). Each one should have an email drip campaign that is related to that specific point of entry. This way, your potential clients will feel like their unique needs are being heard and addressed.
For example, if you’re a social media coach and your potential client downloads a lead magnet about writing catchy Instagram captions, your email drip should focus on Instagram. In HoneyBook, you can set up dedicated workflows for each lead magnet, so that each email in the drip is relevant.
Use Automation as an Entry Point To a Conversation By Including a Call to Action
Automated or not, you should always include a call to action (CTA) at the end of your emails. For example, the call to action in an automated email could encourage potential clients to respond to the email or book a consultation. In HoneyBook, you can include your call to action at the end of your template(s), whether it is a sentence or a link to a landing page.
Trigger Automated Emails So Your Clients Move Through Your Process Easily
Automation triggers run automatically, so they will work when you’re away from your computer, out of the office, or even on vacation. Setting trigger automated emails up ensures that your clients are not left waiting for you to move them to the next step in your process.
For example, you can set up triggers for emails like:
- Follow-up email after a form is submitted
- Onboarding email after a client signs an online contract (this can include your welcome pack, ways to contact you and a link to set up their kickoff call)
- Questionnaire email to gather requirements for a project
- Customer satisfaction email after the completion of a project
- Reminder email for payments
- Check-in email
In HoneyBook, you can trigger automatic emails using workflows.
Pro Tip: Schedule emails for a later date so your clients receive information at the right time. And send follow-up emails to remind your clients that you haven’t forgotten about them.
Remind Yourself to Complete Non-Automated Communications
Realistically, we cannot have a communication plan that is entirely automation-based. We need to include some more organic forms of communication in our plan too. In HoneyBook, you can also create tasks for yourself using Automations.
For example, you can set up reminders for you to:
- Reach out in the DMs. I appreciate it when someone sends me a private message after I’ve shown interest in their service.
- Engage with clients on their preferred platform. Engagement on social media can be time-consuming if you interact with everyone. You want to engage with warm leads to further show your expertise applies to their specific scenario.
- Set up face-to-face meetings (using an online meeting scheduler), which are the best way for you to convert a warm lead. Don’t be afraid to be more forward about setting up a meeting if the data says that someone may be ready to buy!
In HoneyBook, you can set up reminders for yourself directly in the Workflow that you use for email drips, client onboarding, etc.
Set Up Tasks to Show Unique Appreciation to Clients
Set up an appreciation reminder so that you can show your client that you pay attention to them. For example, if you know that your client loves getting a coffee in the morning, you can send them a Starbucks gift card for their birthday. In HoneyBook, you can also create gift cards for your services if you think your client would appreciate that.
Being small business owners, we want to build relationships with our clients. Understandably, it is not feasible for us to spend hours communicating with and getting to know each potential client regularly. Instead, we can rely on automation to create those personal touch points that encourage our audience to get in touch when they need to. Through automation on a small business management platform, we can create both an efficient and personal experience.
