Today’s consumer is accustomed to instant gratification. Clients expect immediate answers to burning questions and round-the-clock access to their vendors. Providing customer service at this level requires adopting the technology that will give you an edge and allow you to exceed seemingly impossible client standards.
We use a variety of tech tools in our company to keep our clients in the know, our data tight, and our processes fully on track. Here are some of the best ways to use technology to help you offer your clientele the same level of service:
Communicate constantly
The pace of communication these days is astounding. Email, text messaging, and live updates via social media mean that your clients often know things about your business, their events, and the many planning details exactly when you do, if not before.
Staying in regular contact prior to the client’s event is important. We send a variety of feelers out in the weeks leading up to the wedding to stay top of mind and reassure our clients that we haven’t forgotten them. As a general rule, make sure that you send some form of check-in every other week until the last month or so before the big day, when you should begin to reach out weekly. These contacts might only be to say that you’re “just checking in”, but the effort will be appreciated deeply.
We also employ software that works with our CRM (customer relationship manager) to allow us to contact our clients using a variety of different tools. We have a saying around here: “Communicate with clients the way they would like to be communicated with”. If they text, we text. If they call, we call them back. If they email, we email them.
Provide answers 24/7
Take a look at ways your clients might interact with your company when you can’t be there to take the call. Program a good away message when you’re not in the office and establish a comprehensive FAQ page where customers can find answers to their questions when they can’t reach you. The less uncertainty they feel, the happier everyone will be in the long run.
Keep everything organized
Technology tools are great for keeping all of your information in one easily accessible place as well as tracking the sources and progress of each of your leads. I would highly recommend getting a CRM program that allows you to manage and track all interactions with your clients. You can set reminders to prompt you to check in with your clients and use the included tools to plan your next steps and record the outcomes for future data reviews.
Gather and compile feedback
Technology can help you gauge the effectiveness of your current marketing campaign, your service delivery, and overall appeal. We automatically send a survey a couple of days after a wedding as well as the day after our clients receive their pictures. Depending on their ratings, we reach out to either thank the client for their praise or extend an offer of help to deal with any concerns they may have.
Reach out on social media
The average person spends 50 minutes a day on Facebook, so meet them where they are. Facebook has a great messaging platform that has close to the same 98% open rate a text message does. There are also some great apps you can plug in to manage your messaging and set up automated campaigns. We use ManyChat—it allows us to message our clients automatically with promotions or notifications.
Technology is creating a landscape where our customers can have it all. If you just take the time to experiment with various tools and adopt the ones for you, it can have a great effect on your business.
