3 Ways To Improve Your Customer Retention (with Fran Smith)

If I had to identify just one thing that successful clinic owners and studio owners do that the vast majority of others fail to do so, it’s that they know how to retain their clients.

They understand that the people most likely to spend more money with them are those that have already engaged with them and used their services in the past. And they understand that by reducing their client churn rate, they not only improve their margins but also make marketing their business a lot less stressful and expensive.

Sharing this opinion with me is Fran Smith – Customer Experience & Retention expert, plus recent guest on the Treat Your Business podcast. In this recent episode, Fran shares 3 ways in which you can improve your customer experience in order to help improve your bottom line.

Simply navigate to this page to listen to the full episode. Alternatively, here are her 3 top tips for health and wellness business owners.

1. Be authentically yourself

It all starts with being yourself and sharing more of your personality. It might seem scary at first but doing so goes a long way to building trust and helping you to stand out – which is great in what can feel like a crowded marketplace at times. That’s not to say you let your level of professionalism slip, but simply that you offer a service that is uniquely you.

What might this look like in practice? Well, when someone walks through the door of my clinic in Sheffield, the clinic smells a certain way, we have fresh flowers, a fridge full of lager, nice coffee, and even cake at certain times of the year. Such things might seem over the top but it’s part of the feeling I wish to create for clients that will help put them at ease and even excited to be there and reflect the care I have towards them and their reason for visiting.

2. Set clear expectations

Even from that very first touchpoint you need to reassure clients about what to expect whilst addressing any concerns that they might have. Remember, it’s quite a big deal for them to come to a place that they don’t know, and share with someone they’ve yet to meet about the problem they’ve been experiencing, perhaps for many years.

Take a moment and consider such concerns and how you might address them positively. Is it that they’re worried about not being able to properly explain their problem? Or is it simply that they don’t know what to wear? Putting yourself in the position of your client and addressing such concerns is a foolproof way for over delivering and creating an amazing experience for your clients – before, during and after their very first appointment.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback

Granted, it’s great to receive and share some amazing testimonials and success stories, but just as important are those one star or two star reviews and experiences that we’d often prefer to ignore. Making sure to request such feedback, even when that feedback is hard to hear, is a really useful tool for improving things.

It’s going to help you to see things from a different perspective and to identify the shortcomings in your current service. And by identifying such shortcomings and addressing them, you should in turn see an increase in referrals and word of mouth.

Make sure the bucket isn’t leaking

Think of client acquisition and retention like a bucket. In our line of work we’ll always have to find new clients to add to the bucket but if it’s a constant struggle trying to find new ones to replace old ones then your bucket is probably leaking! The good news is that just a few fixes to improve your customer retention can have a dramatically positive impact on your business – both in terms of your profit margins and also your peace of mind.

For a more detail assessment of your own bucket (business), schedule a call with me and take advantage of a completely free and bespoke business and marketing audit.