Worth Every Penny: Offerings & Customer Experience

[Pesso]

Hey Square Readers,

We’re diving fully into the core of Worth Every Penny by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck, and so far we’ve talked about the basics of the Boutique framework, and the benefits of branding. 

Now, let’s dive into section 2 of the book: Products, Services, and Customer Experience.

Offerings

A key part of being boutique is going above and beyond in what you sell. The authors write, “In order to truly stand apart in your industry, your products must make people go gaga over you. They need to be extra special, unmatched, interesting, or even shocking… to be special enough to make someone want to talk about them. And not just because of their price.”

A great way to do that is to think about how you can be memorable. You can absolutely stand out by going the extra mile, being one of a kind, and coming up with clever ways to anticipate and appeal to the customers’ wants and needs. And most importantly, lean into your passion about it. Put a piece of you and your passion into everything you do, and customers will feel and resonate with it. 

They write, “Your offerings reflect your passion for your business. They are a reflection of your brand. And they’re probably the reason you started a boutique business in the first place—you wanted to make something better, more appealing, or more interesting. You wanted to create an experience for your clients that would give them a glimpse into why you find your craft so rewarding. In turn you’ve created a business.”

Customer Experience

The other biggest section is providing an absolutely exceptional experience for your customers. Just like your products and services go above and beyond, you need to do the same in the ways that you act and work with your clients. High-touch service is untouchable. Find ways to add in fun and excitement to leave customers thrilled and delighted, solve problems as they come up, and you’ll create real fans. 

Even if you’re in a traditionally low touch style of business, like online only, there are still ways that you can create an incredible customer experience. It just takes some anticipation of needs and getting creative. 

They write, “your goal is to move beyond simple satisfaction. You should provide services and experiences that thrill customers. You should spend more time with each client, giving them those high-touch, personalized experiences… Moving beyond satisfaction starts with knowing your customers and their desires. But, beyond just knowing them, you need to be prepared to blow their minds with every little bit of attention.”

Just remember to set some boundaries for yourself, so you can preserve your time and not get taken advantage of. Make these rules align with your personal and business goals, aren’t too restrictive for customers, and set those expectations for your customers so they can understand. They write, “You can’t be open twenty-four hours, but you will give them ten times the service and experience when you are open. Your customers will respect you for having rules that enable you to provide an extreme level of service.”

Employees & Team

Part of creating a great customer experience is creating a great experience for your staff too. Their experience trickles down, so if your employees are not enjoying their work or are not excited to be a part of the team, they probably won’t be able to put in the effort for your customers. Treat them well, invest in them, teach them, pay them better, give them the best perks you can, and help them grow. If you do, they’ll be happier and treat your customers better. 

It starts with hiring. Find people who light up and have passion for what you do. Make sure you have high standards and expectations, and don’t settle or get desperate. The authors say that “some of your best customers may also make great team members. Your passionate customers already know what you sell, how you sell it, and how you serve your clients. Plus, they’ve already shown an interest in you, your products, or your services and come to you… You can train people for skills, but you can’t train people to have glowing personalities and a love of people and relationships… Seek the passion first, and deal with all the other stuff later.”

Fixing Bad Customer Experiences

“If you can overcome a negative situation with a customer, you take that customer beyond basic satisfaction. Now they’re not displeased—they’re thrilled.”

Boutique businesses are judged more harshly on negative experiences, even if they’re not your fault. The authors also shared a quote they heard from John DiJulius which says, “It’s not your fault, but it is your problem.” This really resonates since no matter what happens, even if something is completely outside of your control, part of your job is to fix things and make the customer happy. Within reason of course. 

But how do you actually go about solving the problem? The authors recommend doing what you can to not disappoint your customers. Focus on maintaining the relationship, and leaving things in good standing. Ask them for ideas and what would solve things in their eyes. Communicate, be transparent, and create and lay out a plan to the solution. When it is your fault, own and apologize, and immediately work to make it right. Eat the costs, and go above and beyond to make it right.

In order to maintain those standards and customer satisfaction, they also recommend actively looking and asking your customers for constructive feedback. Always work on improving so that future customers can have better experiences. When you’re told ways to improve, it’s so important to not get defensive but to listen and truly take their feedback to heart. They’re sharing it because they want things to be better, not to punish you.

In our next discussion thread, we’ll talk about Section 3: Pricing.

We’d love to hear your answer in the comments:

• Where in your business can you add value? How can you step up your offerings to make them more unique, memorable, fun, thrilling, and personalized?
• What boundaries can you set to make your own life easier, and ensure you can give exceptional service?
• What was the last customer issue you had to fix? How did you handle it and how did it go? What would you do differently?

Feel free to share any other thoughts you have about this book. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Don’t forget to:

• View and Subscribe to all threads about this book
• RSVP to our Live Discussion 

Happy reading,

Pesso

[DinaLRosenberg]

This was actually an amazing synopsis- so thank you for this. 

You know we are all about exceptional customer experience. I've eaten "crap" for my customers a lot. The "it might not be your fault- but it's your problem?"... yeah- we live that. LIVE IT. It's so so so so important for us to make sure we are trying to fix whatever issues we can so that as many customers as possible know we go above and beyond.

We have some boundaries around our rules- specifically our Intagram Lives.  A lot of our "good" customers want to swoop in and "pre shop" our live sale preview. We can't allow that because what would the incentivize people to watch if all the "good" stuff is sold?

that's been super important and we've even lost customers because they felt entitled to have "first" dibs.

[Pesso]

Thank you so much, @DinaLRosenberg ! I'm trying to make these as useful as possible: a recap for those who have read the book, and a summary & cliff-notes for those haven't. 

Yes! That's such a great way to run the business! Going above and beyond, and having customers know and remember that, is huge. Very good point about having rules and boundaries too. 

We'll get into it in Section 4 in April, but do you have anything special for those top customers? You're totally right that giving them first pick of the Instagram Live could lessen the experience for everyone else, but it seems like there's a want for some type of Great Customer Exclusive thing -- that wouldn't take away from regular customers but would be an extra something for the Top customers.

[CareyJo]

I just finished section 3 this morning!  That quote was not only new to me - but very striking.  How different would every interaction with a grumpy client be if we operated from that perspective?  We all have grumpy clients - and most of them can't actually blame us for something, they just want someone to blame because everything in their world is wrong at that moment.  And when we've actually got a real problem that we have to fix, even if it IS our fault, it helps take away that shock of guilt that it is in fact, our fault.  We don't get lost in the guilt, we move right into fixing the problem instead of hanging around in our own emotions and being upset for what we might lose financially.  We gain perspective and move forward to help the client and actually gain something in the end.

Thinking about three previous clients that are people haters and who would do anything to screw someone over, that literally attempted to ruin our business, this quote gave me pause to think what could I have done differently with them?  Probably nothing because they are the kind of people who set out to cause problems.  BUT I would have reacted differently in my own mind about the whole thing and been a lot calmer about trying to help them and could have responded just a little better.  Most importantly, I will now have this in the back of my mind when I come across another individual like these people.  Again, most people aren't out to destroy you, they just want to be taken care of and be treated like a friend, as they said in the book.  I've worked hard over the years to remember little things about our loyal clients and try to treat them like friends and they do notice.  What I have to continually work on, on a personal level, is not letting those haters take my power.  As versed as I am at many things, I'm not good with conflict.  Personal or otherwise and professional conflict works me up like no other.

I read the long list of homework questions at the end of chapter 10 and several of them don't apply to us.  The rest I need to think about for a little bit.  Adding value is a big one.  I need to figure out if we even have anything that we can do, that we're not already doing, to add.

Our biggest boundary is not answering the phone after 5:00 pm.  It goes to voicemail.  The voicemail says if they have no heat to tell us they want an emergency call back.  About 90% of people don't actually listen to the VM, they just wait for the beep.  And of those people who leave a message, about 90% of them will not say whether or not they actually want an emergency call back.  If they don't say it, I don't call.  Because what happens when they don't and I call?  They get the idea in their minds that I will ALWAYS call and that they have power.  If they get upset the next day and proceed to yell at me for not calling, I simply remind them that they did not ask for an emergency call back and they are instantly deflated.  This proves to our clients that WE control our business, our hours and when we will work.  Not them.  But it also proves to the ones who pay attention that when they do ask for help, they will get it.

The two most recent (in the last year) that I can think of were both not our fault.  1.  We installed a furnace two years ago.  When it was installed we noticed how badly damaged the room had been by animal urine and water leaks.  The condensate hose from the furnace unknowingly got kinked.  Proper condensation cannot create a waterfall of water, at the most, it generally creates only ounces of water.  Now remember, this was two years prior.  The customer calls me, proceeds to yell at me that his room is flooded, his floor is damaged and that it's our fault because of a kinked hose that can only cause ounces of water.  Before we could even survey the cause and the damage, he ripped out the entire floor!  Giving us no opportunity to investigate the situation.  I replied with a very carefully and politely worded email that I could easily take to court, reminding him that he chose to rip out the floor without allowing us to inspect the damage and that in no way could the hose cause what happened.  To be kind, as a gesture, we offered him $ 200 to help with the cost of the floor, even though we know we're not at fault.  And yes, I still have the email.  🙂

2.  The second one we are still in the middle of.  Client called us to fix a major mess up that they had created all themselves months ago.  We fixed it.  All was good.  Months later, the girlfriend calls me to say her pilot light won't stay lit.  We were having really bad winds and snow storms.  It's a common problem and I explained why.  She did not give me full information on this situation.  More than a month goes by.  The boyfriend calls.  Attempts very strongly to intimidate me on what he assumes that I've been given information for.  Continues to yell at me that he's not going to pay for us to fix it and it's our fault.  It happened to be that we were scheduled to be in his area, so my husband went to look at it.  The boyfriend had a completely different tone and language when talking to a man instead of a woman.  My husband proved to him that no only was I not properly informed of the problem by her on the phone but that the equipment was faulty from the manufacturer.  This guy literally expected me to hand over my business documents to him so that he could go to the manufacturer for a replacement.  My husband got on the phone with the contractors helpline for the company in front of this guy.  The company has stated that under no circumstances will they replace the equipment if he does it himself.  So we are now being paid by this guy to take out the old, drive more than an hour to get it replaced and then go back and install the replacement.

1.  I don't think I would do anything different about the floor.  He didn't deserve the money and we will not work for them again, even if he praises us.

2.  I have to become proficient at saying something like "I'm happy to listen to you when you stop yelling at me" or "I can't fix your problem until you stop yelling at me".  I have to learn how not to let customers take my power!

My last thought on this section is that I thought it was cool they address the negative feedback that we've read about in one of the other books.  I can't figure out now which one it was.... but I was glad that they only touched on it and then let it go.  It reminded me of the previous book and that we have to try and find the clients who are upset about something and haven't told us.

Looking forward to the next section!!  

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing so much, @CareyJo ! 

It's definitely a big mental shift, and can be tricky to keep up, but it absolutely makes a huge difference in seller perception and connection to the business. It's rare that customers are out to get you, most of the time they just have a problem and aren't in the headspace to consider the impact that it'll have on you. They just want their thing fixed. 

It's so wonderful that you're open to learn and change your mindset around this! Way to rock!

That's a really great boundary to have and a wonderful way to set it up. You're still giving them the option to connect with you, they just need to "say the magic words." 

Thank you for sharing both of these really tough situations. It sounds like you did the best you could with the situations, still went out there to help and did what you could. It's really hard when you're dealing with such big ticket services and items, and so many moving parts and variables that can cause issues. 

I think you're referring to Hug Your Haters? It definitely was a nice little reference to it, but not too in depth. 

Thanks again for sharing all of this!

[CareyJo]

I think you're right!  I looked at my bookshelf and that's the only book I don't have from the club - I hated it so much I gave it away!! 🤣🤣  But that would be why I couldn't remember which book!!  LOL

Thank you for the positive feedback.  I really appreciate it.  

[Pesso]

Haha, @CareyJo , I thought it was Fix This Next that you hated! Maybe both? Too funny. 

Of course! Thank you for being so involved here and sharing so much! I’m just the cheerleader and organizer, y’all are the real stars. 

[Bronze_Palms]

Thank you for putting this together!! I love your piece on employment, hiring people with passion and enthusiasm is half the battle. Having someone with an affinity for the service is super important. They become advocates for the service and the business while effectively educating.

[Pesso]

Thank you, @Bronze_Palms ! Such a great point -- finding folks who deeply care and can talk about your offerings with ease is huge.

[Stacelyn24]

1. Adding value to our business involves stepping up our offerings to make them more unique, memorable, and personalized. We can enhance our services by introducing new nail art techniques, incorporating specialty treatments like aromatherapy or hand massages, and providing customized nail care regimens tailored to each client's needs. Additionally, we can create themed nail experiences or events to make appointments more fun and thrilling for our clients, such as seasonal nail designs or themed nail parties.

2. Setting boundaries is crucial for maintaining exceptional service and ensuring our own well-being. We can establish clear guidelines for appointment scheduling, ensuring adequate time between appointments for thorough cleaning and sanitation procedures. Additionally, we can set limits on the number of clients seen per day to prevent burnout and maintain quality in our services. By prioritizing self-care and maintaining healthy work-life balance, we can better serve our clients and sustain our business in the long run.

3. The last customer issue we had to fix involved a client who was dissatisfied with the longevity of their gel manicure. We addressed the issue by offering a complimentary touch-up and discussing proper nail care techniques to prolong the wear of their manicure. We also took the opportunity to gather feedback from the client to identify any areas for improvement in our services. In the future, we will ensure thorough communication with clients about aftercare instructions and provide proactive solutions to address any concerns promptly.

[Pesso]

Thanks, @Stacelyn24 !

Those sound like wonderful experiences and ways to really drive home that you're going above and beyond to create a great time for your customers. Love the event ideas too!

What are some of the rules and limitations that you set? 

That's a great way to handle that customer issue! Fix and also educate to help prevent it from happening for that customer. Love that you've incorporated that lesson and teach everyone else too! 

[CareyJo]

I wish that my nail tech/stylist was as enthusiastic as you are about your business.  She's been stuck in a really bad rut for several years now and is just super negative.  She's been doing this for over 20 years and I think she's burned out but can't do anything different.  She's struggling to set limits with her clients and have time for herself because she's got to have as many clients in a day as she can, because she needs the income.

I would love to visit with her about the book and tell her about how you run your salon and show her that she could have such a better life - but I've known her far too long and it would just be an argument.  I have no desire to find someone else, she's been my go-to for over 20 years.  All I can do is hope that I get a chance to mention something that will make an impact on her.

Your place sounds amazing!!

[Stacelyn24]

Awwww thank you for such kind words.  It's extremely easy to get burned out in our industry because we forget it's the service industry and we have to give so much of ourselves.  We have to put time in there for ourselves and if not anything else...go to a trade show.  These always make you feel better because they give you so many new ideas about your business.  They literally breath life back into your business.