OK let’s break it down real quick: Customer Experience is super important but as a small business boss, freelancer or creative you will not have the budget that huge businesses can spend on wooing customers and creating juicy moments of delight and surprise.

Here’s a secret though….

There are plenty of ways to please, intrigue, surprise and dazzle your customers without breaking the bank.

In fact, if you plan to ‘show up’ for the key moments that matter to your customers in their journey with you, the rest of the customer experience strategy you employ can be cream on the top of an already positive experience.

 

Here are some of our favourite ways to nail your customer experience on a budget:

1/ Get personal.

Individualise and personalise the customer experience and make each customer feel like they are your one and only!

It might take a little digging and gathering of information (minus the creep factor) but if you can acknowledge and celebrate a special milestone, date or achievement in an unexpected way — or simply let them know you’re thinking of them — you’ll have them feeling all the feels in no time.

 

2/ Deliver on your promise, and then some.

It’s real easy – we all love when someone does what they say they are going to do.

Dangerously – it pisses us right off if someone lets us down. It’s human nature!

As a business owner you can stand head and shoulders above the crowd and be seen by your community and customers if you simply deliver on your promise.

Give your customer whatever it is they signed up for is the bread and butter of doing business. It’s Customer Service 101.

But what if you were to go one step further and over deliver?

This could be as simple as delivering a project or product well ahead of deadline.

It could be the pretty gift-wrapping they forgot to ask for.

In other words, if they order the budget room, give them the executive suit with a view!

The little touches make your customer feel appreciated – isn’t that the goal anyway?

3/ Listen to feedback.

If you want to make a customer feel seen, heard and respected, give them a chance to provide you with feedback about your work and then actually listen and take it on board!

If you have improved an area of your biz because of their feedback be sure to let them know how grateful you are for their help in improving their experience for the future.

 

4/ Give them something for free.

Whether it’s a small gift thrown in with the rest of their swag, some useful content sent to their inbox, a marshmallow or cookie on the side, a sample or a discount on future offerings — customers love a good bonus or freebie.

Especially when it’s unexpected, or something they didn’t even know they needed.  

Bonus points from us here at Bohemia if it’s something to do with tea or coffee or skincare because we consumer our weight in all three every week!

The key here is to ensure that whatever you are gifting your customer is valuable, useful or complements what they have already bought from you.

Tacky gifts, offers and promotions end up as landfill so take the time to think of something unique and something your customer values.

 

5/ Say thank you.

Basic manners, but an incredibly powerful practice!

These days, it’s almost a novelty to receive a handwritten note, so ditch the automated emails and other standard-one liners and get down and heartfelt with some ink and paper!

Slip a sneaky lil’ thank you card in with their packaged-up product…

Better yet, pick up the phone and say it out loud!

You see, when your customer has received their product or service, there are plenty of opportunities for you to further connect with them, provide extra value, offer support and ask for feedback.

Weaving a little gratitude into the mix will remind your customer that they are important to you and your biz. For more ways to give a shout out to your customers and use Thank You as part of your customer experience, read this article.

Side note:

Bosses, by integrating a customer experience strategy into your freelance, coaching, creative or small biz you are not only wooing your clients — but building a mutually beneficial relationship built on satisfaction, trust and loyalty.

The goal is that you’re both in it for the long haul — no one-night-stands ‘round here!

You see, the customer experience strategy — or customer love strategy, as we prefer to call it — is about so much more than the first date.

It’s a constantly evolving courtship that focuses on positively influencing all of the touch points and interactions a person will ever have with your brand in a way that not only meets their desires but exceeds them.

If your customer love strategy is aligned with who you are as a brand — and what your customers need (even if they don’t realise it) — you will be able to attract the right people to you, your product or, service.

Among other perks, they’ll also be more inclined to repurchase and gush about you to their besties — which brings a whole new level of abundance to your biz!

So there you have it bosses!

Five simple, inexpensive and totally powerful ways to up the ante on your customer experience and have your tribe queuing up out the door and around the corner for you.

Now that the cogs are turning, are there any other ways you can improve your customer experience on a budget? Share with us in the comments below!

PLUS if you’re ready to dive deep on customer experience, click here. We’d love to work with you.

Article written with the help of Contributing Author:  Jenna Fairbairn