Our Monmouth Blog

I recently had a fun night out with my wife. Our children were at a much anticipated sleep over at my sister in-laws and we went to the Borgata in Atlantic City. Our evening began with dinner at Bobby Flay Steak, and continued with the fine stand-up comedy of Lewis Black. We were both really looking forward to this long overdue time together. The weekend was fun and we had a great time with Lewis Black, but our dining experience at Bobby Flays was outstanding, and that got me thinking.

Bobby Flay has a marketing machine with his multiple food network shows, and he does not disappoint. Everything from the quality, preparation, and presentation of the food to the service and the décor combines for a world class experience. Bobby’s unique cooking style was prominent and the staff did a good job explaining the menu helping us make perfect selections. There really is a recipe to success and every business can apply it if you take these principles to heart.

The marketing. Yes, I understand not everyone is going to have multiple network TV shows, but your business plan must include a way to reach your target market. In Bobby’s case the food network is perfect to attract Bobby’s target market. It worked like a charm on me… As business owners we should look to identify inexpensive ways to reach our target market. Ads, newspapers and magazines in most cases are overpriced and less effective. A good marketing plan contains high ROI advertising opportunities that enable us to track results. From the results you can make small adjustments in plan along the way to refine and improve it.

The experience. My expectation for Bobby’s restaurant was very high. What made this meal special was that my already high expectation was exceeded. This is where many businesses go wrong. Client experience should not be taken for granted and must be paid attention to. All of our clients have a minimum set of standards they accept from businesses they are patrons of. Complaints and lack of repeat business occur when expectations are not met. When client expectations are exceeded good will, referrals, and people will talk (or blog) about you. This blog post is the direct result of exceeding my expectations. Can you think of a better ad? I wanted to share my fantastic experience with you. Now that is powerful marketing.

As business owners we need to think about our ingredients for success. Are we reaching our target market with our business message? Is our product or service unique? What makes doing business with us special? How do we service clients to create an exceptional experience? Think about the places you like to do business with. Where do you like to shop? Apply the lessons learned to your business and the sky is the limit.

Now if Bobby Flays Steak only served breakfast….

Best wishes.

ourmonmouth.com offers a local list of steak houses.

What is client experience? Very simply it is how a customer or user feels about the product or service they just used. Client experience opinions can be made at any point in a relationship and are extremely hard to change once formed. Businesses can be rewarded with referrals and positive word of mouth exposure if they deliver a consistent positive client experience and can be punished severely if client experience is poor.

There a several components to client experience: service, environment, expectations, and satisfaction. All of these components are equally important and must be thought of from a client’s perspective. As a business owner you must have a clear plan to deliver exceptional service at every touch point. Delivering consistent excellent service is no simple task and requires focus from the business owner and its employees.

Customer service is the first thing people tend to think about when discussing client experience. It takes patience and commitment to deliver a high level of customer service on a consistent basis. Ever y contact point with the customer needs to exceptional. It does not matter if the contact is in person, on the telephone, or via email. Business email etiquette is to respond to all client request and inquiries within 24 hours. Clients will pass judgment on how you and your staff handle these interactions. People expect prompt, professional, and courteous service anything less will obviously lead to a poor client experience.

Environment is something that can be easily overlooked. Ever walk into a restaurant that looked dirty? Did you turn around and leave? A stores appearance, decor and music can help provide a positive client experience. If your store front is a website does it have unnecessary music or intrusive flash? Are your color tones and images pleasant and inviting? Does your website convey an image of expertise and professionalism. These are just a few basic things to consider.

Expectations are important to manage in all facets of business but it is most important with your paying customers. Communication is paramount in managing expectations. If a client is expecting red widgets and you send him white widgets you missed the mark. Even if those are the best white widgets in the industry your client was expecting red and expectations were not met. Businesses that do not meet client expectations on a regular basis will suffer with poor reputations. Poor reputations and bad track records are bad for business.

As a business owner I always had great pride when I had satisfied clients. This means that I full delivered on my commitment to my client. As the saying goes ‘the proof is in the pudding’. If I provide attentive customer service in a pleasant environment but my blue widget melts after one use. This might be ok except it had been sold as an indestructible widget I might have an issue depending on how the problem gets resolved.

This is not intended to be a detailed list but just some factors to consider in client experience. This client experience list can be applied to any type of business.

I your experience what are some other factors that influence client experience?