5 steps to winning your clients’ hearts
As a global mobility service provider, perhaps you’re wondering how to offer a great customer experience to your current and future client base. You surely know that customer experience is critical. Perhaps you work tirelessly to ensure every step of the process is as smooth as possible for your clients.
But even with all your hard work, sometimes things can go awry. That’s why it’s important to always be prepared, and remember some key points.
Here are five steps to creating a stellar customer experience in global mobility.
1. Start with a great first impression
First impressions matter – especially when it comes to global mobility service providers that have to deal with extremely sensitive information and processes, such as expatriates’ lives (relocation specialists), their taxes (tax experts) or their legal status (immigration and visa professionals).
The very first thing potential customers see when they’re scoping out possible new global mobility service providers is your reputation. Your reputation will always precede you. That is the first thing customers will face. Sincere recommendations coming from genuine previous clients or amazing 5-star service ratings will always have more weight than just beautifully marketed content on a company website.
Not that should be ignored. On the contrary, make sure your website and the entire online information on social media is updated and professional. Also, please make sure it’s in English as well. It’s fairly unlikely that an HR professional from Singapore in need of services in Croatia knows Croatian.
Your future clients are looking at multiple elements when choosing who to partner with, and how others perceive you in the market is one of them. Having a great reputation in the market will win you more business and allow you to build long-term relationships.
2. Make sure your customer service is top-notch
Excellent customer service is the lifeblood of any business. It can make or break a company, so it’s important to get it right.
There are a couple of key things to keep in mind when delivering customer service.
First, it’s important to manage the clients’ expectations. You have to be clear about what you can and cannot do, and what your scope of work includes or not. Furthermore, make sure you always set realistic timelines for the services delivery.
It’s crucial to keep your clients updated on your service delivery progress – no one likes feeling out of the loop. By frequently updating them so they feel confident that their expectations are being met in a timely manner, you’re more likely to succeed.
Last but not least, make sure you have a great turn-around time for responses. No one wants to wait forever for a reply, so aim to respond quickly and efficiently, making the client feel valued and respected. When an entire business is on fire because that CFO needs his work permit, a 4-hour versus 48-hour response time can make all the difference.
If you have top-tier customer service, then your satisfied customers will come back and recommend others to use your services. By ensuring that you always offer great customer service, you are setting your business up for success in the future.
3. Surprise and delight your customers
In today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to stand out from the competition. One way to do this is to surprise and delight your customers with your services.
This doesn’t mean going above and beyond or putting pressure on your entire team to be always on their toes. Rather, it means providing services in a manner which is different from your competition.
Something as easy as a handwritten thank-you note at the end of a complicated and lengthy work permit process or after a home search assistance can make all the difference.
When you take the time to personalize your services, you’ll create loyal customers who are happy to spread the word about your business. So go ahead and surprise your customers! They’ll be happy you did.
4. Be authentic
We’ve all had a customer service experience where it was clear that the person we were talking to could not have cared less about us or our problem. They only wanted to sell something. Maybe they were just following a script and couldn’t deviate from it, or maybe they were actually a robot 😊. In any case, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
On the other hand, we’ve also probably had a customer service experience where the person we talked to was genuinely caring and concerned about helping us resolve our issue. This is the kind of customer service experience that people remember and appreciate most.
Prospective clients can see right through you if your only goal is to seem like you care. Instead, show that you actually do care by being genuine in your interactions and honest about what you can do for them. This will go a long way in establishing trust.
Always be authentic – even if you make a mistake, admit it and work quickly to repair the situation. That way, you can develop a strong relationship with clients built on trust and mutual respect.
5. Go the extra mile
‘Going the extra mile’ is quite the buzzword but people often regard this as a pain – why should you do extra work?
Being one step ahead of what the client has asked initially and having the ability to anticipate other future needs (the clients might not even be aware of them) will help you win over the client.
It can be small things, like offering to do something that’s not in your scope of work, such as coordinating the translations for that residence permit process instead of leaving the client fumbling for translation agencies. Or it might be something bigger, such as developing a whole new service package or service offer, especially for that client, based on what you know about their business, their needs and their requirements.
Whatever it is, going the extra mile shows that you’re invested in your work, and always looking for ways to help your clients succeed.
Conclusion
Creating a successful business starts and ends with customers who are satisfied with your specialised global mobility services – be they relocation, immigration or visa, tax or social security.
By starting with a great first impression, providing excellent customer service, surprising and delighting your customers, being authentic and going the extra mile with your services, you can create an unbeatable customer experience that will keep them coming back for more.
