5 Tips to Creating Exceptional Client Loyalty – Inspired by @MontageBH

A few months ago, I had a beautiful lunch by the pool side of the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills with Kimberley Clayton Blaine.  Kimberley visits the Montage often and has a special business relationship with the company, but in all of my years of adoring luxury resorts, it is rare to see a level of service that matches the Montage.

On the day that we sat by the pool, enjoying our lunch of champagne and salad, we were treated like royalty. It felt wonderful.  Ever since then, I have been dreaming of sitting by that pool with my laptop, entertaining clients on the terrace, lounging by the pool with my family (can you tell how much I love the pool?) and maybe even hosting an event at any one of the beautiful Montage locations.  It is simply a lovely company with a big heart.

A few weeks after my lunch with Kimberley, I found myself coordinating a photo shoot for a new project that was scheduled to be performed at a different hotel in the Beverly Hills area.  This other hotel is beautiful and very luxurious, but the excellent level of service just wasn’t there.  My team and I felt like we were bothering them by looking to partner on any level.  Not a good feeling.  And not something that we wanted to proceed forward with. (Tip: trust your gut feelings the first time in business and in life!)

It didn’t seem like they cared about developing a relationship with us as clients or a business women (which is never a good indicator of a successful venture).  So, naturally it was time to pick up the phone and connect with the hotel that shared my values of integrity and service…

What resulted was amazing (see above photo of @DabneyPorte being photographed by @KrisBantJenkins on the terrace by the Montage pool).  The entire team at the Montage bent over backwards to not only accomodate our needs, but to make sure everything went off without a hitch.  The philosophy of the Montage involves an elegant and welcoming experience for all guests and they definitely live up to this vision.

Now, the reason that I am writing this post is not to tell you where to stay on your next visit to Beverly Hills, Laguna Beach or Deer Valley (although I highly recommend treating yourself to the Montage experience, even if it’s just once!).  It is to share with you how inspiring it is as a business owner to see things done with excellence.

When I work with clients, I teach them to think about the experience they want their clients to have.  From the moment a potential client first experiences your brand or business… will they be dreaming about connecting again?

Here are 5 things you can integrate into your client experience to attract and maintain loyal and loving clients for years to come.

1. Build a team that shares your values and is committed to providing exceptional service. The highest level of service comes when team members know that the work they are doing is guiding them toward their own personal goals.  Ask your team members what their personal and professional goals are and have them create a document that outlines how they will reach their short and long term goals in this position.
2. Go above and beyond the expectations of your clients. In the wording on your website, in written agreements and in the messaging that goes out to your audience, there will be expectations that will be set for the level of service that you provide.  Challenge yourself to develop systems that allow you and your team to surpass anyone’s wildest dreams when it comes to results or outcome.  Walk through your client experience process from attraction to service to retention and look for gaps to fill.  People want to know that you care every step of the way and they will gladly pay more for that. 
3. Have a clearly defined mission and vision statement that specifically outlines your philosophy and the experience that your business strives to create for clients.  This keeps clients and team on the same page.
4. Follow up with clients after they have connected with your business to make sure their needs were met. Include surveys, personal notes via email, phone calls and connection on social media.  Encourage clients to share their experiences (good or bad) with your team so that you can continue to provide a high level of service and strengthen areas that may have fallen short.  Most importantly, reward ALL client feedback by giving discounts on future purchases, providing exposure to business partners and/or sending special gifts of gratitude.
5. Be open to partnering with complimentary businesses to offer MORE to your client base. The truth is that when you partner with other businesses with similar values, there can be many benefits to your customers.  The key is to make sure that the businesses that you partner with share the same target audience, complimentary values and a common goal.  From there, you want to look for creating a win-win-win scenario for everyone involved.

These are only 5 ways to set our business apart from the rest in terms of excellence.  Do you have some ideas for ways that businesses can go beyond expectations to create raving fans and loyal clients?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.  Thanks so much!

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