Creating a kickass client journey - Part 3: Delivery

Do your clients feel taken care of after they sign on to work with you?

It’s easy to overlook this phase of creating a kickass client journey!

I often talk to business owners who know that they aren’t checking in with their clients as much as they would like to or feel that there are more ways that they could be offering value to them.

Sound like you? Check out this video for next steps!

Listen to the audio:

What should happen between onboarding and service delivery?

What happens to your clients between the time that they book you and the time that your services are actually delivered?

This is such a key part of your client journey, because it's where you make sure that your clients continue to feel connected to you and like they're getting the support that they need.

It’s also an opportunity for you to add additional value, so that your clients feel even more excited about working with you.

I'm going to break this down into two different parts depending on your type of business, because they are a little bit different.

Project-based businesses

The first type of business is more project-based. This is where you work with clients for a specific period of time and there's a specific delivery date or end date, and you may or may not ever work with them again.

This could be something like a photographer, where people book you and then you're working with them for a specific event. It might be a copywriter or a web designer, where you are working with people for a period of time to create something for them and then you deliver it and it's done. This could also include a coaching program, where you're only working with people for a specific period of time. For example, maybe they sign up with you for a 3-month coaching program and they're just working with you for that window of time.

Basically, anything that is more project-based, that has a definite end date or delivery date. With these types of clients, what you want to make sure is that they feel connected with you.

If you have the type of business where they are booking you and then there might be a period of time before you're actually working together, you want to make sure that you are communicating with them enough during that period, but not too much.

What you can do is create automations or a system where you know that you are checking in with people every so often. Depending on your type of business this doesn’t have to be super often. For some businesses, once a week is enough. For some businesses, it might only be once a month at the most.

Whatever frequency works for you, make sure it’s enough to let people know that they're still top of mind for you, that they can reach out to you if they need anything or they have any questions, and that you have extra value for them so they feel even more excited about working with you.

Ideas to add extra value

• A helpful blog post

• An informative video

• A PDF

• Tips or recommendations

• FAQs

• Additional resources

• Recommended books to read

Checking in based on your business type

You should be combining adding value with your check ins. You might already have regular check-ins as part of your services, or this might be something that you need to add. Here are some examples based on different business types.

Coaching:

• Coaching call reminders

• How to book a 1:1 call with you

• Reminders to complete modules or worksheets

• How to submit questions for coaching

• Additional value and resources

Photographer:

• Finalizing their timeline

• Sending a questionnaire for additional information

• Scheduling a final details call

• How to book earlier check in calls if needed

• Tips on how to prepare for their event or shoot

Web designer or copywriter:

• Request for approval before moving on to the next section of the project

• Updates on changes you’ve made

• Mockups for content or items you’ve created so far

• Tips on how to use your copy or designs

• FAQs or other tips

The key here is to ask yourself: How can I make sure I’m checking in regularly and providing value to my clients?

Businesses with ongoing services

The other scenario that I would like to talk about is if you have a business where you're offering more ongoing services.

This could be coaching where people work with you for an indefinite period of time or maybe you have some sort of membership program. Maybe you are a social media manager, so you work with people on an ongoing basis. You might be a virtual assistant or online business manager.

If you are working with people on an ongoing basis, it can be difficult to think about this phase of your client journey after onboarding, because it can be extremely long. I have clients that I've been working with for years, so technically we have spent years in this delivery phase of the process.

I encourage you to think about your communication - this is key to your client relationships. Make sure that you are setting up regular checkpoints with these clients. Here are some examples:

• Regular meetings (with some of my clients this is weekly, with some monthly, and with some on an as-needed basis)

• Reminder emails on how to set up a check in meeting

• Call reminders for coaching calls

• Updates on the status of tasks and projects

• Setting deadlines and due dates for new tasks and projects

• Check in on your clients’ progress (especially if you are a coach)

With any of these types of businesses, you should be reaching out to provide people with additional value. Extra resources, extra tips and tricks, whatever you can do to make them feel like they're getting more bang for their buck.

How to apply this to your own business

Depending on what you've been doing in your business so far, this may sound like a lot of extra work.

No matter what type of business you have, I would recommend automating as much of this as you can. This depends a little bit on what type of software you have and what you're willing and able to invest in, but a lot of these things can be automated.

Regular check-ins, offering additional value - all of that can be automated, because you're sending out the same things to each client. I encourage you to look into that, because I don't want this to create a lot of extra work for you.

Once these things are set up, it's an easy way to create more connections with your clients without creating a lot of extra work for you. If you can create the best possible experience for your clients in this phase of your client journey, it’s an easy way to get more clients who want to come back and work with you again and again, give you amazing testimonials, and rave about you to their family and friends.

If you have any questions about how to do this in your specific business, please let me know down in the comments or feel free to reach out.