Solving the Ideal Client Mystery

Catharine O'Leary: Welcome back to kickstart the conversation. I'm Catharine O'Leary. And today I want to tackle a vital aspect of business success, which is client retention, I have talked a lot about quizzes and how they are a lead magnet and a client attraction system, which they absolutely are. But I want to flip the switch a little bit and or the script a little bit and talk about client retention, and the magic of keeping clients for life. Because here's the thing, increasing your client retention, even just by 5% can boost your profits by 25 to 95%, it is so much easier to keep a client than to find a new client. And what I find is that a lot of people are running around, and rightly so getting new clients and new leads and building their email lists and, and getting new people into their community which you absolutely need to do. But then they're forgetting the retention side of things, they're forgetting to service the people that are already in their community, to make them truly raving fans. So what you want to do is, you really want to make your customers repeat buyers, right, turn them into raving fans, turn them into brand ambassadors, you know, that's, that's a key to sustainable growth, when you have a group of people that, you know, like that will buy anything that you put out, basically, like, that's your reoccurring revenue, right. And you don't want to just release that because again, it costs so much more time and effort to attract one new customer than it does just to retain your current base. So you always want to be looking at your current retention, your current retention rates, and making sure that you're optimizing that as you're building your business. I mean, really think about a service or a product that you're absolutely in love with, whether that's, you know, buying books or you know, it's a certain author, or maybe it's a brand of clothing, or, you know, branded bags or brand of food, right, or, you know, whatever it is, but you buy almost anything they offer, because you know, it's going to be the best thing since sliced bread. I mean, we all have those coaches that doesn't matter what they offer, like yep, sign me up, because I know that it will help me, that's the kind of community that you want to be building at the end of the day. So as you are attracting your ideal clients in ensure that you know that you are also nurturing them and making sure that you know, you have a series of communications a series of ways to engage a series of even products or services, so that they can continue supporting you and you can continue supporting them. Because it's a lot easier to serve a current customer than it is to find a new one. So you know, you want to, you know, think of creating clients for your business with that same attitude towards your offers, that is the best thing since sliced bread. And they'll buy almost anything, because that'd be cool, right? I mean, that would, wouldn't that be like, you know, a nicer way to wake up every day with you know, a whole bunch of reoccurring revenue. So I want you to think back, just take a minute, think back to a client that you might you might have lost too soon. And think you know, what could have been done differently? How could you have helped them stay? What did you need to know about their business and their journey to keep them on as a client? Because this is the basis of what you need to know, in order to have a retention strategy, right? So let's dive into how quizzes can be a game changer in keeping your clients for life. So quizzes again, they're not just about tracting new leads, they are potent tools for actually keeping your clients engaged. I'm talking a little bit more than just client satisfaction quizzes or you know, surveys, it's really about understanding your clients evolving needs. You're not just selling, you're building that lasting relationship and honestly, that's what it's going to be all about. Right? Is that honest, you know, long lasting relationship, build that tribe that loves you, that are raving fans that is going to buy anything for you keep, like keep adding to that tribe, for sure, with new people, but make sure that you are engaging and you know, creating that relationship, you know, ongoing so that, you know like a client retention focus quiz really focuses on knowing your client's ongoing challenges and interests. This might be kind of a an assessment. I'm just thinking out loud here. An assessment that you take every A six months or three months, and see how you're scoring and then you know, as the entrepreneur, you're getting that in the background, see where, you know, certain metrics are moving, or improving or not improving, and then you can, you know, adapt and make sure that you are giving your clients what they need to be always improving. So, again, each question should be that stepping stone towards deepening their connection with your brand. So for example, question, you know, could lead to a product that complements their previous purchase, Amazon does this brilliantly, like, Hey, you just bought this, you might be interested in this, this and this. I'm not saying that you have to do that. Exactly. But I'm just saying that, uh, you know, if you are tuned into the information that your clients are giving you, they're often giving you clues as to what else they need. For example, you know, if they answer your question, you know, question to a certain way, you might have a masterclass or a digital product that can help them with a certain aspect of that question. So, you know, hey, you know, yeah, you've gone through, and you've done the eight week course. But based on what you've been telling us, you might also be interested in this, you know, masterclass, or this four week intensive or something along those lines, I don't, I'm not saying that always has to be an upsell, it can sometimes be just a relationship builder. But, you know, they're, they're giving you clues, and you might be missing them by not looking at the information that you're being given. So, really building, you know, those quizzes that can foster these long term relationships. I mean, imagine quiz that really evolves with your client offers them personalized insights and solutions, as their relationship with your brand grows. So, you know, once they get through a certain portion of your offer, or finish offer one, you know, giving them some insights as to you know, how they can use offer one, and then you know, their next step with you, or, you know, solutions as to what else they can be doing with just offer one and with the transformation from offer one. I mean, it's just basically really saying, you know, hey, completely this is good job, you can you can continue using this, have you thought of xy and z, because you've now created another problem, right? You've solved one problem. But you know, in doing so you created the next problem, this approach shows you the value and shows you that you value their journey, and are committed to growing alongside them. And that's really important as you're building these relationships. So how do you learn about this journey? Well, you know, it's your very own quiz, your your quiz responses, I mean, that's the goldmine of data that can shape your business strategies. It can be a feedback loop, like customer satisfaction, that keeps you aligned with your, with your clients needs, it could be as simple as an email going out to say, hey, you know, this is my monthly check in,

how are you doing respond to this email? Like, what do you need? What do you need support with when you need help with, let that be open ended and let them just respond? You know, it's just, it's ensuring that you're continually connected to your community, and that your services continue to resonate with them. Right. So there's lots of different ways to do this. And I'm, I'm just so excited to be sharing some of them with you. But at the end of the day, what you want to make sure is that you don't forget that the clients that you've gotten are, you know, can be clients for life. And to make sure that you actually have some strategies and some feedback loops and some connection points, I guess, with your current community, to make sure that you are always you know, asking, you know, what's going on, or giving them a way to give you that feedback, whether that's through quizzes, whether that's through a satisfaction rate, rating score, whether that's through just simply Hey, you know, I'm just going to do an Ask me anything, right for my community, just out of the blue, it's not tied to a launch. It's not tied to anything. It's just basically an office hour of you know, just ask me whatever you need to write like, you could do it so many different ways, but it shows it shows that you're listening it shows that you're adapting to your clients as they move through their journey and it shows that you continue to be their, their person or their you know, their support, as they learn more about you know, their next steps. So, if you're ready to create you know, retention focused quizzes that turn one time buyers into lifelong clients love for you to visit quiz for my biz.com in this you'll discover the The number one missing gap in your business that's stopping you from attracting more clients. And you're gonna see the quiz that I use for not just calling attraction but also client retention. Because I am able to trend over time what gaps people are, you know, focused on, people take this quiz several times, I can see where they're, you know, they're having changes in their answers and trending that. So it is a way that I can continually connect with my ideal clients. So remember, retaining a client is about building a story together, and it's about building a story that lasts. Keeping a client for life is an art that involves understanding, growing and innovating together. It's about CO creating, and it's about making sure that you are the support they you know, that you want to be to your clients, creating a community around your brand that really thrives on that mutual success. So, thanks for joining me today. Let's keep these conversations going. And until next time, stay curious to stay connected.