The client journey is the sum experience that a client has with you, from the first outreach, to the final service or product delivery, to nurturing and maintaining a connection with you that is ongoing. It’s all of the interactions they have with you, and how those interactions make them feel.
Creating this client journey is no doubt a daunting task as a small business owner. It’s one that will take time, and evolve and change as time goes on and as you grow and learn. But, it’s also critical to insuring that clients feel safe and comfortable with you. It insures that they have confidence in you and your ability to deliver whatever product or service it is you are offering to them.
So, what does a client journey consist of?
Well, that’s completely up to you! It can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. It can be nurturing or more hands off. It can be educational. It can be uplifting and inspiring! Or, it can be very bare bones and straight to the point.
Here are just a few overarching themes that I try and work with when creating my own client journey.
Clear and Concise Messaging
I’ve learned that it’s very important to understand what it is I do, what services I offer, and how I am going to convey that to my clients. I did what I thought was a lot of research before I actually took a paying client a few years back. And, for the most part, I had a basic idea of what it was I was doing and offering. But, looking back now, after having worked with dozens of clients, I can say that I feel much more confident now in my own understanding of what I do and offer, and therefore in my ability to communicate that to my clients. That is key!
Balance
There has to be a balance of supporting your clients needs and wishes, and also being able to know when you need to step in as the professional in your field of expertise and offer your own advise and feedback. It might not jive with what your client is wanting, and you have to learn to have those conversations in a respectful and clear way.
Appreciation
If I’m being honest… there are a lot of people who do what I do. That’s no unique to photography, there are a lot of options when it comes to almost any product or service nowadays. For someone to choose to work with me means that I stand out for them as someone who can offer them what they want and need better than others can. It’s very important for me that my clients know that I appreciate them.
Transparency
I want people to understand my process. I want them to understand how I charge and what I charge for, and how much time things take. I want them to understand the value of my what I’m doing for them. So, I work to communicate to them as much about the process of as I can and as they want to know about.
This is just a basic outline of what I try and get across in my own messaging and on my own client journeys.