Secret Shoppers?
Last week’s article was all about finding your ideal client profile. This week’s article is focused around making sure that the experience your clients and prospects have when they engage with and visit your office, is exceptional.
Beginning with when they first pull in to the parking lot at your office, what are their five senses experiencing?
- What do they see?
- What do they smell?
- What do they feel?
- What do (can) they taste?
- What do they hear?
Ask a friend of yours to go through the motions of what visitors to your office experience. Here’s some easy and quick examples of all the different experiences that your visitors could experience when they engage with your office.
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What do they see?
- Were they able to find your office easily and immediately upon arriving? Or did they have to look at a lobby directory or find a sign to direct them?
- Did they have a reserved parking space just for them? Or did they have to find a space to park?
- Was the landscaping around your office maintained and tidy? Or could they see weeds, trash or any other unwanted sights upon entering?
- Is your office bright and inviting? Or was it dimly lit and they needed to enter in order to see if you were open and around?
- Were there stacks of paper and files lying around? Or were the office surfaces free of clutter?
What do they smell?
- Did your office have a pleasant aroma? Or does your office have an underlying odor that cant be recognized by you or your team anymore?
- Was the lobby and outside your suite area well kept and have a pleasant aroma? Or was it an unwelcomed fragrance outside your office door?
- Does your team retreat to the break room or venture off-site to eat their lunch? Or was your office staff eating their lunch out in the open where the scent is easily noticeable by visitors?
What do they feel?
- Was your office temperature acceptable? Or was it too hot or too cold?
- Is your office furniture uniform and in good condition? Or is your furniture fairly random and in “good enough” condition?
- Is your office furniture well polished and clean? Or did they have to wipe away crumbs or hair off the seat before sitting down?
What do they taste?
- Were they offered a beverage or a snack when they arrived? Or were they expected to walk over to the fridge or water cooler to grab a beverage, and pantry area to grab a snack?
- Was the beverage served cold or hot as expected? Or was it served room temperature?
- Was the coffee fresh and hot? Or was it room temperature and clearly old?
What do they hear?
- When they called in to your office, were they greeted with a warm “hello” from your receptionist? Or did the initial greeting feel cold?
- When your employees spoke on the phones and to each other, was it friendly and upbeat conversations? Or were they hearing a bunch of gossip?
- Is your hold tone creating conversations for you? Or is your hold tone standard holding music?
- When they walked in, were they greeted by name? Or were they asked for their name… or worse, were they called the incorrect name?
All of these elements of senses add up within the equation to answer how good of an experience your prospects and clients have when they arrive to your office. Small hinges swing big doors. Take some time to ask a friend of yours to go through the motions in order to give you good, honest feedback on their experience. If the experience they had was lackluster or lesser than you thought their experience would be like… fix it. You can’t fix a problem that you don’t yet know you have!
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-Daniel
