Coach Gina Johnson On 5 Ways To Create a Wow! Customer Experience
Continuous Feedback to Improve Product & Processes: Use both positive and negative feedback as valuable insights for continuous improvement. This means actively listening to what customers say, analyzing their behavior, and adapting your offerings to meet evolving expectations. Innovation should not just focus on new products or services but also on enhancing existing processes and touch-points to enrich the customer journey and engagement.
As a part of our series about the five things a business should do to create a Wow! customer experience, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gina Johnson.
Gina is a holistic business coach, intuitive, and connector extraordinaire, and a former chef. Gina takes a non-conventional approach to coaching by helping her clients to reignite the spark in their business. She specializes in working with entrepreneurs and start-ups to develop strategies to acquire new business, build momentum, and lead them to success while achieving work-life balance.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I started out leading women’s monthly networking groups for a couple of years. When I stepped down from the position, the women attending my meetings wanted more time with me. I ended up hosting a mastermind group as a little reunion. What I thought would just be one meeting, quickly turned into a monthly group mastermind in five different towns. One of the women attending the mastermind said she learned more from that one mastermind with me than she had after working with a Business Coach for 6 months. She asked me if I would consider coaching her. I scrambled to put together an offer. I hired a VA on a credit card to help me set up my systems and launched my website two weeks later. When I announced to my five mastermind groups I would no longer be continuing and doing one-on-one business coaching, 5 people signed up on the spot. That was 8 years ago!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I find humor in almost everything and learn from every mistake. I wouldn’t say it was funny but it was a definite lesson. I created a Business Planner and didn’t proofread my assistant’s work. She did an amazing job but accidentally messed up several dates on the monthly calendar pages. It was my fault, I should have had a back-up person proofing it. We all know after creating hundreds of pages and trying to proofread your own work, it’s hard to spot your mistakes. A friend and I spent about 7 hours at Staples unraveling 30 planners by hand and inserting the corrected pages. We laughed while we were doing it at my stupidity for not having proofread it. The next year I hired a proofreader to double check my assistant’s work as well as my own.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Although I do not have a particular person in mind, I have many Virtual Assistants to thank who helped me over the years. I knew right out of the gate I wanted to focus on the things only I could do and pay someone else to do the rest. This allowed me to focus in my zone of genius.
Thank you for that. Let’s now pivot to the main focus of our interview. This might be intuitive, but I think it’s helpful to specifically articulate it. In your words, can you share a few reasons why great customer service and a great customer experience is essential for success in business?
Your customers are the heart and soul of your business! Customer retention and loyal customers sing your praises from the rooftops. I call them my “super fans”. Going the extra mile pays off in this competitive market. It is the differentiator from you and your competitors.
We have all had times either in a store, or online, when we’ve had a very poor experience as a customer or user. If the importance of a good customer experience is so intuitive, and apparent, where is the disconnect? How is it that so many companies do not make this a priority?
Listening to your customers’ feedback is number one, understanding the lifetime value of each customer is number two. Knowing which customers make you the most money and which customers have the thinnest margins. It allows you to spend more time and energy on the most important customers.
Do you think that more competition helps force companies to improve the customer experience they offer? Are there other external pressures that can force a company to improve the customer experience?
I believe competition keeps you on your toes. Understanding your competitors pricing and strategies helps you position your products and services effectively, allowing you to focus on your unique selling proposition.
Can you share with us a story from your experience about a customer who was “Wowed” by the experience you provided? Did that Wow! experience have any long-term ripple effects? Can you share the story?
Most of my customers’ “wow” experiences happen over time with continuous support and accountability. One of my clients trembled when she had to introduce herself to a room. She tells the story that after I helped her work on her elevator pitch and confidence, she can now easily present to a room of over 50 people with ease.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should know in order to create a Wow! Customer Experience.
- Foster a Culture of Exceptional Service: Encourage and train every member of your team to prioritize customer happiness and to view every interaction as an opportunity to make a positive impact. This involves not just meeting basic expectations but going above and beyond to provide unexpected value and service that creates memorable, shareable moments.
- Continuous Feedback to Improve Product & Processes: Use both positive and negative feedback as valuable insights for continuous improvement. This means actively listening to what customers say, analyzing their behavior, and adapting your offerings to meet evolving expectations. Innovation should not just focus on new products or services but also on enhancing existing processes and touch-points to enrich the customer journey and engagement.
- Deeply Understand Your Ideal Client: Invest time in identifying and understanding your target audience, including their preferences, behavior patterns, and underlying motivations. This thorough knowledge allows you to craft tailored messages and solutions that speak directly to their specific needs and aspirations, ensuring a deeper connection and a more impactful customer experience.
- Utilizing Feedback to Innovate: Employees often see the day-to-day challenges and opportunities that are not always visible at the management level, while customers can provide direct insights into their experiences and expectations. Make it a regular practice to gather and analyze this feedback, creating a culture where every suggestion is valued and considered for implementation. By aligning these insights with your business strategy, you can develop innovative solutions that truly resonate with your market and improve operational efficiency. This approach not only fosters a culture of continuous improvement but also deepens engagement with both employees and customers, enhancing your business’s adaptability and growth.
- Meticulously Map Out Your Customers’ Experience: Start by identifying key phases such as onboarding, renewal, upselling, and referral generation. For each of these stages, clearly define the expected outcomes and align them with your overall business goals. This comprehensive mapping will help you anticipate customer needs, enhance their experience, and streamline your service delivery. By ensuring each step of the journey is optimized for success, you not only improve customer satisfaction but also increase the likelihood of repeat business and referrals.
Are there a few things that can be done so that when a customer or client has a Wow! experience, they inspire others to reach out to you as well?
Asking customers for testimonials, video testimonials, and creating a referral program to encourage your customers to share. I have highlighted my clients as “Client Of The Month” sharing on my social platforms as well.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would say something along the lines of “Paying It Forward”. For the last 11 years I have been hosting Purse Projects, where I gather people together to fill purses with feminine products and other toiletries for homeless women. I would love to see this carried in every state.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TpEJo72OatY
How can our readers follow you on social media?
They can follow me on Instagram and TikTok @ginajohnson.co, as well as on Facebook and YouTube at Gina Johnson Co.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
