Richard Froese
Spotlight
Customer experiences can go much further to boost business, especially during tough economic times.
That was the message Christie Pollack of Christie’s Greenhouse in High Prairie explained on an edition of Alberta Agriculture HortSnacks-to-Go webinar series on Jan. 18.
“In a recession, businesses have an opportunity because people are more selective with where they spend their money and want to have an experience,” says Pollack who has owned the business with her husband Tanner since 2013.
“For me, it’s about creating an experience because people remember an experience.
“We do this to make our customers an experience they remember and want to come back or do more business.”
Educating and Dealing with Difficult Customers was the focus of her 45-minute webinar as she used her business knowledge and experience to plant various seeds into viewers.
“My mission is to delight my customers in any way I can,” Pollack says.
“We always give our customers a bonus to take it a step further.”
She presented a five-part formula:
-Reward yourself.
-Determine your values.
-Determine who your customers are.
-Dealing with problem customers.
For each, she outlined key points.
“You need to be in a good head space before you can create an outstanding customer experience.”
“You have to give yourself time off as a reward, to get into that good head space with a positive mind.”
As a business person, determine the values of the product or services.
“You have to know what your values are so you can know what you offer your customer,” Pollack says.
“What you’re really good at is what you give your customers, customers who are looking for that product or service.”
To determine who the business is serving, create a customer profile for each customer, a “very specific profile,” she says.
“Then when you are working on marketing or social media posts, you can talk to that person specifically,” says Pollack, who continually researches and reads to improve her business and also leans on her life and business coaches.
She advises people that the message in marketing has to be customized to the various generations and needs of clients, from the teens and 20s to those in their 60s and seniors.
“It’s all about keeping your message clear,” Pollack says.A customer profile helps the business keep the communication lines effective.
“When we create a profile, we can identify their dream experience or fear-based experience,’ Pollack says.
“For every industry you can do this – come up with a dream solution to the fear of the product or service.”
From the title of the webinar, she says there are no problem customers, just communication breakdowns.
Her webinar can be viewed by linking to alberta-ag.webex.com.