Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once famously said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
In business, as in life, to achieve a goal, that first step is followed by many small steps.
A well-thought-out customer journey map lays the foundations and the necessary steps for building a successful connection with your customers and provides them with a satisfying experience that lingers long after they leave your business.
Navigating your way to success.
Creating a customer journey map for your client may feel daunting or something you know you should do, but it always seems to land in the too hard, I’ll do it later basket.
Let’s take it out of that dusty basket, and with a few simple guidelines; you can create a customer journey map that becomes the blueprint for your business.
The customer journey from awareness to loyalty.
Customers who seek to enhance their appearance through aesthetic treatments begin their journey with awareness.
Usually, they’ll find your clinic through various means such as online search, word of mouth, advertising and social media.
During the consideration stage of their journey, they’ll evaluate your clinic, the treatments your offer and reviews from other customers.
In the purchase stage, the customer books an appointment which in most cases will start with a skin consultation and a treatment plan. This stage is crucial as the customer is investing in their appearance and wants to feel confident they’ve chosen the right clinic.
The experience stage involves the customer receiving the chosen treatment, aftercare instructions and follow-up appointments.
A positive experience at the clinic can lead to loyalty, where the customer becomes a repeat customer and advocate, building a strong customer base for the long-term success of your business.
The rocky road to success is now a smooth ride.
Understanding the customer experience from start to finish, beginning with how they found you, allows you to formulate a customer journey map.
Your customer journey map outlines every step they take in interacting with your business, from initial awareness to post-treatment follow-up.
It provides a clear picture of the path for them to reach your door and the key touchpoints along the way.
It’s your blueprint for creating a more positive, seamless, and memorable experience for the customer and provides you with valuable insights to identify areas for improvement.
Your customer journey map also becomes an essential tool in the successful onboarding of new team members.
Let’s start with the critical touchpoints in your business.
Identifying and assessing the touchpoints at every step along the way gives your business consistency and peace of mind knowing that every step provides your customer with a positive experience.
Once they’ve stepped through the threshold of your business, virtual or otherwise, what comes next is crucial in building a long-lasting connection with your customer.
Your website, how you handle calls, the booking process, the in-person experience, and the care given during the treatment, aftercare, and follow-up are all crucial touchpoints you can enhance for a seamless customer journey.
Touchpoint #1
Your website.
In this modern tech-driven world, a quick Google search can be the first introduction to your business. Your website is often their first impression of you, where they’ll look around and form their initial opinions.
Make sure it’s a positive one!
Start by asking yourself a few questions or if objectivity clouds your view, ask colleagues and friends what their first impressions are.
How’s the appearance of your website? Is it dated? Or modern and fresh?
Does your menu navigation show them where to find specific information, or do they click away in frustration? Ease of navigation on your website will play a significant role in whether they’ll take the next step towards your business.
Are the content and information compelling, easy to understand, and building the trust required to prompt a customer to book an appointment, call you or sign up for your newsletter to stay updated?
Do your treatment descriptions provide enough detail to elicit a response or prompt them to make an appointment?
In other words, does your website look good and give the assurance you know what you’re doing and can be trusted?
Touchpoint #2
Telephone etiquette.
It’s time to become a smooth operator. Answering the phone in a friendly, professional manner is crucial to your customer’s experience. But, sometimes, even the best of us can get tongue-tied.
Creating a phone script with different scenarios can give your team the confidence to handle customer inquiries smoothly and ensures your new employees represent your business.
Invest in training your team for a seamless onboarding process, resulting in happy team members and a fantastic customer experience.
Touchpoint #3
Your booking system.
Do you have appointment scheduling software to make it easy for a customer to make a booking?
Most tech-savvy business owners will invest in appointment-scheduling software. However, not all will use it to its full potential.
Are you making the most of your booking system? If not, contact the provider and ask for more training.
Maximising the potential of this software can turn it into a valued team member toiling away while you sleep and allows your customers to schedule or change appointments at any time, day or night.
Touchpoint #4
The all-important skin consultation and treatment plan.
A skin consultation and treatment plan is vital to your business and gives your customer a sense of direction towards reaching their skin goals and a clear path to track their progress along the way.
This is one touchpoint that can be a deal breaker so it’s essential every member of your team understands the importance of this step in the customer’s journey and is trained proficiently in every aspect of the skin analysis and consultation process.
Touchpoint #5
The treatment experience
Once your customers are ready to commit and have booked their treatments, what comes next is vital to the ongoing success of your relationship.
How they feel before, during and after the treatment is paramount to an engaging and satisfying experience.
Once again, getting into your customer’s shoes will allow you to work through this step in your customer journey plan.
- Consider the ambience of the room. Does it reflect how you’d like your business to be perceived?
- The cleanliness of the treatment rooms? It’s easy to overlook things when you’re busy, so take a long look at anything you might be missing.
- The sound and scents within the room? Once again, do they reflect the atmosphere you want to create for your ideal customer?
- Be aware of your customer’s emotions. Some treatments can be daunting for a first-time customer. Has every aspect of the treatment been fully explained? Have you allayed any fears they may have?
- What happens at reception when they’re getting ready to pay for the treatment? Do they feel rushed? Are they being rebooked?
- Have you explained the follow-up process once they leave? Don’t have a follow-up process? You need one and every member of your team needs to follow it consistently.
You can keep adding to this list as it relates to your business; the point is to look at this through your customer’s eyes to ensure they leave after having a positive experience.
What happens after they leave your business?
I often see this final crucial step overlooked to the peril of many businesses. It can make or break the experience and, if done well, turn a new customer into one that returns repeatedly.
It’s your opportunity to stand out from most businesses and follow up.
You can send out an email or an after-service questionnaire or quiz; however, the most effective way to make a lasting impression is to pick up the phone and ask your client how they are post-treatment.
It’s your chance to solidify the relationship, find out if anything was not quite right for the client and the opportunity to fix any issues and answer any aftercare questions your customer may have.
Taking your team on the journey.
Finally, your customer journey map can be a collaborative process that brings together your team to gain a deeper understanding of the customer journey and identify areas for improvement in working towards improving the customer experience.
Stop hoping for the best, and start mapping your customer journey today.
If you’re new here, welcome! I write digital content for the beauty and wellness industry, If you’d like to engage your customers with meaningful, easy-to-understand digital content, then let’s talk. You can reach me here.
See you next time,
