Over the four years I’ve hosted the Illume Retreat, I’ve been challenged in the best ways possible to explore how to give my attendees an engaged, intentional experience. I want to allow each boss lady to interact with one another and the retreat curriculum all with an open heart. But I’ve learned over the years that in order to create a space of truth and clarity, it comes down to every little guest detail. Or in other words, the client experience.

If you’ve ever attended an all-inclusive retreat, you know that no detail is left to chance! From your lodging, to your meals, to the layout of every space, your host spent hours planning the best ways to surprise and delight you in every moment! During our April 2018 retreat, I was humbled to hear from so many of my sweet attendees that they felt so seen, cared for, and welcomed. And I know this feeling is a direct result of the space and experience I created for them.

For me, planning the Illume Retreat and watching my attendees walk through this experience in person is one of the greatest joys of my life. And it really got me thinking about how that kind of care can easily translate into the kinds of client experiences you design for your clients, too. As I’ve refined my retreat planning process and worked hard to design something that stands out in the educational community, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to take these ways to surprise and delight, and implement them into your client experience with your service-based business!

How To Create A Client Experience That Exceeds Expectations At Every Turn:

Envision how you want people to feel

One of the key things I keep in mind when I’m prepping for each year’s retreat is how do I want my attendees to feel? From the moment they walk through the door at our welcome session to the final bittersweet farewell dinner, I’m constantly thinking about the emotional responses I want to inspire in every moment. This by no means is to exploit attendees or try to force an emotional response, but rather to acknowledge how my attendees might feel at a certain point during the retreat.

For example, I know that when my attendees are walking through my door for our very first welcome session, they’re excited and nervous all at the same time! (“first day of school” feels, am I right?) They’re wondering about the kinds of friends they’ll make, the way they’ll interact with our speakers, and they’re curious about what they’ll learn.

As the retreat host, I want to honor those emotions not change them. I want to elevate their experience, calm a fear, or provide a solution to a concern. So I focus first on validating their current emotions by acknowledging them out loud. Honestly, I also have those same “first day of school” feelings so I start by acknowledging how I’m feeling in the hopes it gives my attendees the space to own their emotions, too. I then take things one step further by creating physical spaces that are conducive to the kinds of emotions I hope to inspire throughout our time together. For instance, if I want people to engage in heart-to-heart conversations over wine and snacks, I’ll arrange the room setup into a cozy lounge space that’s close together in the hopes of inspiring conversation that is open and vulnerable.

Now, the way I design these experiences for my retreat attendees really isn’t too different from how you can design experiences for your clients. Imagine all the “first day of school” feels your clients have on the very first day of working with you. I bet they’re feeling excited, maybe a little nervous, and probably hugely hopeful at what’s to come! If you want your clients to be blown away by working with you, then it’s important to think about how you want them to feel when they work with you. Should they be inspired? Excited? Vulnerable and honest? Maybe a combination of all the above?

Whatever emotion you want to inspire, think through organic ways to make that happen within your existing process!

Create opportunities to surprise and delight

Brands that surprise and delight at every turn are the kinds of brands that make us feel valued. Personally, I find that I’m fiercely loyal to brands that have this concept down to a science. If I order a top from an online store and they throw in a pair of earrings or a little something extra, I remember that! And I bet you do, too.

When I’m planning out the Illume Retreat, I always look for organic ways to surprise and delight my attendees. From custom welcome gifts on their beds when they check in to their lodging to a surprise speaker every now and then. I try to find ways to make (what I hope is) a positive experience even more positive.

But you don’t have to shower your clients in gifts to nail this whole “surprise and delight” idea. You can gift them with your time or expertise in an unexpected way just as easily.

With my custom branding clients, I attempt to surprise and delight by delivering design mockups ahead of schedule whenever I can. This doesn’t cost me anything, but it does show my client how much I care about them, their brand, and the work we’re doing together.

If you look closely, I bet you can find some simple, thoughtful ways to surprise and delight your own clients, too.

Anticipate your client’s needs

Think back to an incredible, write-to-your-momma kind of experience you had with a brand recently. My guess is they didn’t just meet your expectations, they exceeded them! That’s because that brand, and the team behind it, were staying alert and looking for ways to anticipate your needs before you even knew you had them.

Here’s one small example of this idea in action. For the past two years, I’ve brought the Illume Retreat to my home studio here in Waco. When creating the space for our speaker sessions, I wanted to pull in a handful of chairs so we all could sit side-by-side as we dove into content together. But not having tables or desks meant taking notes could get a little tricky. I could just imagine attendees hunched over with a notebook in their lap, frantically trying to take notes using the books from my shelves as a hard surface. And that just would not do, my friend! So for every retreat, I order clipboards so each attendee has a portable, stable space to write on.

I know, it’s not the most glamorous example, but this is what I mean when I say, “anticipate your client’s needs before they arise.” It didn’t take back cramps and grouchy retreat attendees for me to notice that I needed a better solution to note-taking in our session space.

What areas in your own client experience process needs a “clipboard solution,” friend?

Keep the phone lines open

Okay, but seriously, what I mean is to build open lines of communication for honest feedback. If you’re going to improve your client experience and find new ways to go above and beyond, it’s crucial you hear from your actual, real life clients about how they’re feeling about your process. Ask for their feedback, keep yourself open to constructive criticism, and pay attention to ways you can make your experience even better.

Sending exit surveys are one of my favorite ways to receive input from my retreat attendees and my b is for bonnie design clients because it gives them a safe space to share what they loved, what they didn’t love, and how I can serve them and others better in the future.

Elevate your client experience

Are you ready to dive into more actionable ways to elevate your client experience, friend? Well, I have a freebie just for you! I’ve created a guide to 5 ways to elevate your brand through your client experience, and you can snag your copy and dive into this work just below.