Client experience is EVERYTHING, my friend. People want to feel taken care of and valued now more than ever, especially if they’re buying from a luxury brand! You could provide the best end result in the world, but if your client experience is lacking, you won’t have return clients or get as many referrals. ?

In case we haven’t met yet, I’m Jordan Chan, the owner of J. Ashley Innovations. I’ve been designing brands and websites for wedding professionals since 2018, along with using my business degree to help my clients succeed beyond design! To be frank, I know the wedding industry inside and out, just like I know how to curate the most incredible client experience. Let’s dive in, shall we?

inquiries

Every single wedding you work starts with the initial inquiry. Traditionally, inquiries are looked at as the thing that has to happen to get to the good part, but why? To stand out and be a truly luxury brand, you want that feeling that they’re being meticulously taken care of to trickle throughout every aspect of the client experience, which includes the inquiry!

Couples are most likely reaching out to a ton of vendors in your industry all at once, so you need to stand out from the get-go. Get them excited and make them want to chat with you as soon as possible, because you don’t want to be just “another vendor they reached out to,” you want to be THE vendor they cannot wait to talk to because they have already had such a pleasant experience with you.

The best way to engage with your potential couples ASAP is to set up a workflow in your CRM, like Dubsado, so that they get an immediate automatic response with your investment guide, or even to book a call. If they feel like you’re a good fit after looking over your pricing and reading about you, you want them to be able to schedule a call before the excitement wears off OR before they forget who you are while they’re submitting other inquiries.

physical touch-points

When you’re a service provider, giving your clients something that they can actually touch (and keep if they want to) is everything. Simply having something custom for your business shows your clients that you have put thought into every step of your experience, which typically makes them feel taken care of. This is most commonly done with custom stationery, business cards, or packaging.

Thoughtful, handwritten notes are the epitome of a personal experience. There’s a misconception that business cards are “old fashioned” or “dated” and I disagree! Business cards are the perfect opportunity to quite literally hand a potential client a level of luxury that they can touch and feel. Custom packaging creates an even more high-end, purposeful gifting experience. You can create the experience of a luxury brand by bringing your brand to life with a soft-touch and seamless finish.

guides

As a luxury brand, you should be sending unique and value-packed guides to your clients. Stop paying attention to what everyone else is doing and put together guides that matter to your couples! There are a few things you can ask yourself to figure out what is both unique and valuable to your couples…

• What questions do your couples typically ask you?
• Are these questions things that you can actually help with?
• Is there someone else you can redirect them to, if not?
• How can you make their engagement period easier by providing these things up front?

Once you’ve thought through how you answer these questions, or even how you would guide the couple to answer them on their own, start compiling a list of more questions and answers/guidance. Put together a guide that will answer all of their questions before they can ask them. And no, it doesn’t have to be a physical printed booklet, it can absolutely be digital!

gifts

Gifts for your couples are meant to love on them and make their engagement season easier. So rather than sticking a cute ring dish and candle in a box, come up with something thoughtful! Start by thinking about what your dream couples are telling you they struggle with, look forward to, or want more of during their engagement.

Are they telling you that they’re struggling with connecting 1:1 without talking about wedding planning (which results in arguing)? Are they telling you that they want more celebrating during their engagement season? You can find these things in the market research you’ve done, or by simply connecting with your couples in their DMs, over coffee, etc.

delivery

It’s not enough to just blow your couples’ minds leading up to working with you, how you turn that work over matters as well. Here’s how that could look:

• An easy-to-use online gallery for photos after the wedding, including a sneak peek within 24 hours
• A beautiful, branded thumb drive mailed to them with the video, as well as a QR code they can scan to view + share the video online
• Showing up on time for floral or cake delivery, and if time allows, pulling the couple aside for a few moments to show them the finished product

off-boarding

The wedding day has come and gone, and now it’s time to mark the project “archived” or “complete” in your CRM! But it’s not as simple as just hitting that button and being done with the couple. Don’t get sloppy right at the end here! You want this couple impressed with every single interaction they have with you.

You should be sending your couple a thoughtfully written email about them or their event, and including an exit survey so that you can get a testimonial, learn where you need to improve, and see where you really shine. These surveys are BEYOND valuable, so make sure you’re sending them!! This is also where you would send any post-wedding gifts, like the thumb drive I mentioned in the “delivery” section.

So, what now?

Do you want even more information on how to level-up your client experience, how to implement a repeatable system to attracting high-end couples who trust you, how to strategically set a luxury price point, and gain the confidence to ditch the imposter syndrome and show up as a CEO?

Then my course, Luxury Business Design, is for you!

This is a self-paced solution to building the foundation of a high-end wedding business.

Luxury Business Design (yes, the same iconic initials as Little Black Dress) is for wedding pros ready to break into the luxury market and be at the forefront of their industry. With timeless, versatile, and must-have principles by design that never go out of style. Because every girl needs a LBD.  And once you’re done, believe me, your business will look great and “fit” just right.

I’m cheering you and your wedding business on! Shoot me a DM if you’ve got any questions or to share what changes you’ve made in your client experience ?