I did a double take when I walked into the foyer of my office building a few weeks ago. A welcome sign on a standard announced a simple message:
“Welcome to John J. Schmitt”
Who the heck is John J. Schmitt and what makes him rate his own welcome sign? Turns out Mr. Schmitt had an appointment in the office with the building owner and the building owner knows a thing or two about customer service. Customers like to feel recognized and appreciated. There is nothing like seeing your name up in lights.
I admit, rolling out the red carpet can be troublesome and expensive. Imagine how much Wal*Mart could add to its bottom line every year if it cut the job of “greeter” from its one zillion stores. But, the folks in Bentonville would never consider the cost cutting move because they know that “Welcome to Wal*Mart” is a special touch that makes a difference. You might joke about the patronizing delivery of “Welcome to Wal*Mart, but you’d feel neglected if you entered the store without hearing the familiar greeting phrase.
What does welcome have to do with the horse business?
Everything!
Your clients pay you from hundreds to thousands of dollars each year. If Wal*Mart can say Welcome to every customer who is entering to purchase a package of socks or a tube of toothpaste, why don’t more professional horsemen say welcome to their clients?
Think about these ideas that follow along the welcome sign and red carpet roll out philosophies for your existing clients:
- When folks travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to check up on their horses in training make sure their horses are polished and shined to look their best.
- Also, dedicate part of your daily schedule to talking about the training program, how their horse is doing, what your expectations are and what the time frame will be for these things to happen.
- If you aren’t around to be able to speak to the client, have a trusted assistant fill in for you to make the client feel welcome and help with answering or getting answers to their questions.
When prospects visit the farm either by appointment or drop-in:
- Everyone on staff should be well rehearsed in making guests feel welcome and at ease.
- After the prospects’ interests are established: sale horses, boarding, training, lessons, summer camp, stallions, etc. then prospects can be attended to by the appropriate staff or an appointment set for a meeting with the person in charge.
- Granted, drop-in guests can appear at the worst possible time. But it takes only a few minutes of your time to say, Hello! and thanks for coming to visit. I’ve got the afternoon booked, but I would like to speak with you.
Why don’t we set up an appointment time in the next few days to talk?
Customer service is a good investment and produces big results. Allowing your clients and prospects to feel welcome and wanted may be the edge you need over the competition. Besides, it’s just good manners.
I’d welcome your ideas on how you make clients feel at home at your place and stories about how good first impressions made a difference in your business.