When planning my wedding, I really only cared about 3 things –

1. Keeping planning as simple as possible (our venue did everything from food to décor)
2. A great live band (because we knew 90% of our guests are BIG dancers?)
3. A beautiful outdoor space (cornfields, woods, a pond, and a creek? I was sold immediately)

So I had been seriously dragging my feet when it came to buying wedding shoes. I figured…they don’t really get seen, and most pairs that I found were not my vibe and expensive.

I hate to admit that I’m not a fashionista and usually opt for comfort and practicality over trendy?‍♀️.

But I did what any girlie does at this point and pulled up Pinterest, finding a cute pair of shoes on Etsy.

I’d never thought about having my shoes handmade by someone on Etsy, but within about 30 minutes I’d picked out a pair I loved and stalked the reviews.

There were over 5k glowing reviews…mostly about how Anna – the creator – had amazing customer service. Everyone was more than happy with the final result, so I sent over my foot measurements and hit Add to Cart.

When I finally received my pair (in less than 2 weeks, even though they were coming from Greece), I was delighted to find that Anna had not only added a handwritten note, but also an oil soap, extra gems for the shoes, and an adorable magnet from Greece.

The shoes were ✨perfect✨, and I danced the night away while feeling fabulous.

Now, I have the magnet that Anna sent me on my fridge holding up some Save The Dates, which a friend saw and asked about.

She’s getting married next year, so I told her the story and highly recommended she check out the Etsy shop!

This is the massive power of personalization and delighting your customers.

I promised behind-the-scenes from this year’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and this type of personalization was a huge part of the success I saw with clients.

If Anna hasn’t sent the magnet or note, I wouldn’t have had the conversation starter hanging on my fridge OR the cute story of all the goodies she gifted with the shoes.

And…I think this practice is something that’s often overlooked, especially with new solopreneurs in the service industry (where there’s not anything physical given/received).

When the focus is on growth, as it often is in the beginning, it’s easy to want to squeeze everything out of a current client and shift attention to customer acquisition.

But the numbers tend to keep us honest.

Check out these stats from Small Biz Trends.

• The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70 percent.
• The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20 percent.
• 80 percent of your future profits will come from just 20 percent of your existing customers.
• 65 percent of a company’s business comes from existing customers.
• 32 percent of executives say retaining existing customers is a priority.

What we focused on for BFCM was actually in retaining and delighting current customers.

We segmented out the audience into 3 different groups, and we gave each group an offer that was a no-brainer for them to say yes to.

We knew who was in each audience, what they’d bought before, and what would excite them most.

So that’s what we delivered (and it’s how she sold out her first offer in 2 hours and 2xed a group program she’s running).

Time to apply this magic to your biz!

?‍♀️How can you create a better experience for your current clients?

?‍♀️Do you know the different groups within your audience so that you can be more personalized with your messaging?

?‍♀️What’s a small thing you can do that would absolutely delight your community?

xo, Rachel Jeffries Murphy