Building a business – or a new revenue stream within an existing business – can be overwhelming. But it can also be a powerful (and lucrative) pivot for your business. Nutrition Business expert Nicole Aucoin, recently sat down with BFS to talk through her tried and true formula for creating successful new offerings for nutrition but the truth is – this incredible advice can be applied to ANY new service or product that you are introducing to your clientele.
1- Create a plan and consistent messaging around the new service
Create a consistent and clear message that you are the expert in this given area and that you can help your clients in that realm. Which of your clients’ problems are you solving with this new offering/product? Decide on that and keep it simple, and make sure that vision for solving this problem is clearly articulated on your website, social media, and among your staff: People need to hear things seven to 10 times before taking action. The good news is, you don’t have to create a new piece of content every single day: just think about the questions that you often get asked and answer those in different ways – put it on a blog, on a YouTube channel, on your social media, in an email You have to create a clear message and then people will start associating that concept with your brand.
2 – Evaluate your client journey – is it easy to get started?
If you want a new revenue stream or business offering to grow, the best way to do that is to create a clear client journey. First, figure out exactly what your offerings are. So if someone new were to come in, what does that package look like? You want to build packages and memberships for whatever you’re offering your clients, then layer your new concept with existing offerings/packages/membership. Then make sure these are built for client commitment: make the package a longer duration (eg, a minimum of 6, 10, or 12 weeks) and have it set to auto-renew. Remember, with everything, it takes time to see results. When we think about the client journey, we’re really trying to think about what the problem is that we’re solving for our ideal clients. And you need to position yourself as the person who has been there, who understands, and who can help the client achieve the results that they want to achieve. And then show them how to get started. Step one is allow them to book a free call or free intro. Do it through Zoom or in person if possible. Step two, create a plan for them. In step three, they’re going to see amazing results. Keep it simple so clients understand what they’re getting and how they should sign up.
3 – Revamp your intake process (and discuss your new offering in your free intro/consultation)
Package things together so you can sell your new offering with current offerings up front; explain to clients that this (new offering alongside current offerings) is the best way to help them achieve the results they want. That means you really need to sit down with people and talk to them before they sign up for your facility; find out what their goals are, the why behind their goals, and determine what worked well in the past for them and what didn’t. If you don’t talk about what you’re offering out of the gate, it’s going to be so much tougher to guide someone to get started with your new service or product and resell them on that down the road. So even though your free intro process takes a little bit of time, it’s definitely worth it if you are correctly guiding people into what you’re selling.
4-Evaluate what happens after the promotion of the service/product
Challenges can be great ways to retain clients (especially during something like a COVID shutdown). But if you’re running a challenge or some other promotion to highlight your new offering, and you don’t have an option to help clients after the challenge is over, you are in the challenge trap.
For that reason, you have to clearly define what happens after the challenge or promotion before it even starts. Communicate to clients that a challenge is (only) a first step to success. Also, book a consultation for them both before and after the challenge. That’s also a great opportunity to avoid a dropoff during the challenge: if you have an end date on the books with an appointment, people are more likely to stick with the actual challenge. In that session, you can recommend how they can keep their positive results going: upgrade their membership to include your new offering, or otherwise help them opt in. You have to clearly guide people to where you want them to go with a clear client journey, and follow through is the first step to that.
What helps even more here is systems and standards and streamlined communication with clients: for example, have a consistent standard check-in day with clients doing a challenge, and use one method regularly for communication (e.g., your company app), versus using five different platforms. That way everything is also in one place and you don’t have to search through multiple channels for information on clients. In terms of standards, instead of responding immediately to needy clients, set a 24-hour policy where someone will get back to you within that time frame. You need to be mindful of your own time as a business owner! Finally, along the same lines, you need to properly train your staff to be able to follow up confidently with clients regarding ALL services.
5 – Evaluate what strategies you will use to keep your clients engaged
The most important part of keeping clients engaged is standardization; because, remember, in a gym or studio setting, clients talk to each other. So if you’re providing one experience for one client and not a similar experience for another client, they’re going to talk and then they’re going to realize someone’s getting more value than the other.
Strategies you can use to help keep your clients engaged are also things like a check-in day (standard and set on a given day), a streamlined form of communication, sharing something value-added for free with them every week, in-person sessions, and virtual sessions and other events. You can create a free Facebook group and share content and conversation there. Think about partnering with other businesses not only to promote your new offering, but also to continue to add value for your clients.
Just focus on one step at a time. Start with sharing something small: for example, if you’re adding nutrition coaching to your business, share free recipe healthy recipes. Keep it super simple and do one thing so they start associating nutrition with your brand.