One thing AI can't do better 🤖
Ep. 89: Creating a remarkable client experience with Gigi Davarashvili
Well hello there!
Is it too late to wish you a happy new year?
2023 hasn’t quite kicked off to the rocketing start I hoped for – I’ve been hit by that pesky bug that’s been doing the rounds. The new year's resolutions aren’t hitting yet.
10,000 steps a day? More like 37 steps over 3 days.
Plan out a 12-month content strategy? Nope, but have watched 12000 episodes of Gilmore Girls.
Join the local aerial skills class? Umm, can’t move without coughing.
I’ve just about managed to crack open the laptop and calculate how many white papers I'd need to write to buy a cottage in a whimsical New England town.
But enough of my January woes! How has your first week(s) back been?
AI comes to content town
If you swim in the same circles as me on the ole LinkedIn, your feed is about 99% ChatGPT carousels right now.
I’m 50:50 excited and terrified about the possibilities of AI. I’ve always said that it’s a failure of imagination to assume that while AI models might not impress you now, they won’t improve eventually – and probably at an exponential rate that changes our entire way of working.
That’s going to bring massive opportunities, and more than a few painful experiences, depending on your industry and role.
As always, we have to be ready to adapt.
There are a bunch of AI-lite tools already available, many of which make our work lives easier. But this latest chatbot is stirring up a social media frenzy like a 2020 NFT.
(To catch you up if you’ve been under a rock, ChatGPT is OpenAI’s chatbot which interacts in a conversational way. You can ask it any question and it responds like a person. A person that’s swallowed an SEO manual, mind you, but it’s still pretty impressive, given the right prompts.)
I’ve played around with it a bit, but not enough to offer any useful tips or insights yet, I’m afraid. Instead, check out what Lucy Werner has to say about how AI might change PR for freelancers and small businesses, and Deborah Carver’s take on ChatGPT’s AI-generated content vs. quality content writing (clue’s in the title there 😉).
One thing AI can’t do better
While I’m curious about how this new tool might speed up certain marketing activities, there’s one thing AI can’t do better than us hoomans: creating a remarkable client relationship.
What does a memorable client experience look like?
Making your client feel taken care of – with surprise gifts, personalised videos, unexpected shout-outs, referral-grabbing results
Getting your client excited about your project together – and their own business
Knowing when your client needs some gentle encouragement or a friendly shove to give up that terrible headline
Seeing the relief on your client's face when you sum up their exact challenge and show them how you'll fix it
The smiles, commiserations and friendships that we share with our clients, that keep them coming back again and again…
As Ann Handley says, “you can write faster drafts, but you can’t shortcut relationships. You can’t prompt your way to trust.”
Your ability to create a remarkable client experience is what makes you stand out.
And in this economy? It matters more than ever.
Ep. 89: Creating a remarkable client experience
Happy clients keep the project pipeline flowing, without a scramble for new leads. They keep coming back, and even better, they tell their friends about you.
So, how do you go about creating an amazing experience for your clients?
For some ideas, check out last week’s ep of 15 Minute Freelancer.
Brand strategist and Yocory co-founder Gigi Davarashvili joined me to chat about how she creates memorable experiences for her clients that keep them coming back, including:
The difference between "good enough" and "WOW"
How to sprinkle a little gold dust at the end of a project to surprise and delight your clients
Does automation help or hinder the client experience?
How to avoid awkward conversations and set firm boundaries from the start.
Listen here »
Would love to know – how do you make your clients feel taken care of? And how are you feeling about the great AI debate? Are you using AI in your business? Hit reply and let me know.
Until next time, happy freelancing!
Louise xx