An advisory client wanted to replicate my boutique client experience. They wrote: “You offer a very boutique experience with handwritten notes, booklets, and attention to detail.”
Based on that, I decided to reverse-engineer my process and share it here, so you can decide if (and how) you want to commit to providing a boutique client experience, too.
Previously, I shared a quiz to help you decide if you currently have a boutique agency. If you scored well, you can use these tips to upgrade your boutique agency experience. And if your score was so-so, this will give you ideas to try.
15 boutique client experience secrets
Here are the 15 points I consider in my process at Sakas & Company. These are primarily 1:1 clients (e.g., doing an Exit-Readiness Audit or ongoing Executive Advisory). That is, clients don’t get this level of attentive service after a one-off ActionPath call.
1) Prepare. I always have greeting cards, envelopes, and postage stamps on hand. I have a spreadsheet from past mailings (plus my Stamps.com account), so I don’t need to track down each address individually.
2) Observe. A particular corporation is one of my client’s largest clients. When I checked into my hotel in Melbourne, I noticed the corporation’s Australia headquarters was across the street, so I texted her a “hey!” photo of the building. People like hearing that you’re thinking of them.
3) Plan. I start my latest year-end mailing process in August, sending shipments to arrive around Halloween. I also have my weekly check-in to confirm recent client touchpoints. It looks like magic—but it doesn’t happen magically.
4) Customize. I want clients to feel like they’re my only client. (Within reason, of course; I’m not at their every beck and call.) For instance, a past mailing included a piece with a logo—but it was the client’s logo, not my logo. I also send PR leads (HARO, now SOS) based on a client’s specialization.
5) Remember. My PR agency got me a quote in Digiday, on how agencies are helping clients hire in-house employees. I connected the reporter with a client for an additional quote, who connected the reporter to one of her clients. It was a win-win-win-win-win-win… but it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t remembered a key connection from an earlier conversation.
6) Have Physical “Artifacts” to Send. I can send signed copies of my books. I also sometimes have more specific items to send.
7) Budget. Creating a boutique agency experience does require spending money. I spend about $2,000 a year on postage. At volume, my Moo Luxe notecards are $2+ apiece (and totally worth it). I send complimentary copies of my books, in specially-branded mailers. And of course, budgeting for year-end client gifts.
8) Limit Client Count. I’ll work with 12-15 clients at a time, including projects and ongoing coaching. This eliminates Client Dilution while also avoiding Client Concentration. I couldn’t provide a boutique level of attention if I had 100 active clients.
9) Schedule. I have an Active Client List that I review weekly to ensure I’ve had a recent touchpoint. If I haven’t, I find a reason to reach out—it might be asking about their progress on a deadline they set earlier, asking about how their recent vacation went, or sharing a relevant article. I also auto-tag client emails in Gmail, and review that tag list a few times a week to ensure no one slips through the cracks. AI can help, too.
10) Automate. I do several things to help my stay on top of things.
- I use the Boomerang email plugin to bring emails “back” if someone hasn’t responded. Or if someone mentions speaking about something in two months… I Boomerang it, so I can send a message in two months and it looks like magic.
- I use Google Alerts and LinkedIn’s “in the news” to track what’s happening.
- I get the Wall Street Journal—and the local business journal to see what’s happening near me in North Carolina.
- My weekly newsletter (Saturdays), weekly client check-ins (Fridays), and monthly clients-only VIP newsletter (the 1st of each month) give me additional touchpoints.
- My team helps me stay on track.
11) Seek Long-Term. I never stop marketing, but I’ve worked with several of my clients for nearly a decade. A majority of my revenue comes from recurring or renewing sources. This means fewer relationships to juggle.
12) Delivery. None of the client service items would work if I weren’t ultimately delivering good work—responsive, high-quality, customized advice. The Warmth & Competence model needs Warmth—but it falls apart without Competence.
13) Caring. This is innate—I care about my clients and their personal and professional success. And I hire for conscientiousness as a must-have quality. Ultimately, this means that “boutique client service” is baked-in, rather than a bolt-on.
14) Connection. I’m connected on social media to most of my clients. Some people suggest keeping a sharp separation between work and non-work; beyond obvious boundaries, I don’t think that’s mandatory. This means I can like/comment on things happening in clients’ lives in general. (Not everything, of course, but the algorithm helps there.) This is somewhat unique—especially when I do coaching, I’m embedded in the business aspect of clients’ lives. Your clients may choose to be more distant—but the key is letting them choose.
15) Bonuses, Not Expectations. My bonuses do set a high bar for future client experiences, but my goal is to under-promise and over-deliver. For instance, I didn’t promise to send “thinking of you” photos while on vacation in Australia, but I sent several while I was there. To be sure, this sets an ever-higher bar for each subsequent year-end mailing, but that’s not a bad problem when you want to show Warmth & Competence.
Creating a boutique experience must be a core value, not a bolt-on
You can’t delegate 100% of the boutique experience—it ultimately comes from the behavior you model for your team, including where and how you choose to spend your time.
For instance, a client recently asked about how I do my own marketing. I delegate a lot of my marketing, but am highly involved in most of it. (He was disappointed to hear that—he said he was hoping I’d say it was “set it and forget it”!)
On a related note, you need to set an example and engage on boutique-related activities. Automation helps, but some of the examples above require manual work. However, it never feels like too much time to me, because I naturally care about clients. I also know it’s easier (and provides higher ROI) to serve returning clients than to pursue new ones.
Applying This at Your Agency
You have some things to consider before you move forward delivering a boutique experience.
First, do you even want to create a boutique client experience at your agency? If you have more than ~25 clients, you probably can’t do it successfully—there are too many clients to juggle, unless you’ve created a pod structure to handle the load.
Second, do you have the team and the structure to make this happen? If you have more than five clients per account manager, it’s going to be tough to deliver—they can’t keep track of each client’s nuances. And 9+ clients apiece? Not going to happen.
Third, are you charging enough to support a boutique experience? If your retainers are $2,500 a month or projects are $5,000 apiece, you can’t currently afford to be boutique; get your positioning and lead-gen down first, to charge more.
Finally, are you willing to do the work it takes to make it happen? As you can see from the list above, it’s not a “set it and forget it” situation—it takes commitment. But I firmly believe the commitment is worth it if you want your agency to be a sustainable business.
If this sounds appealing and you need help handling growing pains at your agency, I’d love to help—let’s talk.
Question: What would it take to create a consistent “boutique agency” experience for your clients?
