Improve Your Customer Experience for Just Pennies

#036 - This episode is an audio replay of a webinar Julie did with the Subscription Box bootcampers. When you want to improve your customer experience, it doesn't always mean putting more stuff in the box. So in this episode, Julie talks about how to improve your customer experience for just pennies.

The Subscription Box Bootcamp will be having a major update launching later this fall.
We are re-recording all of the materials and adding more templates, swipe files, and bonuses. It's going to be absolutely amazing. If you want to get all the information as we release it, please make sure you're on our VIP list by heading over to SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com.

Links:

Sparkle Hustle Grow
Subscription Box Bootcamp

Get all the details and your ticket at SubSummit.com, THE conference for sub box businesses. We'll see you in Dallas this June!

Transcript

(00:01): So you want to launch a subscription box and don't know where to start? Girl, you are in the right place. I'm Julie Ball, a subscription box coach and your host here at Subscription Box Basics, a podcast for new and aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs that want to avoid overwhelm. So grab a coffee, some pen and paper and let's have some fun!

(00:20): Hey, and welcome to Subscription Box Basics, the podcast for aspiring subscription box entrepreneurs. My name is Julie Ball and I am your subscription box business coach. I've been in the business for several years now and run Sparkle Hustle Grow, which is a monthly subscription box and online community for female entrepreneurs. And in this podcast, I hope to help you ramp up faster, help you build the foundation you need, provide you with free resources and just simply cheer you on.

(00:52): As I mentioned in last week's episode, I am taking a couple of weeks off because I am in the middle of updating Subscription Box Bootcamp, which is my online course for new and aspiring subscription box business owners. It gives you the tools, tech and templates to launch your amazing subscription box business idea and grow it into the business of your dreams. Now, with this update, we are rerecording all of the videos we are giving you better templates, more swipe files, and more resources to make it easier to launch and grow your subscription box business.

(01:29): So in this week's episode, I am replaying the audio from a video I recorded earlier this year, where I was teaching my bootcampers how to improve your customer experience for just pennies. When you want to create that customer experience, it doesn't always mean putting more stuff in the box. So in this episode, we're going to be talking about that and how you can create that experience to improve your retention and just wow and delight your customers month after month. So here we go.

(02:04): Good morning, you guys. Every once in a while, something will come across my plate and I'm like, "Oh man, I got to share this with the bootcampers". I want to talk to you about how to improve your customer experience for just pennies. So we always think about the box and it's full of stuff and people are just going to want the stuff. Well, it is true. They are going to look at the stuff they want to make sure that they're getting good value, but we also can improve their whole experience when we create experiential factors. So just to give you some context, Sparkle Hustle Grow is in my opinion, a guided experience. So they get the box of stuff. A couple days later, we dive in, in our private Facebook community for subscribers. And then we do a guided book study. We do online training where a guest expert comes in and they enhance the training.

(02:57): So there's all these things that we add on top. And I have a handful of things that I wanted to show you of what I do, but also what my husband does with this new box called Together Unplugged.

(03:07): So first I wanted to show you this little insert. So on the back of it is a checklist. So every single month we give our subscribers five things to do. So sometimes they might feel overwhelmed with their training or their book. So we give them five very specific things to do, and everybody loves a checklist, right? So as you get each thing checked off, it just feels very satisfying, very fulfilling that you've finished something.

(03:32): And I'm just going to give you a quick example. The first one is listened to a podcast. It's always relevant to the theme that we're covering that month and a podcast, it's easy. So we're going to start with the low hanging fruit, very easy: listen to this podcast. This particular one was about a three month SEO plan. Then read a blog, place one of your new decals on a planner, mug or mirror. So that's it.

(03:54): That third one was in reference to a product from the box. Then this is where we're trying to like the fourth and the fifth one are the heavier ones, like choose one digital marketing tactic from the book and implement it, put together a plan. And then there's one specifically about the training. So this is trying and trying to hold them accountable for doing the training that's in the box. And then on the back, excuse me, on the bottom, it says when done, frame the art print on the flip side for everyday motivation. So once they've done this, we encourage them to flip it over and we're always going to have a motivational quote on there so they can put it in their office. They can hang it up somewhere or frame it. And so it's kind of dual purpose.

(04:35): And once we've implemented this, we've gotten so much good feedback about people saying I'm doing the work more. Thank you for holding me accountable. In our private Facebook group, Renae Gonzalez, our director of customer experience. She creates a post throughout 30 days to tackle each one of these. So, again bringing up that level of accountability of doing the work.

(04:59): So then my husband runs a box called Together Unplugged, and it is all about getting families back together to regain their quality family time to get offline. And so I thought this was really cool. He does a little checklist. This is printed to a page, and then he'll cut this down the middle, cause we're still bootstrapping his. We don't have, we don't send these out to print. We just have a color printer in house. So he's got checkoff each box item after your family has spent some time with it. Once you've checked them all, flip this over for a certificate of recognition to display in your home.

(05:33): So the idea is to work with your kids, to get through all of the different things. And then when you're done, you have your certificate of recognition. It says Together Unplugged box completed way to go. This certificate verifies the total awesomeness of your family. You represent an increasingly rare tribe that is dedicated to spending consistent device-free time together. This is where it's celebrating. High fives. So the idea is together as a family, you go through it. And then when you're done, you put your certificate of recognition like on the fridge.

(06:03): So one of the things that he does is he puts in puzzles, games, and sometimes science experiments or kind of crafty things like origami. But it's more about the experience of regaining that family time. And so often as parents, we are, we might be a little disconnected from our kids, or we might not know what to ask them. So what he did is he's created this thing called stuff to talk and laugh about in May. And so this was the mailbox and then he creates one for each month and we've got conversation starters. So around the dinner table, give them something to talk about. Would you rather, these are questions to ask your kids, like, would you rather go camping or stay in a hotel? Would you rather be able to talk to animals or be able to fly? We've got some jokes and riddles and tongue twisters. So these are fun things that really appeal to his audience and that enhance the box value and enhance the experience that they're going to get from it for literally pennies, because all he's doing is printing this out on.

(07:13): It's kind of a card stock paper. On the back, he has family goals, set goals and celebrate wins. So family goals, individual goals. So you could write down each kid's goals at the end of the month. Track your wins together and write them down here. And then at the end of each month, you reflect on the month and these are things to do as a family. Someone could pull this out at dinner time, or walk through it, or maybe at the end of the month. You guys go out for ice cream and sit around and do this together. So again, bringing up the value of the unboxing, No one's gonna say, "Oh my gosh, that's worth $10" because that's just not what it is, but it's the value, the inherent value of spending that time together and solving pain points of that audience.

(08:01): He's not a graphic designer by any means. He, I think put these altogether in Microsoft word, or maybe like Google docs or something like that. And then we're printing them out. We have a Brother black and white printer. And then I don't remember who made the color printer, but the color printer I think was right around 100 to $150 something that we wanted to have for the business anyhow.

(08:22): Here's another idea and feel free to use any of these ideas. Just tweak them for your box concept, but this is a calendar of the month of random reasons to celebrate. So he created this basically to get silly with your family. So there's this website called NationalDayCalendar.com and it tells you all of the different, like fun days, like National Popcorn day. And so then he included a bag of microwave popcorn one month.

(08:50): And so this real quick example, it shows like "Your box is on the way". That's training your customer for the expectations to know when the box gets shipped. We had Star Wars day, Cinco de Mayo, Teacher Appreciation day, National Military Spouse day, Mother's day, Dance Like a Chicken day and, um, Pizza Party day, Armed Forces day, Take Your Parents to a Playground day, see how they all support his theme of getting Together Unplugged. Go to a playground, Vanilla Pudding day, random silly things, Scavenger Hunt day, Memorial day and Creativity day. Then on the back, he gives you ideas of how to celebrate each. And I'm just giving you a couple examples, Vanilla Pudding day. How about this classic treat for dessert tonight? Pro tip add Nilla wafers, yum. Teacher Appreciation day, show your teachers some extra gratitude today. Use the blank cards included in this month's box to write him or her a nice note. If you have an awesome teacher, you love pair the card with a small gift. Chocolate is always a pretty good bet. So we give out these very easy to implement things that you can do with your child. And again, bringing up the value of the box and then he has items in the box to help celebrate.

(10:00): So for example on here we had Cinco de Mayo and it says, "Use the Cinco de Mayo info sheet included in the box to learn the true meaning of this holiday and what it means to the country of Mexico. Hint, it is not a celebration of Mexico's independence as commonly believed". So then he included a nice little information sheet of what is, why did we celebrate Cinco de Mayo who celebrates it? What do they do? And then fun facts.

(10:27): Again pennies to put together and print. And now he actually has this great little template that he can use month after month. And all he has to do is update it. So we can batch out all this stuff at once, print it out, put it in the box, good to go. So he had one on Memorial day and on Cinco de Mayo. And these are things to encourage your family, to get together and learn about the true meaning and then gives you some ideas of what to do. You know what I mean, how to celebrate these.

(10:56): So I thought that was fun. And then the last one I wanted to show you that he did just to show you how you can really take it the next step there was National Scavenger hunt day is May 24th. And so he put together a scavenger hunt, but it just goes to show you, you know, you can, you don't have to just put products in your box.

(11:18): And one of the ways to decrease churn is to improve that unboxing experience. Now there's always going to be people that, you know, at the top of the box, when they get their cards, sometimes they throw them away. So it's your job then to make them really fun, actionable, exciting. And when you talk to them in your social media, when you talk to your audience in emails, remind them about that. It was just having this conversation with my husband. And I said, "Sometimes, you know, make sure that you're holding them accountable on National Scavenger Hunt day, maybe the day before, email them" and say, "Hey, just a reminder, we included a scavenger hunt in your box would love to see your pictures as your family does the scavenger hunt, post them on social media with this hashtag".

(12:04): So you don't want to assume that they're going to do what you ask them to do. It's kind of like you have to spoon feed them. So get in front of them as many touch points as possible, physically in the box, and then digitally on social media and email.

(12:18): Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you want to be on the VIP list when we relaunch Subscription Box Bootcamp, go ahead and head over to SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com now and sign up for the waitlist. We are so excited to be rolling this out. If you are already an existing Subscription Box bootcamper, don't worry you will get access to all these updates you're in. You got lifetime access, so you are all set. But if you're thinking about joining and you want in, when we do some special deals in September, when we are ready to relaunch, get on that list. Head over to SubscriptionBoxBootcamp.com.

(12:56): Thanks everyone for tuning in. And we'll see you in the next episode.