The Benefits of Taking Care Of Your Customers With Naomi Tan

Naomi is a dance teacher who has been teaching Classical Ballet and Jazz since 2011, as well as other genres such as Contemporary Dance and Creative Movement. As a teacher and business owner, Naomi places a strong emphasis on always placing the needs of her customers before hers and she shares in this episode that when you take care of your customers, they in turn will take care of you and your business as well.
Resources:

https://www.lighthousedancesg.com/#home-section – Check out Naomi’s dance studio!

Actionable Take-aways:

1) When you take care of your customers and they know that your heart is in the business, they will in turn take care of you and your business.

2) Pay attention to who are the different stakeholders in your business. If you are in the education industry, your customers are not just the students, but their parents as well.

3) Find ways to provide a better experience for your customers on top of your core service to over deliver in value.

Show Notes:

[1:26] – Naomi shares why started her own dance studio (instead of using a shared space) during the Covid Pandemic. While it was a big risk to do so, she believed it was the right thing to do for her customers (i.e. the students and their parents) and her employees, because it would allow her to provide a safer environment for them.

· Due to her philosophy of always placing her customers’ needs before her own and placing a huge emphasis on the character development of her students, the relationships that she built with her customers over the years (and the belief that they would follow her to her new dance studio) gave her the confidence to take the plunge.

[4:07] – Depending on the industry you are in, there may be various stakeholders to consider when considering who your customers are. As a dance instructor who is in the education niche, Naomi shares that she has to take care of the needs of her students and the parents. When you are sincere and you take care of the customers’ needs, this will help build loyalty and customer retention.

· As an educator, your sincerity has a direct impact on the relationship you develop with your students. Ultimately, the goal is to play a part in the student’s character development and growth.

· Parents will appreciate you for keeping them up to date with their child’s progress and ultimately want to know that their children are in good hands.

[7:08] Taking the time to build relationships with your customers not only helps with customer retention, your customer may also contribute to the growth of your business by joining the business as an employee one day.

[8:35] It is important to stay flexible and adapt in business. If you can adapt to the changing environment and create new experiences for your customers and employee, your business will be resilient.

· By organizing Zoom dance competitions, Naomi was able to keep her students engaged and supplement the income of her employees during the Covid lockdowns.

[13:33] By offering a pay as you wish model during the Covid lockdowns, Naomi was not only able to allow her students’ whose parents who had difficulty paying for the dance lessons to continue with their classes, she managed to do so without suffering a loss of income.

· Giving discounts on your goods and services in a way devalues what you are offering.

[17:03] Naomi’s one key take-away is that being sincere with your customers and when they know you have their interests at heart, they will in turn take care of you.