We recently connected with Candice Washington and have shared our conversation below.

Candice, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Would you say you are more focused on growing revenue or cutting costs? We’d love to hear how you think about these two critical drivers

When it comes to the decision of whether to grow revenue or cut costs, I’m of the mind that both can be done in tandem. Perhaps that’s because of the industry I’m in.

There’s so much focus on client acquisition in the small business space, with little focus being given to client retention and what I call client maximization…maximizing the spend from current clients. In other words, getting those clients you already have to spend more with you.

When you focus on the experience you provide to your clients, they’ll not only return to do business with you but they’ll bring business TO you. Once this happens, your revenue grows while costs (marketing, advertising, etc.) are also cute. Does this mean you don’t need a marketing and advertising budget? NO! But it does mean that your budget can be reduced once you implement a data driven strategy for retention and maximization, which will also allow you to cut costs in other areas.

And when we consider the studies that have been done on this, you might agree:

-65 percent of a company’s business comes from existing customers. ~ Small Business Trends
-It costs 500% more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep a current one. ~Destination CRM
-It costs 16x more to bring a new customer up to the same level as a current one. ~Marketing Tech Blog
-It will cost your company 5-25 times more to attract customers rather than keeping an existing customer. A mere 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%. ~ SuperOffice Blog

Hopefully, after reading over these stats you’re able to see how you can simultaneously grow revenue and cut costs, and how important (to your bottom line) it is that you do!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’d like to think that I’m bringing a new fire to business ownership and beyond with my signature purple hair, iridescent smile, distinctive approach, and empowering message. Dubbed The Client Curator® and host of The Raggedy Business Report®, I leverage my strategic agility and financial acumen to help clients effortlessly identify, engage, and foster client relationships that create an unrivaled client experience and significant impact. With quality data and 15 years of experience at the heart of my processes, my expertise lies in client service recovery, specializing in robust, sustainable strategies that position brands for profitable growth. My reputation for excellence, extensive retention knowledge, and dynamic skill set have allowed me to masterfully integrate my savvy and position my consulting agency as one of the top female-led firms in the small business space.

I’m the owner and CEO of Joi Lesan Consultancy, the Operations and Experience Experts. Everything we do in our lives points back to experience. Where we go, where we shop, what and where we eat…everything! Experience often impacts our decisions in subconscious ways, that’s why it’s easy to undervalue the impact of the experiences we provide our clients, employees, and those attending our events. At Joi Lesan we combine a proficiency in operations and logistics with our over 15 year background in client experience and retention to provide our clients with the knowledge and support needed to deliver experiences that lead to recurring business.

Our core services fall under these categories:
1. Operations Support
2. Logistics Management
3. Data Driven Strategic Development
4. Client Experience & Retention
5. Event Experiences

Whether you’re in need of strategy development for retention, company operations support, or something as small as the sourcing of gifts for clients, we’ve got you covered! Leverage our expertise as you serve your clients utilizing yours.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My first job out of college was in sales with a professional sports team. I was great at it, winning league awards and everything. But I wasn’t fulfilled. The common thread in everything I’ve ever done has been a desire to make a difference, and I didn’t feel like I was impacting lives through that job. So from there I went into non-profit and went from working in a sports arena every day to working in a High School with teenagers. Talk about a pivot! But it was in that role where I learned the importance of impact, and how our interactions with people shape who they are and who they become.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Asking for and accepting feedback from clients (and potential clients) has been the most effective strategy for growing my clientele. A lot of businesses wait for clients/customers to offer feedback. Many never will, and instead will simply take their business elsewhere. I’m intention about asking for feedback on how I can better serve my clients, and that has led to my being able to provide them with a better experience and even the development of new services. I’ve had people approach me with needs they’ve had and after evaluating their need and seeing that it did fall within my area of expertise, I created services to serve them. I encourage all business owners to develop a feedback schedule for their clients. Requesting feedback according to a schedule will not only allow you automate that process, but also enables you to have consistency in serving your clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iamcandicewashington.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamcandicewashington
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/iamcandicewashington
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theclientcurator/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/clientcurator
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd28E7njzheH2-WwECWgHzA
• Other: tiktok.com/@iamcandicewashington