The following 6 truths on dealing with customers that goes right to the essence of what is most important in dealing with them were recently published by Forbes and can be applied by any business.
“1. People love to feel appreciated: What are you doing, to show them your appreciation?”
Letting your customers know you appreciate them is especially meaningful when it’s personal. Sending out holiday cards to all your customers isn’t a bad thing, but it can feel kind of rote. There are other ways to let clients know you appreciate them that feel much more individual. Ending a proposal by thanking a prospect for considering working with you, for instance, or letting a client know, at the end of a project, something you’ve particularly enjoyed about working with him or her. Thanking a client for giving you tough feedback is a particularly important way to show your appreciation – it lets them know that you’re grateful not just for their praise, but for their honesty and insight, as well.
“2. People love to save time: What are you doing, to help them get more done in less time?”
Often, customer service processes seem engineered more for the needs of the company than for the convenience of the customer. How many times have you felt frustrated, as a customer, by having to fill in a form that seemed way too complicated, or giving the same information over and over, or being shuffled from department to department? Think about what’s it’s like for customers to deal with your company, and then do everything you can to make it as simple and quick as possible.
“3. People love to talk: What are you doing, to give them a story worth sharing?”
People do love to talk – about things they love, or that have worked well for them. The best way to give customers a story worth sharing is to have truly excellent products and services. Then, make it easy for your customers to tell people what a great experience they’ve had: provide ways to recommend your products or services that are easy and fun – social media is a great vehicle for this. You can also help them spread the word by offering memorable, catchy, accurate ways for them to describe you to others.
“4. People love to relax: What are you doing, to make their lives easier?”
There are two ways you can make your customers’ lives easier. One is by offering a product or service that’s intended to help them relax (vacation in Jamaica, anyone?) The other is by – as in #2 above – making it as easy as possible to deal with you. You want customers to feel, after every interaction with you, pleased about how simple it was and how well-served they feel. I have that feeling almost every time I deal with Amazon, for instance – and as a result, I turn to them more and more often when I need something.
“5. People love to succeed: What are you doing, to help them achieve their goals or dreams?”
This is primarily about your service or product. If you give people something that meets a real need they have, they will come back again and again. If, on the other hand, your customers don’t seem that thrilled with what you’re offering, it may mean that they just don’t see how your product or service is important to them. If you’re convinced that they do need it – then you need to figure out how to communicate that in a way that’s compelling to them.
“6. People love to learn: What are you doing, to educate them in a meaningful way?”
I agree that people love to learn…if the information you offer adds to their existing expertise about something they’re already interested in and excited about. If you can do that, they will love it – and you. For example, if you know that a big percentage of the people who buy your sungoggles are surfers, add cool facts about world-class surfing locations to your website. Or, if your research shows that many of the folks who buy your pet products are passionate about animal rights, put information about how to connect with animal rights organizations on your product packaging. Your customers will feel like you really know them – and are offering learning just for them. People do love these six things, and if you can figure out how to consistently give them these things…well, then they’re much more likely to love you and the products and services you provide. Hope the above gets you thinking and more importantly taking action.