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Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel Important
Two important pre-reading notes: Before you chose to read or not
read this article, let make two things clear. Everyone has
Customers. Even if you work in an internal staff department in a
large firm, you have Customers. They are the people you provide
work to. And second, don't be put off by the term Customer.
Maybe you call them Clients, Students, Patients, or (heaven
forbid!) Users. If one of those words works better for you, read
that word every time you read Customer. Now that I have
eliminated your reasons for not reading, please continue . . .
We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service
strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers
more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we
put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and
procedures we may lose track of something very important.
Customers are people first.
This means that each of your Customers, like everyone else,
wants to feel important. It a universal truth - we all want that
feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that
way.
Hint: Having Customers gravitate towards you is a very good
thing.
Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any
corporate policies or systems, can make Customers feel more
important, written from the Customer's perspective:
Please use my name. I know I may have a Customer or
registration number and that I might need to give that to you.
But I also know that once you put that number in the system, you
know my name. Use it. If I hand you my credit card, now you know
my name too. Please use it.
I want to be a part of the "in" crowd. That's why I like
being invited into Frequent Flyer clubs, frequent buyer clubs or
anything that provides me with discounts, special services,
education or surprises. If you have this kind of club, invite me
to join. If you don't have one yet, please think about starting
one.
Ask me for my advice. I have an opinion, and if asked in
the right way, at the right time, when I know you really care
about the answer, I'll give you that advice. Opinion cards may
be OK, but I would love to be asked personally. Give me the
chance to tell you what I think, and I'll reward you with more
of my business. I don't often get asked for my opinion and it
feels good. And who knows, you might even get a great idea for a
new product or service.
Acknowledge me. I know you are
busy sometimes. I can see
the line. I even understand that your system might be down, or
that you have five people in the phone queue. I've been there, I
work too. But when I call or come by, acknowledge that I am
there and let me know you are glad I'm in the line. A smile and
a hello, or a "We'll be with you shortly" will go a long way.
Acknowledge me and I'll understand. Ignore me, and well, how do
you feel when you've been ignored?
Surprise me. A little extra something with my order or a
hand written note would be nice. A special discount "just
because" or a free sample of dessert. It doesn't have to be a
big thing, and it doesn't have to be every time. If you get a
good surprise, do you want to share it with others? Me too.
Apologize. I hate it when people try to prove they were
right, or don't mention that fact that the order is three days
late, or the surcharge can't be removed, or the item is out of
stock. But again, I know things do happen. When things do go
wrong though, please give me a simple apology. Here's the
funniest thing. When you make a mistake, and then apologize
(perhaps even including a surprise of some sort) I'll love you
more than ever. Apologies and good service recoveries are so
rare that you can take my dissatisfaction and turn it into
loyalty, if you will do this right.
Listen. Most all of the other things I've told you
require you to listen. I can tell when you are really listening
to me and that makes me feel very good - because true listening
is rare, sometimes even at home. Listen to my concerns. Listen
to my ideas. Listen to my order, so we don't have any
misunderstandings. When you really listen, you can't believe how
good that makes me feel.
All of us can do most of these things each day. When we do we
will make our work more enjoyable, easier, and quite likely will
begin creating legions of loyal Customers immediately.
And before you go, read these seven things again, with the voice
of one of your Customers in your head, as a reminder of how you
can make each of your Customers feel more important.
About the author:
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential
Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group
(http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To
receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes
resources, ideas, and advice go to
http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at
(317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
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