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Communicating With Your Customers Continuing the theme of customer service, today I’d like to start looking at how to communicate with customers. We need to be aware that what and how we communicate comes from our own unique model of the world – our experience, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and values. These affect the way we communicate verbally and also non-verbally, through body language for example, which research shows makes up 55% of our communication. The message we put across is then received and filtered through the listener’s own unique model of the world, and chances are that this is very different from our own. We need to attempt to see things from their point of view if we want to avoid misunderstandings and conflict. A basic presupposition of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is ‘Your communication is the response you get’. In other words, it is no good blaming the other person for misinterpreting your message - you need to change your communication. Better to respect the other person’s model of the world than to ignore it. Obviously we communicate with customers by words, but they are also picking up messages by other means: Many traditional businesses still have strict rules on suitable clothes for work – they know their staff are more likely to be taken seriously in formal dress than in jeans and T shirts. Conversely, creative and high-tech companies encourage casual clothing. Body language can belie the words we are saying to customers. How much faith do you have in a sales assistant who avoids making eye contact? Would you happily approach them for help if they stood glaring at you with their arms crossed? Your own attitude to your job influences the messages customers are picking up from you – are they going to feel valued if you are having a bad day, or will they sense your distraction and impatience and take it personally? The actions your business takes are the ultimate communication with its customers. If you have promised delivery by noon and nothing has turned up, it will be very hard to convince them that customer service is important to you. Better to under-promise and over-deliver. Amazon has consistently delighted me by informing me when my books have been dispatched and providing an estimated delivery date. Each time the package turns up a couple of days early. The result – customer satisfaction and repeat orders, not to mention glowing recommendations to friends. As always, I welcome feedback and comments. Contact me here. Next time we will be looking at some tips for better customer service, including the knack of keeping customer encounters brief and focused! |
