It’s all about connecting
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A couple of days ago, I wrote about a writer’s purpose and today I want to expand on that a little bit. But this doesn’t apply only to writing - it applies to business in all forms. No matter what business you’re in, customer service is one of the most important aspects of your company. And it should be a major part of your focus.
Because, in reality, it’s all about connecting.
Developing good relationships is the backbone of any business, whether online or off. As markets become unstable, buyers get more picky, prices go up, it’s going to become even more important to connect with clients and potential customers on a more personal level.
You’ve heard of social networking, right? If you’re online at all, you likely have. It seems that everywhere we turn, it’s all about social this, that or the other thing. We have websites to connect with each other such as myspace, linkedin, facebook and myriads more.
And their whole theme is all about connecting - new relationships, old relationships, changing relationships. Some are business, some more personal but they all share a common goal - to connect with others.
When I was training agents and investors in real estate, this is one of the key concepts I taught - that no matter else is going on, no matter any other circumstance, you must connect with people. It’s not about helping them or selling them something - those are secondary. If you can make that connection, you’re nearly there.
What does take to connect?
It starts with knowing what people want.
How do we know what people want? We listen, we ask questions, we dig a little deeper when necessary. We interact with them, show we care. We’re polite, yet assertive when need be. We leave the door open and allow interaction.
This is one of the things that make blogs so beneficial - it’s an open door that allows people to feel comfortable. It allows people to glimpse inside and get a feel for what’s going on before taking the proverbial plunge.
The whole goal of any business or relationship should be to connect. And then to keep that connection open and strong through communication, sharing and a sense of community.
What do you think makes customer service good? And what do you think customer service should be?
I’ll share some more thoughts on this later but I’d like to hear your thoughts to these 2 questions first. Please feel free to post in the comments. I love hearing from you!
In the arena,
Make $10k in a weekend - “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .
Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.
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We know what people want by really listening, rather than just waiting for our turn to speak. Great customer service is when we know we’re being heard.
Writer Dads last blog post..But Daddy
Good customer service: Listening, Listening, Listening.
Should be: Helping a customer find what they want, by putting yourself in their place. Hard to do, but I think that is what people want. Okay maybe that is what I want when I get frustrated with customer service. I also think my past work in retail, when people were angry with me, it was because of those reasons. I failed to listen carefully or couldn’t or wouldn’t understand where they were coming from.
White Hot Magiks last blog post..Hey Look at Me I am a Big KId Too!
You’ve touched upon something which I’ve found through blogging to be very true - yet unexpected for me. The community that can develop has been inspiring. And it has been the best thing about blogging, for me. I feel connected with like-minded people. What a great thing!
Echoing what has already been said, listening is key for great customer service to happen. When I feel that someone is really listening (and caring) about whatever I have to say, that is powerful.
Lances last blog post..Sometimes You Just Have to Take That Leap
@Writer Dad - you’ve hit on a great point. And that’s exactly what I was talking about - “How do we know what people want? We listen . . .” Listening, not just hearing, is becoming a lost art, I think.
@White Hot Magik - I think putting yourself in the customers position happens when we listen attentively and develop a true understanding for what they’re saying. What we see from our side, may not be what someone else sees from their side, if that make sense.
@Lance - yes, I agree. When someone listens to what I’m saying, it is much easier to keep myself in check and problems tend to get resolved faster, too. It’s powerful because we feel as though we’re being helped in a way that matters - to us, not just to the customer service department.
Great thoughts from all of you. Thanks so much for stopping by to comment.
~ Annie
Hi Annie,
I think good customer service is when you get something you didn’t expect. Off the top of my head I think of the stores that have shopping bags of different sizes and tissue paper. Don’t ask me why, but just carrying a shopping bag makes me feel like I made a special purchase, even if it was something I bought on sale.
In our business, we do excavation. Whenever possible, we try to leave the site better than we found it. By doing so, we’ve gotten many hand written thank yous over the years.
Listening to customers is the most important thing. Too often they tell us one thing, but they’re actually wanting something different.
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..Four Day Open Mic - 8/21 to 8/24/08
Hi Barbara -
Your thoughts on the shopping bag make sense to me. A nice bag with tissue paper does make one feel as though they’ve made an extra special purchase. I like that too.
And you’re last line is 100% true. I think part of that is because each of us tends to see things just a little bit differently - the old “you say tomato, I say tomahto” type thing. When we take the time to listen well, we can understand those nuances.
~ Annie