BY ANNA LEITHER – DIRECTOR OF CLIENT DELIVERY
As companies seek to build stronger relationships with their customers, it strikes me that the same core principles that lead to any successful interpersonal relationship also apply to business/customer relationships.
We all know that trust is a critical underpinning of every functional relationship. I feel safe around the people I trust and I know I can depend on them. Similarly, a company must win my trust by offering dependable service that lives up to my expectations and manage my personal information securely if they want to win my business. Have you ever arrived at your airport gate and learned that your flight is oversold? Or tried to pick up your car rental, but found out there aren’t any cars left? This scene from an old Seinfeld episode may come to mind for fans of the 90’s sitcom. These are great examples of businesses falling short in the trust department. A customer can usually understand the business needs that led to this sort of predicament, but that doesn’t make it any less unpleasant. This brings us to another topic: conflict resolution.
The airline wants to maximize revenue per available seat mile, but you just want to get where you’re going without ending up on a “We need one volunteer to take this voucher” flight that has more passengers than seats. Your friend wants to go to a movie, but you’d rather lie on the beach. Your spouse wants to put the kids in public schools, but you want private. Your business partner wants to re-invest profit, but you want to bank it for a “rainy day.” Conflict is everywhere so it’s no wonder that “compromise” is a favorite word of relationship experts. Our recent post about a botched dinner order is a great example of how a business can turn a conflict on its head with the right compromise.
Another tenet of successful relationships is strong communication. Importantly, communication is only communication when it’s a two-way street—both sides are sending, receiving, and processing the same information. That means each side needs to find the right balance of communication that will meet the needs of their counterpart. Some people love to talk and tend to process their thoughts and feelings aloud, while others are more private and prefer less conversation. People on opposite ends of that engagement spectrum will need to dial their preferred communication style up or down to make the relationship work. Similarly, a business cannot communicate with every customer the same way. If I’ve only read 4 of the 30 emails that you’ve sent me in the past month, that’s a pretty strong hint that I don’t want to hear from you every day!
Finally, there’s the element of chemistry—how does a person (or business) make you feel? Do they bring out the best in you? Here the comparison between interpersonal relationships and business/customer relationships is stretched a bit, because businesses are less interested in finding just the right “friends” (aka customers) and are more interested in making as many “friends” as possible. Businesses wonder how to build the right chemistry with the largest pool of customers that will yield the most revenue. It’s tough to nail down all the reasons why I feel so different shopping at Target vs. Wal-Mart, but I’m sure my favorite big box has the list.
Brands that “get me” will keep my business. As for the others, I’ll see you at the Christmas party, but I’m not going to pretend I want to hang out between now and then.
Successful Relationships
BY ANNA LEITHER – DIRECTOR OF CLIENT DELIVERY
As companies seek to build stronger relationships with their customers, it strikes me that the same core principles that lead to any successful interpersonal relationship also apply to business/customer relationships.
We all know that trust is a critical underpinning of every functional relationship. I feel safe around the people I trust and I know I can depend on them. Similarly, a company must win my trust by offering dependable service that lives up to my expectations and manage my personal information securely if they want to win my business. Have you ever arrived at your airport gate and learned that your flight is oversold? Or tried to pick up your car rental, but found out there aren’t any cars left? This scene from an old Seinfeld episode may come to mind for fans of the 90’s sitcom. These are great examples of businesses falling short in the trust department. A customer can usually understand the business needs that led to this sort of predicament, but that doesn’t make it any less unpleasant. This brings us to another topic: conflict resolution.
The airline wants to maximize revenue per available seat mile, but you just want to get where you’re going without ending up on a “We need one volunteer to take this voucher” flight that has more passengers than seats. Your friend wants to go to a movie, but you’d rather lie on the beach. Your spouse wants to put the kids in public schools, but you want private. Your business partner wants to re-invest profit, but you want to bank it for a “rainy day.” Conflict is everywhere so it’s no wonder that “compromise” is a favorite word of relationship experts. Our recent post about a botched dinner order is a great example of how a business can turn a conflict on its head with the right compromise.
Another tenet of successful relationships is strong communication. Importantly, communication is only communication when it’s a two-way street—both sides are sending, receiving, and processing the same information. That means each side needs to find the right balance of communication that will meet the needs of their counterpart. Some people love to talk and tend to process their thoughts and feelings aloud, while others are more private and prefer less conversation. People on opposite ends of that engagement spectrum will need to dial their preferred communication style up or down to make the relationship work. Similarly, a business cannot communicate with every customer the same way. If I’ve only read 4 of the 30 emails that you’ve sent me in the past month, that’s a pretty strong hint that I don’t want to hear from you every day!
Finally, there’s the element of chemistry—how does a person (or business) make you feel? Do they bring out the best in you? Here the comparison between interpersonal relationships and business/customer relationships is stretched a bit, because businesses are less interested in finding just the right “friends” (aka customers) and are more interested in making as many “friends” as possible. Businesses wonder how to build the right chemistry with the largest pool of customers that will yield the most revenue. It’s tough to nail down all the reasons why I feel so different shopping at Target vs. Wal-Mart, but I’m sure my favorite big box has the list.
Brands that “get me” will keep my business. As for the others, I’ll see you at the Christmas party, but I’m not going to pretend I want to hang out between now and then.
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