Every interaction you have with customers will affect future business and relationships. Effective customer communication is key to building a loyal customer base.
The great customer service legend, Santa Claus, teaches us by example several techniques for effective customer communication.
Ask What Customers Want
Santa doesn’t guess what you want for Christmas. He asks you. You either sit on his lap at the shopping mall and tell him what you want or make a list and mail it to the North Pole.
In your business, you’d be wise to follow this example. Don’t assume you know what your customers want. Ask customers what they need or want and then listen for the answer.
Santa doesn’t build his list from thin air. He listens and you should too.
Be Jolly
Santa is always happy and full of holiday cheer. It is part of his brand. If Santa was mean and angry, he wouldn’t be Santa.
What type of demeanor do you put on when talking to customers? This could be face to face, over the phone, or other customer communication through marketing medias.
Reinforce that people should want to do business with you because it will make them happy. You will solve their problem and make their life easier. Help them feel that by being jolly yourself when interacting with them.
Monitor for Changes
As the old song goes, Santa “knows when you’ve been bad or good.” How does he know? Because he is watching you!
Are you watching your customers and monitoring the situation? If things start to go bad, are you able to jump in and quickly fix the problem?
Don’t interact with your customers just once a year. Make sure they are doing fine throughout the year and be proactive in preventing problems before they happen.
Deliver What You Promise
We’d quickly stop believing in Santa if he never brought any presents. He takes your list and checks it twice and then does something about it.
Great customer communication is worthless if you don’t follow through and deliver on customer expectations.