After my family’s recent vehicle purchase, I called my insurance company to add the car to our policy.
The representative I spoke with also owned the same make vehicle and was raving about how much she loves it. This, of course, made me feel good since I was having a little buyer’s remorse.
After she made that personal connection with me she tried to show me my quote on their website. She took me all over my online account searching in vain to find the quote.
Discouraged, she asked to put me on hold so she could find the answer.
When she returned we were still unsuccessful in finding my online quote. Throughout the entire process she was very cordial and friendly.
The call ended with her showing how I could re-quote and add the vehicle myself on their website.
With so many things going wrong during the phone call, you’d think I would have left frustrated. However, because of three key components to our call, I left happy:
1. Personal Connection
Find some common ground with your customers. Anything you can do to relate to them will help them feel more comfortable doing business with you. You may find a connection anywhere: cars, family, where they live, what they wear, hobbies, foods, etc. Look for a match and then call out that similarity. Anything that makes you look more like a person and less like an automated employee will help your customer relationships.
2. Be Friendly
If you are genuinely nice during your interactions with customers before, during, and after the sale, you’ll build up some “kindness credit” with the customer. This buffer will allow the customer to more easily forgive any future problems.
3. Show Me
Sometimes you just can’t get something working for the customer. If possible, enable customers to do the job themselves. Show them the steps. Teach them the process. Help them solve their own problem.
This is particularly beneficial when you can teach them to self-serve via your website. That knowledge will allow the customer to use the less costly (to your business) and more efficient channel the next time they need something. You’ll save money and the customer will be happy. A win-win for both parties!