Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams (Part 9)

With the advancement of civilization, we have developed Monetary Systems for payment for the services and products a person needs. Not only for your dreams, even for your basic needs, you may have to put in some efforts for earning some monetary value to exchange. How would you earn monetary value? For that, you need to involve yourself in some trading, manufacturing or servicing activities. Either, you will trade in or manufacture something, or you will provide some service to some one like an accountant does, an architect, an engineer or a lawyer gives advice and so on. And he gets some money against his services. Every one needs someone as taker of services or buyers of the products. Better efforts, better sales, better receipts and the bigger would be our dreams after meeting our basic needs. To Accomplish Our Dreams, we need our buyers or service takers not only continued but they must continue to grow in more and more numbers. It is a business practice we cannot ignore.
The success of our efforts to get our customers repeated and increased, is not only our need but a fascinating dream too. We need to work to ignite their passion about our products/services. We may take the following steps to get our customers repeated and growing in numbers:

1. We May Give Customers Valuable Information And Simple Ways To Organize It.

The Internet and social media are overwhelming individuals and companies. It is no surprise to find so many applications to organize information on mobile devices and for social media like Twitter. Delivery of information that is valuable to our industry/services must be available comprehensively to our target customers. He must be at ease to contact us as and when he requires. For that, we need to incorporate our contact details clearly and be ready to convince them best to their satisfaction. We must ensure that our website features the latest tweets about a hot issue in our industry? Do we have a daily summary of an industry conference? If not, why and how would the customers connect with you?

2. Our Information Must Be Quick And Easy To Read.

We must ensure that our website or information is an easy read. It should speak to them, rather than just about us? In this economy, our customers are truly doing more with less and are pressed for time and solutions. Our conversations, our texts, our tweets, our website — must clearly speak to them.

3. We must Energize them with learning.

Customers can feel the energy in a company. They are attracted to the energy. Establish a free-wheeling fun learning culture to ignite this energy and don’t crush it with corporate structure and smart goals. Pick hot industry topics and get employees talking over lunch. Tap into podcasts and webinars on professional development topics. Transform staff meetings from in-person status reports into learning exchanges!

4. We Must Fire them up with fun.

Fun is always memorable and memorable brings customers back. Advertising execs have known this for years. How are you using fun to engage your customers? How are you using fun to engage employees who engage customers? Example: Customers are more connected to you when they hear you smiling on the phone. TRUE. So for years the chosen solution was a mirror on each customer service agent’s desk as a clue to smile. BORING. Instead have something fun on the desk to inspire a smile.

5. We Must Be Flexible When Communicating.

People do business with those they like and trust. They tend to be most comfortable with those of a similar personality type. Communicate to the customer’s personality type not from yours. Honest messages are more accepted when delivered with personality type in mind. Know your own type, spot your customer’s type, and flex to it. Sales reps. have done this for years. It’s time for all to do it.

6. We Must Use Our Uniqueness.

We must also use our special talents to create bonds with customers. One of my strengths is seeing the big picture quickly while others are stuck in details. My customers bring me in for that purpose and welcome my dissent. Many of them are detail-oriented and, to use their words, get stuck in the weeds.

7. We Must Care for Our Customers.

We often think of caring as something done in the customer service department. Care is not a department. Care is a mindset that leads to behavior. It should be visible in every person and in every aspect of your company including your website, your phone menus, your service recovery, your ethics, and your products and service. When you care about customers it ignites their passion for your company.

8. We Must Pump up our heart rate.

Customers are attracted to companies whose heart is beating loud and strong, especially now. It gives them hope. Show the customer the vibrancy and energy of your company — perhaps through contributions to the community. After the attacks on 9/11, Broadway theater banded together to perform shows even though far fewer people were buying tickets. The message: We will survive and we want you back in our theaters.

9. We Must Be Ready for Our customer’s rainy day.

When it rains in New York City many store owners push carts onto the streets to sell umbrellas to the unprepared tourists. Customers will bond with you if you can provide what they need at a moment’s notice — either through your company or another source. How can you foresee this? Ask your customer service agents to keep a running list for one week of all the requests they get to which they currently say no. Go through this list and identify a solution for each request to prepare for your customer’s rainy day.

10. We Should Give Each Employee A Crystal Ball.

Customers are attracted to companies that are forward thinking. What image do you and your employees project to customers? Often the official publications of a company sound forward focused yet the employees don’t. Do all your employees sound focused on the future or just the sales/marketing departments? Do they ask the customers interesting questions to unearth future needs? Are you asking your employees interesting questions about the future to instill this thinking in them? Think about it.

11. We should Revel In Diversity.

Cultural norms impact customer’s expectations and buying choices. In many countries, your customers are from different countries and cultures. In every aspect of your business, embrace and use cultural diversity to bond with the customers. In your presentations, use stories and references that make sense to that culture. When designing a product or delivering customer service, make sure it makes sense to that culture. You can ask even your customers to teach you about their cultures. They may feel an emotional attachment with you. Look for an unfilled niche based on cultural norms and fill it!

12. We Must Develop an uncommon talent to build common bonds.

How good are you and your employees at building common bonds with your customers and your suppliers? How good are you at connecting with leaders in your customer’s industry through conferences, social media, and the press? Across generations, cultures, and industries, the ability to form common bonds ignites passion for your services. Continue to develop your communication, listening, social networking, creativity, and innovation skills. If your reaction to this is “I don’t have time”, then learn from those around you as you work. They may ignite your passion in developing an uncommon talent for common bonds.

Be Happy – Accomplish Your Dreams by increasing your income through winning the hearts of your customers and continued pursuance.