Do you have a business that depends on good customer service? Well, if you want to delight your customers, help them say exactly what they want. In this text, I want to share some strategies for you and your team to understand, meet and exceed your customers’ expectations. Worth it!
Not all customers are prepared to say exactly what they want. This can be challenging for some businesses if professionals are not prepared to “get” this information from the customer and, without it, the service experience can be compromised.
It’s funny for me to write about it. I worked 10 years as a hairdresser and I remember that in the beginning one of the biggest challenges was to understand exactly what the client wanted. “What are we doing today?” it was always the same question whose answer did not always contain what I needed to start the service. Today when I do communication workshops for companies, I see how much this knowledge would have helped me to avoid hassles, rework and save some tears.
If you deal with services, you deal with people and people can be complex. When we work with public service in a beauty salon, restaurant, supermarket or architecture firm we have to admit that things rarely go from A to B in a straight line. Even if the customer says he wants to get to B, you know, in the end, it turns out he/she wanted C.
People like to be surprised and, at the same time, demand a certainty of satisfaction for what they are paying for. So the customer experience in your business is directly linked to your team’s ability to collect enough quality information to translate the customer’s expectation that day or that project.
Remember: not all customers can say exactly what they want. This is where it can go downhill. There is an English term called “lost in translation” which means that something was lost in the communication path, that is, that something important was left out. The following 5 tips are to prevent this from happening.
1. Take time
Instruct your team to take the time to understand what the customer wants. Often the time saved at the beginning is lost (twice as much) at the end explaining differences, justifying errors or endless changes or exchanges.
2. Create an image of the result
That is, help your client to create an image of the desired result. This is the simplest way for the customer to say, “This is exactly what I want”. Teach your team a language capable of instigating the client’s imagination.
3. Check what was said
One of the biggest mistakes of those who deal with the public is to believe that they can read the customer’s mind. Leave that for the afternoon television shows. Guide your team to always confirm that the customer’s image of the result is the same as that perceived by them and that will serve as the basis for the service.
4. Ask right
There are two movements in the conversation with the customer: opening possibilities and closing a choice. For each of these movements there are questions that guarantee a good result. Teach your team to develop this sensitivity of choosing the right questions for each moment of the client.
5. Constant feedback
Let’s accept that people (your customers) can change their minds. That is why it is important for your team to constantly collect feedback throughout the service delivery process, rather than assuming that everything said at the beginning will remain unchanged. When we deal with people, our only certainty is that everything can change at any time.
These and other strategies will help you and your team to decipher what the customer wants. So you will be providing a high quality service, avoiding major differences and misunderstandings in your delivery, optimizing your employees’ time and maximizing your profit.
Meet with your team today and discuss these tips. If you have any questions or if you want to go deeper, send me an email at info@feelitconsulting.com.br
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