“The customer is always right.” We have all heard about all this at one point or another. It doesn’t matter if you are running a lemonade stand or working at a Fortune 500 company. Your clients are important, if not the most important asset to your company. Without them, you don’t even have a business! In case you are already wondering why this blog is called “The Science of Loving and Being Loved by Clients,” it is because in the business world customer service is the way of showing “love” and appreciation. (For the sake of non-scientists, I won’t talk about adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and especially not about vasopressin in this blog.) This is why customers, clients, patients (whichever term applies to you) should definitely take priority. Learn to love them and they will reciprocate. You have to earn their business, because your life (aka your business) depends on it. You don’t have to be unbearably desperate nor do you have to be overly persistent. You just have to prove to them that you are worthy. For a business, it can be approached as a science because it is very systematic.
Why is it important? The truth is that every business exercises some form of customer service. I would even go as far as to say that all technical businesses need it in order to survive. It is simply not enough to have a product that works. If a client cannot get the information they are looking for and understand it, the product and its benefits can quickly become irrelevant.
People in all disciplines have spent countless hours researching and writing about love from every science and social scientific perspective. What it means, why it happens, how it happens, etc. This is no different in the business world when it comes to customer service. Although it is something that is unlikely to lose its mysterious haze anytime soon, all we can do is accept that people (and businesses) enjoy this feeling [of love] and that it provides security, understanding and comfort. It helps a person and company reach [self] actualization that can positively improve growth. There are definitely important steps to reaching a successful, healthy relationship with a client.
For us, it goes something like this…
- First, of course, we have to have a potential client. We must attract them to our company through the internet, etc. When they call us or we call them, we have to launch our attractive sales pitch and show (not directly tell) them about our competitive advantage (and other good qualities) as well as how we can help them. It has to be evident to them that the benefits of our product(s) will outweigh the costs in order to fulfill the value proposition.
- During our courting stage, we will give our client as much attention as they need or perhaps even more. We might even let them experience some products for free as a trial. At this stage in our relationship, it is important for us that the client knows and understands that we care about their business and we want to help them achieve their own goals with our products.
- Is love supposed to change the way you think? Perhaps, but maybe this isn’t always the case…? However, when referring to a business, customer service, especially with call tracking, might give a client a different perspective on advertising and the way the staff is working. We have to expose our clients to as much information as possible revealed to us by automated reports, web tracking, etc. It’s our job!
- At this point, if all goes well, and the relationship with the client has overcome barriers and other small hurdles, they may become attached to us and of course we will be too. We begin to feel love and loyalty for one another.
- Often times, businesses start to rely on loyal customers to keep their business going. However, just because they love us (and we love them) does not mean we can go on without checking on them often. In fact, this is when it becomes important to over-communicate to the client. This is what our account managers are trained to do. At Century Interactive, we work to give the client the most out of our service. For existing clients, it is important to maintain constant contact. The client needs to know that they can ask questions and get results that will help them grow their own business.
The moral of the story here is that you have to love your clients and most importantly they have to love you! Remember, it may okay for an experienced tightrope walker to work without a net. However, for most companies, it is not a risk many can afford. As a technical business, Century Interactive, has a strong support team and accounts team to act as an extra “safety net” for our products, the data team, and the Company. The steps listed above must occur to have a successful relationship with clients. Of course, we can never follow a strict timeline but we can certainly have a plan. This is something that we strive for at Century Interactive. It is important to keep our customers happy and increase their love for us as they increase their minute use.
Tags: Accounts, Clients, Customer Service, Earning business, love, Loyalty, Science