There are two different ways to communicate to a customer:
- The Personal Level
- The Business Level
In any interaction both business and personal alike, there are things you must consider before you communicate.
- Attention – Pay attention to the little things.
- Courtesy – Be courteous to the customer with every opportunity you receive.
- Acceptance – Be accepting of the customer’s viewpoints.
No matter what your purpose is in the communication you must realize that you are speaking with a human and take this into consideration in your business level of communication. By ignoring the personal side of any interaction you will often find a customer upset at the lack of attention, even if you have achieved exactly what they requested.
Core company values should be communicated to the customer, whether directly or indirectly. Any communication should make the customer feel satisfied. By properly merging both of these personal and business communication styles you can be sure that you are making the customer feel cared for and still are able to bring the business into the picture in a positive light.
When a customer is upset the personal level should be the most important level in the way that you communicate to them. When someone is upset they want to be listened to and feel cared for and appreciated. The business level of communication might not show this care and attention that the personal level will. If you only show a rigid business perspective, people will often feel turned away from your brand.
Regardless of the situation – make sure that you use these two styles of communication in an appropriate manner. Determining the right communication for the right time is the key to delivering effective messages, discussions and conversations.
[Veterans Day Note: On this marvelous day – a special thanks to all of our veterans who served and are serving our country. We are appreciative of your sacrifice and devotion. Thank you!]
