Want to Know How Customers Think? Just Ask… Yourself!
One quick search on the internet brings up thousands of articles about ‘what your customers really want’ and ‘one thing customers are looking for but will never tell you’. For CSMs, the amount of content out there touting the secret sauce for amazing customer relationships can be overwhelming and, quite simply, confusing.
Going back to the Golden Rule
We all know the Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated – and have learned since we were kids to follow the rule in all aspects of our lives. But this Golden Rule can do so much more for CSMs than we realized, especially since, at the end of the day, we’re all customers of something and CSMs actually have much more in common with their customers than first realized.
Think about a recent situation with a customer where there may have been a bit of runaround or confusion around project deadlines. Would you have put up with that in their shoes? Of course not, which makes the customer’s irritation that much more understandable. Situations like this, however, can be avoided completely by approaching customer success and strategy with a Golden Rule-first mindset.
By proactively tackling every customer conversation, project, and meeting with a “how would I want this conversation to go if I were the customer” thought process, your customers will feel the impact and your team can build strong, lasting customer relationships.
What are customers looking for, really?
At the end of the day, customers are of course looking to see the value of the product and/or solution they purchased. But they are also looking for respect, courtesy, and empathy throughout this process – things we as humans are all looking for. From initial sales conversations to ongoing billing questions to your regularly scheduled implementation calls, it’s up to your team to treat your customers the way you would want to be treated in their shoes.
Here are a few additional ways to make sure you’re applying the Golden Rule when dealing with customers:
- Be responsive! Don’t leave customers waiting around to hear back from you with an answer.
- We can all get a little irritated when things don’t go as planned, and customers can be quite vocal when things go wrong. Instead of jumping to the defensive, become an empathetic resource for resolution.
- Never sit on a problem waiting for a customer to find out. Proactively reach out, let them know about the situation, and offer a resolution plan.
- If you ask for customer feedback or opinions, put it into practice! There is nothing worse than offering feedback and seeing it ignored, and your customers can have some valuable insights into delivering better service.
- Act as a voice for your customers internally. We all know businesses have to run as such, but letting your customers know that you’re there to speak and act for them can go a long way to building customer loyalty.
Want to learn more? Here are some additional resources on how to deliver proactive customer service: