How to Talk to Customers & Clients
Be friendly. Be curious. Don’t answer too quickly. Don’t write a novel. Be helpful. Say “sorry”.
My first serious customer was when I was still in college. I invented a facebook for my student organization 5 years before Facebook was invented. I put it up on the web so that other people can take it for free. My first clients were among the users of these free web scripts. They wanted me to do small customizations for them. It was an amazing feeling that someone wanted to pay me for something I love doing.
Since that first contact with my first client 15 years ago, I have been fascinated with discovering the right way to talk to clients. Today, I don’t have time for any consulting work but I talk with all kinds of “clients”: free users, paying users, partner companies, journalists, developers who build apps on our API, companies who use our product to do work for their own clients.
I am a big believer in asynchronous communication. I do pretty much everything on email. I hate it when my phone rings. So, this guide is for mainly async communication.
Be friendly. Don’t be too serious. It doesn’t matter who you are talking to. Don’t put too much distance between yourself and the client. Talk to them like you were old friends. You are there to help them. Don’t sound like a machine. Don’t sound like a support response template. You are helping a friend out. You would not bullshit a friend. You would tell her the way it is.
Be curious. It is not about you. Try to understand their intentions and goals. Suggest solutions and ideas for their specific needs. Show that you care about what they are trying to do. If you see them doing something right tell it and congratulate them. They are trying to accomplish their goals just like you do. Be supportive. Everybody needs a hug.
Don’t answer too quickly. When you answer a client too quickly you might go into what I call a “chat mode”. In chat mode you will be exchanging short messages quickly. You are not async any more. The client will send questions without thinking about them thoroughly and you will send answers quickly. Usually the client will get impatient and even angry because you are wasting her time. You have now created an expectation that 1. Your time is worthless 2. You will always be there waiting for questions.
Don’t write a novel. People cannot read very long text. Keep it short. Split long text into multiple paragraphs. Make it easy to scan your response. If you need to write something long start with a short summary. Split things into numbered lists. Always provide instructions in a step by step guide. If you need the client to perform an action make it very clear.
Be helpful. It is always about them. You are there to help them. You must care about them. Even if you need help you need to find a way to make it so that you are both helping each other.
Say “sorry”. Even if it is not your fault don’t be afraid to take responsibility. Nobody will sue you. In fact, if you take responsibility they will be more understanding and they will be more likely to cut you some slack.
