7 Habits For Trusted Customer Relationships

Whether you are a corporate employee, a manager, an entrepreneur, a social media expert, a designer, in customer service, a chef, an antique dealer, a barista, a truck driver, a movie maker, an artist… no matter what profession it may be there is one thing common amongst us all — we all have customers to serve and they have expectations we must meet. It is one of the fundamental principles for supply to meet its demand. Happy customers, good for business.

But customer management is not in everyones forte. It is not easy working with people, the emotions that drive them, with characteristics that form their perceptions. People, the you’s and me’s of this world, are judgmental, egoistic and self-centered for the most part getting worse day by day. So we try to sweet talk and bribe our way into making these relationships work using pride-swallowing tactics. And when the going gets tough, these relationships crumble.

One late evening, a small business owner in Southern India met with his partners in the company conference room. The employees had signed off for the day. The discussion was about them and the topic was their salaries. The company always prided in how they never missed paying out salaries in time even if it meant that the partners would have to sacrifice their own. But this time was different. They had run out of all options. Finally they agreed that they would have to ask some of their customers to loan them an advance payment, as a credit for future services. Only one customer agreed.

As usual at the end of that month I got my salary credited to my account in full and in time to pay my rent. But what my colleagues and I never realized at the time was that it took a trusted relationship between a business owner and his most-difficult customer, for the employees of a small company in Bangalore to sail through one of the worst recessions the IT software industry had seen.

Lasting relationships, those that thrive through troubled times, are build on trust. And with trust we can achieve what otherwise would be considered unthinkable or impossible.

Goruck “Halloween 2014” Challenge (Nashville TN): Together we carried a 700 lbs telephone pole across town for over 5 miles and back in freezing conditions.

Trust is not built overnight and the measure of its strength is time. Experience has taught me that there are 7 habits we can cultivate that sets a good foundation for building trusted relationships with your customer.

1. Stay engaged with your customer by being proactive and responsive in your communication.
2. Listen intently to what your customer has to say even if your don’t agree with it.
3. Empathize with your customer to understand their point of view, and what drives their decisions.
4. Have a methodical, clear and concise, ETA-driven, no-BS approach when laying out your plan to meet your customer needs.
5. Over-deliver on your commitments, even it means that you have to under-commit.
6. Set expectations so that your customers know when and how to reach you when they need you.
7. Most importantly, be accountable.

How have you earned your customers trust? What habits have helped you build trusting relationships? Share your stories with me through your comments.

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