Want to Keep Your Customers?
Engage them in meaningful conversation.
Your customers are much more likely to stick with you if they enjoy talking with you. Some will pay a premium for meaningful conversation. If you cannot, or do not, engage them in meaningful conversation, you may lose them to the competition. And you may have only one chance.
Mountain Brew, a coffee shop downtown, served good coffee and delicious sandwiches. It boasted a relaxing, open ambiance that I found perfect for business meetings and for working. But after my second visit, I made a prediction to my friend.
“This place won’t last.”
“What makes you say that?”
I lowered my voice. “Did you notice that they don’t talk to you when you come in? And they don’t say anything when they are serving you?”
We watched the next customer at the counter, ordering coffee and a muffin. No words were exchanged.
We looked around. Twenty tables, a funky bar, a warm fireplace, but only five or six customers in the middle of the morning.
Sure enough, one year later the business closed.
People want to patronize places where they feel comfortable and welcomed. They like their privacy but also like the option of striking up a conversation with the proprietors. This applies not just to eateries. It applies to virtually any business.
If you think your customers pay you for your expertise or product, you may be right. But what keeps them coming back, and what keeps them from going to the competition?
Meaningful conversation.
Projects end. Work is punctuated with pauses throughout the day. Products are often purchased in person. What holds everything together, from beginning to end?
Meaningful conversation.
You won’t find this principle in a business textbook. But take a look at the professionals you admire, the most successful business people you know of. They all know how to carry an authentic conversation. It is critical to their success.
We naturally gravitate to things or people that have meaning for us. This includes your clients. If they find meaning in doing business with you, they are more likely to do more business with you and refer you to other people they know and respect.
How can you bring meaning to one of your clients’ projects? How can you make the experience pleasurable, entertaining, and memorable? How can you make them forget it’s work and love to see you again?
Meaningful conversation.
Connect the dots.
Look for opportunities to connect the dots, even with someone you’ve never met. Suppose you’re about to go into a meeting with a project manager you’ve never met. While you’re waiting in the lobby, you see Della, another project manager you worked with a year ago. You’re chatting with Della as the new project manager appears and introduces himself.
The new project manager will be much more likely to feel relaxed and confident knowing you know Della. It also gets conversation going. Just by talking with Della, you have enabled your client to connect the dots.
Consider it the Number One priority in your initial meeting to find common ground. You can also do it on the phone.
The other day I did it over the phone with a project manager I had never met. We spent a half-hour discussing Vespa scooters and motorcycles. Or rather, I listened while she bragged. By the end of 30 minutes I knew she had way more motivation to meet me than she did at the beginning of the call.
She had a smile on her face when she said goodbye. Later, when she did meet me, I mentioned her Vespa scooter, her Honda, and that Smart Car she wants to buy. Instant connection.
Contrast that experience with the consultant I worked with on another project. She boasted formidable knowledge and experience, a remarkable analytical mind, and the ability to fashion innovative sales strategies in what seemed like an impossible situation. She was amazing, and it is hard to amaze me. But nobody from my client’s company wanted to work with her. She was too serious, and conversation outside the project at hand was impossible. Somebody tried to engage her in conversation about the Olympics and she hastily yanked them back to the task at hand.
Maybe this is what makes her happy, who knows? But it sure turns off clients. Everyone likes to be around people who interact in a personal, relaxed way, people who can simply relate, who can engage in unplanned levels of conversation in indefinite contexts. They don’t want to be around someone who always reminds them of what has to be finished by 2:00 pm Friday.
I know my clients will find every excuse not to hire her again. That’s a sad waste of great skill.
Make it personal.
North American markets are customarily impersonal, especially online retail. Speed competes with quality for the ultimate value. Even when you stand face-to-face with the person processing your order, chances are you won’t even look at them or make conversation. You hand them your money, take your stuff, and leave.
The opportunity to make a difference in this environment is huge.
Cashiers may say, “But most people I know don’t want to be bothered with conversation. They just want to buy stuff and keep it uncomplicated.” That’s usually true. But I dare you to compare.
Two stores on the same block: one trains his people to make conversation and have fun, the other trains his people to say nothing. Who gets more business?
Two churches on the same block: one where the pastor greets you and makes conversation when you arrive and when you leave, and one where you shuffle in by yourself and leave ungreeted. Which church is more packed and which is empty?
Two oil-and-lube shops: one where the staff interact in a relaxed style, the other where they don’t seem to notice anything but your car. Whose shop is busier?
Two reflexologists: one who engages in meaningful conversation and genuinely cares for the whole person and the other who works quickly through a routine, takes their money and sends them on their way. Which one has more loyal clients that travel 45 minutes to see her?
Even if it seems customers don’t want to talk, they still gravitate to where they feel welcome and recognized. There they find meaning.
Greet your clients with zest.
I’m always happy to hear from my clients. When they call me, I get excited. They can hear the smile in my voice. I’m instantly tuned in to their business needs. It doesn’t matter what they are calling about.
When your phone rings during a business day, answer it promptly and with pizzazz. Sound upbeat, even if you’re not. Derive genuine joy from hearing the voices of the people who are furnishing your retirement and financing your kids’ college education. Engage with them enthusiastically. You know what results from this responsive habit? They will look forward to calling you, hearing your voice, and talking with you.
Keep in mind that when you smile or laugh, you feel good. You can’t help it.
The alternative is something I have been astonished to witness among other professionals. One of my colleagues always used to answer my calls with a voice of hesitation and doubt. When I called to offer her an opportunity, she sounded as if she didn’t really want it. But I knew she did. And she always did a great job.
So eventually I told her, “Look, when the client calls you about this, don’t hem and haw and collect a bunch of buts. Grab it. Show how happy you are for the business. If I’m referring them to you, I don’t want them to come back to me and say, Laurie, she doesn’t seem to be very interested.” My clients had done this on more than one occasion.
Few things turn a client off more than complacence. They want you to recognize them for the effort they are making in contacting you. They want to feel that they have made the right choice and you’re happy to hear from them. You can find out the details of the project later, and learn all the challenges associated with it — you might even decide you cannot do it and you’ll have to recommend someone else. But nothing justifies complacence or half-hearted responses. It’s another opportunity to make it a meaningful experience for your client.
So smile when you say hello and get excited — even if it promises to be the most boring project you’ve ever done.
Divulge yourself.
I believe there is no risk or disadvantage in being transparent with almost anyone who crosses my path. I enjoy divulging myself and have seen good things happen when I do it.
Keep in mind I am not talking about sharing nasty details. I’m talking about sharing the kind of personal experiences that people often need to share and want to share but feel as if nobody would want to know.
Guess what. They like to hear these things. Tell them you just broke up with your boyfriend of six years, and tell them how healing it was to enjoy that walk in the park yesterday. Tell them your son helped break up a fight last week on the playground. Tell them what your daughter said when you had a special talk about the facts of life.
This is a scary idea for many people. Many of us like to keep our personal lives hidden and private from our clients. Many of you would not be able to do it, and that’s okay. But those of you who are naturally like me may be suppressing your true nature because you think it’s “inappropriate.” I’m here to assure you it has its distinct merits.
The first advantage is that your clients will open up to you. When you divulge yourself, you are demonstrating your trust in them, and that trust becomes a bond that goes both ways. They will start to confide in you. The second advantage is confidence. Believe it or not, showing vulnerability will enhance your self-confidence. When you hide or protect yourself, you are demonstrating your fears.
The third advantage is meaning. The more you share with your clients, the more meaningful your relationship will be, and the more you will enjoy each other’s company. That means more business.
Blast the boredom
Boredom is one of your clients’ biggest enemies. If you can provide a constant, reliable, unforgettable antidote to that boredom, you’re in.
Regardless of industry or geography, markets are social places. Whether you sell savings bonds, duct cleaning, ball bearings, flowers, life coaching, or bagels, conversation is a central part of your offering. Your ordinary interactions will either nurture your clientele or shoo them away. If they can enjoy the exchange, they’ll want to repeat the experience.
And many of your clients will pay a premium for friendly conversation.
