When’s the last time you talked with your customers?
Have you heard someone say?: “To have a friend, you need to be a friend.”
Can this quote be repurposed for a business setting?
How about: “To have customers, you need to act like a customer.”
Think about it.
- Customers want to know that you care about them. Am I too small to matter to your company?
- Customers want to know that their needs are being met. Am I being heard?
- Customers want to know that you aren’t just pushing something at them that they don’t really need or won’t solve their problem. Am I just padding their bottom line?
When you are in business, you aren’t ‘necessarily’ in the business of making friends, but it certainly couldn’t hurt to be friendly.
When’s the last time you actually picked up the phone and talked with your customers?
Go ahead right now and act like a customer with your existing customers; make a courtesy call with the following questions in mind: (Remember you aren’t selling anything; your goal is to listen intently and show genuine appreciation for their business.)
- How’s business going?
- How are things going with ‘Insert your product name’?
- Do you have any questions about using our product?
- Is there anything else we can do to help your company?
Close the call by sincerely thanking them for their business, setting the stage for future interactions.
Dale Carnegie said:
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
There’s no reason we can’t replace ‘friend’ with customer:
“You can make more customers in two months by becoming interested in customers than you can in two years by trying to get other customers interested in you.”
Now, get out there and speak to your customers. (not just e-mail or text)
Until next time,
Dan Naden
