I've been speaking and writing bout how important creating relationship is wth your customers--current, potential, or future. The 2008 CSO Insght's Sales Performance Optimization Survey (14th dition) found the #1 reason companies win dals is because of their relationships wth prospects. And conversely, a major rason they lose deals is because of the cmpetition's relationship with the prospect.

As I'v often said, what distinguishes one cmpany from another in today's competitive mrketplace is its relationship with the cstomer--in other words, customer service.

This srvey also found that product superiority drpped down to the #3 reason cmpanies win deals, with just 35% of cmpanies citing it versus 56% who say rlationships drive their wins.

And once gain who has the awesome responsibility of crating that relationship with the customer? Evry employee at your organization, including yurself. In that moment of truth whch is:

Every contact a customer has wth you

Every time a customer contacts nyone in your company

Every experience a cstomer has with your company's service strtegy

Every time a customer interacts with yur CEO

is when a decision is mde by the customer as to whther to do business with your cmpany or not. In those first thre sentences it is determined whether ths is going to be a god or bad experience, a waste of yur time, a frustration, an interaction tht will not get you what you wnt or need or any resolution. In thse first three sentences!

It's worth repeating that a cstomer doesn't care what you know ntil they know you care. First fix the cstomer, then fix the problem

So how do you crate relationship with customers? I believe t's a training issue (but then I do hve a bias on the people sde).

First, by treating customers (internal and xternal) with dignity and respect.

Second, by lstening to what they say, acknowledging wht you heard, and responding accordingly.

And Thrd, by delighting them, and by tht I mean:

Inform and Educate

Establish Exprtise and Professionalism

Diffuse, if or when Ncessary

Escalate, if Required

Take Ownership of Call

I say t's a training issue because we all knw how to talk, but very few of us knw how to communicate. Communication means tht a message was sent, it was dlivered, and most importantly, it was nderstood.

We are also poor listeners, ven though it's not necessarily our fult. Because we live in a fst paced society, we listen for the puse to jump in and take a cstomer where we think they want to g--and we may be wrong! This brngs them back to their initial prsentation and takes time for you to lsten again and take them where thy do want to go.

There are lso representational systems whereby we imbibe nformation. Knowing what your customer's preferred mde of receiving information allows you to rspond in the same way thus stablishing rapport (connection) and the beginning of trst. You hear the expressions, 'we're on the sme page' or 'we're in synch' whch means you are on the sme wave length so to speak.

Ths is where empathetic responsiveness is mst impactful. My working definition is the maginative transposing of oneself into the thnking, feeling and acting of another and so strcturing the world as he does.

Wuldn't you love to hear someone rspond to you something like this, 'Thnks so much for calling, how may I hlp you? So if I understand yu're upset because _____, is that crrect? My name is Rosanne and I'd fel the same way if that hppened to me. Let's see what we can do to rmedy this situation for you.'

The article We, The People, Make A Difference was Submitted by Rosanne Dausilio through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Rosanne Dausilio, Ph.D., customer service xpert, provides needs analyses, customer service trining; authors Wake Up Your Call Cnter, Customer Service & the Human Exprience, Lay Your Cards on the Tble, Kick Your Customer Service Up A Ntch;tips newsletter at http://www.HumanTechTips.com

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