Understanding People

It’s a simple fact that no matter how hard you try, you can’t please of all the people all of the time. But if you are smart, you can implement policies and use techniques that will help you, and any employees you have, to please most of the people most of time. This skill will translate to good word of mouth and customer experiences that will allow your viral marketing campaigns to be successful.

WHY PLEASE YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Some people will ask why they should try so hard to please every customer. Why not say that resolving their issues or solving their problems is enough, and leave it at that? Well to answer that, here are a few facts that you should keep in mind both pro and con for pleasing customers at any cost:

CON:

• 68% of the customers who quit doing business with a company do so because they don’t feel cared about. Compare this to the 14% who just don’t like the product or service.
• Of the customers who use your product, four out of 100 will be active complainers and will tell at least ten others of their difficulties or problems.
• Of these four complainers, over 90% will stop doing business with the company and tell at least nine others about it.

PRO:

• Of those who are handled correctly, from 80% to 95% will come back and, statistically, may refer as many as five new customers.
• Trying our best to please every customer enhances our outlook on life and makes us more pleasant to deal with.

SO HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS LOFTY GOAL?

First and foremost, you have to know where your customers are coming from. The types of customer attitudes you are likely to see can be broken down into four distinct groups, listed below.

It is important to note that the attitude of the customer in no way reflects upon the personality of the customer or the way we should think about them. A customer is the only reason a business exists, and pleasing them means that you have to like them to come across as friendly and helpful: so remember, as you judge the customer’s emotional state, do not judge the customer at the same time!