Customers are always right, that is the thing that is crucial about doing business. You might have a design or project where you put your heart and soul in. Working day and night to finish the deliverables, only to hear the customer say it’s bad and start all over again. At Burst we know how this feels, but regardless of that, connecting and responding with your customer is all about getting to know them better and learning what they like or don’t like.
You have to let go
It’s very tempting to argue with the customer about why you think you’re design is nice and shouldn’t be modified. But when the client comes into the room, there is only one voice that counts and that’s his. Maybe as a designer you tend to leash on projects or things that you did for clients because you put so much work in. You start to see big projects as something that’s yours and attach more emotional value to them than the client itself. But at the end of the day, it’s the client’s work and there is not much you can do.
Know your customer
One of the most important things to remember when interacting with your customer is to know who your customer is. You always, always have to be respectful and polite, but what kind of “language” does the customer speak? Is it more formal or informal? In general, responding in a wise manner/ language that they prefer is ideal to create even stronger trust between you and the customer. Besides using their way of speaking makes them comfortable and at ease, it’s also a good way to make them feel like they’re not at work.
Use the 3 S’s
There is also a simple rule in which you can respond to your customer using the 3 S’s;
- Simple
- Short
- Specific
When the customer comes with a question make it simple and easy to understand. This will not only save you time and avoid you from explaining it again but also help customers comprehend your message. Make every question as short as possible, depending on how much you communicate with your client Don’t ask a lot of complex questions at once. If you keep your questions specific and focus on one problem at a time you the customer will be grateful to avoid making them vague and difficult to understand.
No one-size-fits-all approach
There are dozens of things like ease, speed, and knowledgeable assistance that play a major role when interacting with the customer. The key is to make every single interaction personal and have genuine empathy for the customer. Your business needs to have emphaty. Understand how the customer feels, what makes them upset, what they value. It takes the relationships to the next level and comes a long way. At Burst we make our clients feel like individuals and not just a bunch of people we have to please or make it a “us vs them” story. It’s one table, one team. So it’s a necessity for every business when interacting with your customer to cater to this.
