You're a Relationship Building professional. How can you best serve your customers?

1. Good communication is key at all stages. 2. Understanding their needs and motivations to achieve the best outcome for all. 3. Follow up afterwards to see how everything is going and make sure everyone is satisfied.

To understand your customer, you need to be in their shoes for once practically to understand their pain point. That will help to design a solutions to offer to them that can cater for their needs. You can create a survey and use the responses from there to collate action points to serve them better. That may warrant you to restructure, review or re-evaluate your price, products or model of operation. The satisfied customers are the ones that would get locked in your brand. So build a quality relationship with them.

First and foremost, commit to being transparent. You must establish trust and come to common ground on what’s in it for both sides. Ask questions and listen; don’t just throw sales lingo at them. Explain that you want to understand what challenges them to see if you can mirror up a solution to help solve their pain points. Become a trusted advisor and that trust will build a strong relationship and may even create a lasting friendship. Success then follows.

Always be asking and listening! Everything changes and grows, so you need to be always learning how everything impacts them and their direction.

In my experience there is always 2 common traits when successfully building relationships. Listening is the first and one of the most crucial and overlooked skills, everybody likes to talk but the successful listen and take notes. As Epictetus once said 'We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak'. The second is having empathy, try and put yourself in the other parties shoes and appreciate what they are looking for/interested in. This will be a great tool assisting you in finding a solution for whatever challenge they may have.

In my perception, Effective communication is the heartbeat of exceptional customer service. It's not just about conveying information; it's a personalized dialogue. Imagine addressing customers as unique individuals with distinct preferences. The tone becomes crucial — a balance between professionalism and warmth. Strategic timing matters; it's about reaching out when it matters most. Listening is key; surveys and feedback mechanisms transform customers into engaged partners. Tools like email marketing and chatbots are enablers, crafting experiences, not just delivering messages. It's a dance, not a monologue Mastering this art builds not just rapport but a narrative of mutual understanding and shared success.

Effective communication starts with active listening. In a world full of noise, it is often difficult for us to listen and listen well. Another thing to consider is often the best of communications could fall on deaf ears. When you communicate, follow up to ensure the communication has been heard and understood. However much you customize written communication, it can come across flat or get buried. Follow up will ensure communication has been received and absorbed.

Research is your friend here. It will help you understand the most effective ways to reach and engage your audience. Remember to establish a cadence so the end customer knows where and when to find your messaging.

All the marketing and communication channels that are a part of your brand strategy should be used to share your message - every touchpoint with a current or potential customer is a lead generation tool, use it well. Press, Industry forums, brand activations and advertising are all forms of communication with the customer. Customer service is another area to consider because many customers will come back for repeat business (or not) solely based on how you treat them during service calls.

Dealing with your customers as transparently as possible lays a foundation for long term trust and success. Transparency on both sides allows for infinitely more effective planning and conflict resolution.

Customers are best served with empathy. Empathetic relationship managers and service providers actually stand in their customers' shoes. They know their pain and share it. They listen attentively, act proactively and exceed expectations. Their attitude fosters trust and loyalty, as clients feel understood and valued. Beyond addressing immediate concerns, empathetic interactions are in my opinion the cornerstone to building long-term relationships.

A Wise old bird sitting in an oak. The more he saw the less he spoke The less he spoke the more he heard. Be like that wise old Bird

Problem solving is one of the most important skills. You can identify the problem and communicate with your customer to calm them down, but nothing would help them unless you come up with a solution to their problem. The solution needs to be effective and efficient. It should work as per customer's expectations and at the same time it should be quick. The longer it takes the more the customer's frustration. There needs to be a proper FAQ bank with sufficient documentation which would be helpful to the customers as a first step. Also, there should be a defined procedure to report any issues conveniently. These should be taken up as per priority and resolved as quickly as possible.

Develop a “win-win” solution for the customer and your company. By doing so, you will earn your customer’s trust not only in the present, but in the future.

I believe that great listening skills are expedient in solving problems efficiently. Learn the act of paying rapt attention to the issues of customers. While listening, show genuine empathy for their plight and respond in a manner that exudes social and emotional intelligence, while assuring the customer that the issue would be resolved. For an issue that is not handled on first point resolution, it is essential to keep the customer updated until it has been resolved, and apologize for inconveniences experienced. If the customer was quite irate from the beginning, you can offer them any available product or service discounts, after informing them their issue has been resolved, just to encourage customer retention.

Give and expect nothing. The more you add value without expecting anything in return, the more you will build a customer base of people who truly value you.

Business relationships are not sustained on the back of stories about pets. Business relationships require value. If you're not providing value, you don't have a relationship.

Adding value can come in the form of a referral partnership. Your client entrusted you with their business and may now refer you to their friends and associates if they benefited from and enjoyed working with you. So think of ways to direct a new client back to them when the appropriate opportunity presents itself. This can become a win-win all around.

Being open to feedback is important to show your client that you are listening to them and you care, but beyond that there is giving back- such as insight/advice, sharing market intel you find and even just being a listening ear. Like any relationship, communication goes both ways. Being sincere, open and willing to give your time shows how much you value them as a client.

To serve customers better, always provide something extra beyond your main product or service, like discounts or rewards, to show appreciation. This boosts customer loyalty, creates positive word-of-mouth, and gives you a competitive edge

Adding value by being a subject matter expert in your niche area and provide your customers with relevant information, resources, simplify what is difficult and always be empathetic and understand.

Asking for feedback is fundamental for healthy customers - it provides valuable insights into customer satisfaction (CSAT), helping businesses understand what they're doing well and where improvements are needed/required (stagnation=loss). This information allows companies to enhance their products or services, address concerns, and ultimately build stronger relationships with their customers. Several tools can be used to collect feedback from customers, including: Surveys: SurveyMonkey or Google Forms. NPS tools (promoter.io) Keep track of socials with Hootsuite or Sprout Social. Utilize customer support tools like Zendesk or Gorgias Tools like Intercom or Drift offer live chat capabilities, allowing immediate feedback

Para buscar feedback eficaz de forma regular, eu sugiro: 1) Estabele?a canais abertos e acolhedores para opini?es. N?o seja defensiva! Escute, anote, depois ofere?a uma devolutiva e valide-a! 2) Incentive a honestidade com perguntas específicas. Fica melhor para seu cliente ou fornecedor. 3) Aja sobre o feedback para mostrar valoriza??o e melhoria contínua, validando, como comentei acima! Boa sorte! ??

Timely communication is the key; only then can you consistently exceed their expectations and add tangible value to their experiences of your service.

Empresa que n?o escuta n?o evolui. E essa premissa vale para o público externo e interno. Você pode extrair esses dados a partir do engajamento com os seus conteúdos (ver insights nas plataformas), atendimentos realizados (de novo, no ZenDesk você consegue fazer isso), pesquisas de opini?o (como o NPS no fim do atendimento), pesquisas formuladas pela empresa e, claro, conversas com os clientes (essa, lhe dará dados qualitativos). Vai, comece a implementar alguma dessas a??es :)

Understand that if your offering is truly valuable to the client this will be the start of a longer-term, sustainable relationship. Follow up to understand the impact your product had on their business before pushing to extend the sale. Listen to feedback, tweak the offering and build the case for long-term partnership.

Be empathetic --- to their experiences, frustrations, challenges. Journey with them from square one, and understand where they are coming from. Putting yourself in their shoes and sincerely empathizing with them builds trust.

Uma das frases que mais ouvimos quando tratamos com clientes é : "O cliente tem sempre raz?o", eu sempre questionei isso, até porque também sou cliente em alguns momentos, e nem sempre estou certo. Ent?o depois de alguns anos de mercado entendi que: "O cliente é a raz?o", a partir desse entendimento podemos ouvi-los , entender suas necessidades e sugerir o melhor caminho dentro da capacidade de nossas organiza??es e criar um relacionamento sincero e construtivo.

Acompanhamento, faz toda diferen?a no atendimento e já vivenciei isso na Vida Simples. Conversou e encontrou um problema? Primeiro, resolva. Depois, pergunte se o problema foi resolvido, se deu tudo certo, se ele precisa de mais alguma coisa. Isso mostra uma aten??o por parte da empresa e, garanto, fortalecerá seu vínculo com o cliente.

O que de fato faz toda a diferen?a no relacionamento com cliente é a verdadeira escuta Ativa e a Transparência. As vezes nas rela??es comerciais as empresas costumam achar que oferecer produtos ou servi?os a mais que os clientes pedem, é algo positivo, porém essa prática só é positiva se o que vc está oferecendo condiz com a real necessidade do cliente e objetivo dele e n?o com o que vc entende que agrega. A transparência e postura consultiva, cria e estabelece relacionamentos duradouros com clientes.

In my experience, we often miss what customers aren’t saying about our services or products. They are either apathetic, or don’t trust us. Pay more attention to what is not being said and figure out why that is and then lean in with curiosity to get to the bottom of it!

Understand the vacuum created by an incumbent provider, shortfalls being faced by them in their product/ service objective and lastly, honour your commitment towards delivery once you’ve nailed the above.

Don't stop being curious. And don't assume your customers know EVERYTHING about their use of your product(s). ?? Bring thoughtful, and interesting questions that encourage your customer to open up more. People like talking about their stuff, but you have to ask the right question. ?? Be prepared to educate your customers. If you know your stuff, and understand your customer's business, you can provide specific ideas that will lead to positive growth for your customer (which ultimately benefits the company you work for- it's a win-win). ?? Overall, the customers are very smart. They want to be shown that you know them well enough to consult on their business. ?? All good relationships begin with trust and transparency. ??

Active listening is another tool for a successful relationship building professional. You need not only to be able to “hear” customer, but actually fully concentrate on, process, understand, and respond to what they have to say. This fosters a more respectful communication environment and better supports the value that you provide.

Quando estiver estressado (acontece, somos humanos), evite atender um cliente. Dê uma pausa e volte depois que estiver mais tranquilo, assim você n?o corre o risco de passar o seu estresse para o atendimento. Um cliente te irritou (acontece, somos humanos de novo, rs). Fa?a a mesma se for possível e, se n?o for, lembre-se: está acontecendo algo com ele e ele está descontando em você. N?O LEVE PARA O PESSOAL ?????? Esse era meu mantra no atendimento, rs.