My recent interactions with three companies were nothing but Mini Masterclasses for free.
Let me explain. The first one was a nut company. A company that sells nuts & dry fruits for a premium.
The premium is to make you think that their products are of high quality.
Like everyone else, I too equate high prices with high quality.
That’s not true always.
Sometimes, it’s the opposite. What an irony.
So, I called the company. It was the customer care number. To my shock, the founder herself answered the phone.
She must have listened to me for a minute and then she started talking. Then, I did shut my mouth.
After she finished, I spoke a few words. But the moment I started talking, she again interrupted and started talking without listening to what I am saying. This is a new trend.
The second one was an elevator company.
Often the elevators in our apartment had problems. I complained to the Electrical Inspectorate.
The inspector visited and checked everything and then finally said “Kannan, there won’t be any problem henceforth”. I said ok.
After a few days, the problems surfaced again.
I spoke to the BM of that elevator company.
He too did the same thing. While I spoke he spoke too. I mean at the same time.
Moreover, he was truly unprofessional.
In between whenever he listened to me for a few seconds, he did say “hmm” several times probably trying to belittle me.
Then there was another company that I called recently.
We bought a mixer grinder and had to call them to get the warranty registered.
I was simply shocked.
The lady who picked up the phone spoke well.
What’s this?
I can’t believe it at all.
She asked me to send them a copy of the invoice.
She listened patiently before speaking. Am I dreaming or is this reality? I couldn’t believe it for a moment.
The language she used was simple and had no mistakes.
She once again explained the steps in detail. This was phenomenal.
I followed the steps. After a few days, I received a reply from them with my warranty details. Can’t make it any better.
While the first two were mini masterclasses on what not to do, the last one was a mini masterclass on what to do and how to do that.
Getting customers is a big task. Once you have achieved that you should retain them.
Retaining them is cheaper than getting new customers.
While you should get new customers for growth, it is imperative that you retain the old ones as well.
Sometime in the future, you can narrate the stories of how you solved the problems for customers x, y, and z.
They will also appreciate that you genuinely did put in your efforts and resolved the problems for them. And the new prospects will get inspired to take action.
My friend says I am a good storyteller. Maybe he has not had the chance to meet better storytellers yet. That’s the truth.
Your customers are like that too. Take good care of them. Retain them.
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Happy Selling!
#b2bsales #customercare #listen #customerexperience #kkrocks
