There is a reason why popular brands are popular and a reason why you will eat something that was prepared by a total stranger: trust. There are many ways to create a feeling of trust including being well known, being referred to by someone else who is trusted, or even by simply being able to relate to someone in a way that is mutually understood.
A natural disaster brings total strangers together because those strangers can both appreciate life. They both understand what each other is going through and they realize they are going through it together. Even something as simple as the electricity going out can make an entire neighborhood feel closer and bring neighbors together. Mutual understanding brings people together and helps create a sense of trust, even if that trust simply means you both understand what it’s like not being able to watch TV or use the computer.
So what does trust have to do with selling? Everything! If given contradicting advice from a friend we trust and from a total stranger, who would we be most likely to trust? Our brain works by using reason to determine which is the better choice. Obviously, our brain will whichever is more trustworthy.
I’ve never studied marketing and I’ve never been a salesman, but I do observe things very closely and pick out patterns rather quickly. Advertisements in magazines, TV and radio commercials, and yes even salesmen, all do the same thing: they try to make you believe that they understand you and that they know what you need and want. All of this is done to indirectly gain trust from your brains and make you feel comfortable giving them your hard earned money.
Understanding the importance of trust behind sales and marketing is key to understanding the importance of customer service within a company. There is no better method of advertising than to be referred by an existing customer. We already saw that a recommendation from a friend trumps any advertisement, so it’s easy to see how a referral from a friend is the most important advertising tool for a business.
So, how do you increase the chances that your customer will refer you to those whom they trust (and who, in return, trust their opinion)? You give your existing customers a reason to come back; a reason to recommend your services (or products) over someone else’s, regardless of whether your products or services are more expensive. This means you need to treat your existing customers as being more important than new customers. After all, a very satisfied existing customer has the potential for awesome advertising power in that if they refer your product or service to a friend, the chances of that friend becoming a new customer of yours is very, very good.
The problem with most businesses is that they think of sales and customer service as two separate departments, totally unrelated to each other. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, an excellent customer service department has more potential to bring new customers to the business than catalogs than advertisements put together, and all without spending a penny extra.
So, how do I know all this if I have no “marketing” experience? Well, for the past few years I’ve been running a business that has enormous competition. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people selling the exact same service as me, with fancier looking sites, more advertising, and much better prices. And yet, I have people coming to me for service. They are leaving my competition for one reason: I provide excellent customer service.
One of the biggest reasons I can provide excellent customer service is because I have the skills, the knowledge, and the tools necessary to know what I’m doing and how to get it done. If something goes wrong, I know how to fix it. I don’t need to make excuses or lie to my customers in an attempt to give them impression that everything is under control.
I have discovered this same “service-is-money” effect while being a landlord for the past 6 years. Tenants really appreciate a landlord who cares about the property and cares about their wellbeing. Developing a relationship with a good tenant is extremely important. As a landlord, I’m providing a place for someone to live; the least I can do is make the tenant comfortable. Too many landlords think of themselves as kings with tenants as their slaves from whom they need to collect money.
Good customer service makes happy customers. Happy customers mean more money for the business. More money for the business means happier owners and happier owners with more money can pass on those extra profits to their employees, which makes happy employees. Everyone is happy and everyone is making more money.
Customer service is often thought of as a necessary evil; something that is necessary because customers exist. The direction of the company is constantly focused on ways to attract new customers without putting enough value on the advertising power of their existing customers, and the importance of keeping those customers happy. In fact, if a business can sell something without needing to deal with customer service, they consider it the best way to make money.
In reality, a strong and loyal customer base insures the longevity of a business. For this reason, the majority of a company’s attention should be put towards existing customers while only a small percentage is focused on sales and gaining new customers.
Unfortunately, that statement is probably considered blasphemy to many businesses, which results in unhappy customers, stressed owners, stressed employees, and less profit and happiness for everyone.
Take Customer Service seriously. If he were a person, he would be your top salesman.
