From September 1982 to May 1993, NBC aired an award-winning sitcom named Cheers. I know I am aging myself LOL, but Cheers was a bar located in Boston and their theme song said “where everybody knows your name.” I’m not sure if Norm ever had to place an order because they not only knew his name but what he liked.
How does it feel when you walk into or call a business and the staff knows YOUR name? Ryan, the barista at Starbucks, knows my name, AND my typical order.
Does learning and using the customer’s name aid in building a relationship? Absolutely! Does that relationship impact sales performance? Absolutely!
Learning your customer’s name is just the start. Move away from focusing solely on the product and pricing and start learning about the customer and their interests and needs. This is what relationship selling is all about.
According to the 2021 Achieving Customer Amazement report, 75% of Americans are more likely to be loyal to a company or brand that delivers personalized customer service experience. You deliver personalized service, by creating personalized relationships. How do you create personalized relationships? I am glad you asked! Observe, remember, and serve.
Build Customer Relationships by Observing
Observing is part of the discovery process in building a relationship. You pay attention to what the customer likes. Do they have any recurring habits? What does their body language say? A study done several years ago indicates 93% of communication has nothing to do with words, it’s all body language (55%) and tone (37%).
I had a major client in my destination management days that I had developed a great relationship with. I knew where they liked to enjoy dinner every time they came to town. One particular visit, I observed that something was not “quite right.” After dinner the conversation went like this:
Me: Is something wrong, you seemed a little different at dinner?
Him: How did you realize that?
Me: I have paying attention and I know you.
Him: Do you have time to chat?
Me: Of course I do.
Him: Wow, we have been trying to figure out how to have this conversation but you recognizing something was not right makes it so much easier.
At the end of the conversation, we were able to resolve the situation and get back on the same page. He appreciated my observation, my honesty in wanting to deal with it, and it allowed us to have an even stronger relationship which gave me the opportunity to gain MORE business from the company.
Build Customer Relationships by Remembering
Remembering is another key component of enhancing a relationship. For the people in our circle, we remember birthdays, anniversaries, major life moments, and likes/dislikes. We all have CRM’s, and if we don’t we need to get one so we can make notes for our regular and or key customers.
In the book “The Nordstrom Way” sales personnel are encouraged to text, email, or call their individual customers to let them know about clothes or shoes the salesperson believes may be of interest to them. They create relationships by remembering what types of items they have purchased in the past, what types of items they typically like. They remember to remain in constant, individual, and relevant communication.
Build Customer Relationships by Serving
Serving is the last component of building a relationship. Serving is not solely for those who handle food, but it is for those who know it is important to be a resource for your customer. Serving is an attitude that goes a long way in building a relationship because we get away from “that’s not my job”, “that’s not my department”, “that’s not my responsibility” to “what can I do to meet the need.”
When you focus on meeting the needs it bolsters credibility. In “Excellence Wins,” Horst Schulze explains how every employee at Ritz Carlton has a “make sure the guest is happy” budget. If a guest has any type of problem, each employee (no matter the title) is able to fix it right away. This allows them to serve immediately without having to go to a supervisor, manager, GM etc. They are allowed to and trained to serve the guest NOW. That is how we should be all the time. We should have a server’s mentality toward our clients which enhances the relationship.
In a world where competition is extremely high in most industries, how do you separate yourself from the competition? You move from transactional selling to relationship selling. You build relationships where people can trust you and consider you a resource. Completing the transaction is good, but creating a relationship is a differentiator that will improves sales performance and create customer loyalty.
When you create the relationship, you learn valuable information about the person which becomes useful for current and future interactions. You improve your sales performance both short and long term by building relationships and you build relationships by observing, remembering, and serving.
