This post marks the 2nd of many where we will break down customer success best practices into actionable scenarios and takeaways that even Dale Carnegie would approve of creating customer champions.
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion. It is this insight from Mr. Carnegie that we must never forget when interacting with anyone, anywhere.
We’ve dug deeper into Mr. Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People and picked out 3 more steps to help you create customer champions. Here’s a link to the 3 first steps in case you missed it!
Creating Customer Champions: 3 More Steps Approved By Dale Carnegie and Backed By Science
1. Become genuinely interested in other people
When Mr. Carnegie was 5 years old his father bought him a little yellow-haired pup for 50 cents. Tippy was the pup’s name and he was the light and joy of Mr. Carnegie’s childhood. Tippy was up to the task of being the light and joy of Mr. Carnegie’s childhood not because he read self-help books or knew anything about child psychology. Instead it was because every time Tippy heard Dale’s voice or saw him out swinging his dinner pail, Tippy would take off like a rocket to join Dale in utmost excitement. It was Tippy’s excitement and warmth for the young Carnegie that made this inseparable mark on his childhood.
It is proven that 70% of the buying experience is based on how the customer feels they’re being treated. We’ve all been customers of products and services many times in our lives. The best customer success professionals know to empathize and develop true interest in their customers concerns and needs. They are able to tap into how the customer feels they are being treated and show them that they are focused on their success. The ability to do this separates an average experience from one that is above and beyond and will create not just a customer champion, but also a friend.
From the master himself: You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
2. Smile
Facial expressions transmit packets of emotions to people on the receiving end. These packets can contain a plethora of information based on a person’s mood. Smiling, one of the easiest and contagious packets, requires less effort and energy than frowning. And, ultimately, will leave you and those around you in a positive mood.
Dale notes in his book some insights about smiling from Professor James V. McConnell, a psychologist at the University of Michigan. McConnell offers his insight about the science of smiling, “People who smile,” he said, “tend to manage teach and sell more effectively, and to raise happier children. There’s far more information in a smile than a frown. That’s why encouragement is a much more effective teaching device than punishment.”
Researchers have proven that when you smile that at least 50% of those around you will respond with a smile as well! It’s like an instant mood booster for yourself and those around you. When dealing with customers always make sure to greet and converse with a heart-warming smile. No matter how their day has been seeing your smile can make a difference in improving their well being and building a trusting friendship. :D
3. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves
It did not require Mr. Carnegie to be a human encyclopedia to be a master conversationalist. All it took was for him to realize that a person’s toothache means more to that person than a famine on the other side of the world.
People who talk only of themselves think only of themselves. And “those people who think only of themselves,” Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, longtime president of Columbia University, said, “are hopelessly uneducated. They are not educated…No matter how instructed they may be.” So if you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting — be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.
When working with your customers keep in mind that 55% of the meaning in our words is derived from facial expressions, 38% is in how the words are spoken, and 7% is in the actual words spoken. The science behind listening shows us that we need to make every effort when conversing, from our body language to the words we choose, to show the other person has our undivided attention. When you give your customer your undivided attention and genuine interest, you create a customer champion and friend.
Have any other ideas of how Mr. Carnegie’s principles could influence a successful customer relation experience? Care to share your own examples of when a company went above and beyond or when you did for a customer? I’d love to hear your stories or thoughts either in the comments section below or give me a shout on Twitter (@trevormills13). Don’t forget to ruff at Maven also (@TrackMaven)!