Relationships Suck!

They hurt. They betray. They beat you down

They also support. They Love. They lift you up.

Customer Service is built on relationships.

How do we build relationships in a culture that isn't naturally inclined towards having a long-term relationship?

There are serious deficiencies on our North American culture at the moment.

We don't know what long term relationships look like.

As I child, I went to the same church for almost 23 years.

My pastor would tell me that relationship looks a lot like compromise.

I had people that I loved in that small 120 person community.

I also had people that I couldn't stand.

They forced me to grow up.

When there were only 40 people between the ages of 6-18 in the community, you had to learn what community looks like.

You don't get to avoid people you don't like.

You have to live with them.

Especially if those people are clients paying you for a product or a service.

You learn how to live with them.

I have been noticing that we have been missing this commitment in North American culture.

We are looking for a hook-up culture in business.

That transactional one-and-done situation where I got what I need, I paid for it, now we go our separate ways.

Business is cannot survive if treated like a hook-up!

When a client is coming to you, they want a friend.

"You're a business, you can't be a friend!"

You can and you must!

You have to be in a relationship with your clients if you want customer retention.

Ever wonder why your clients don't stick around? Why they only buy once and then leave? Why your clients who complain don't ever purchase from you again?

Every complaint is a gift!

How you handle that complaint will tell that customer everything they need to know about you.

Whether they want a relationship with your company or not.

When you go out of your way to make somebody who complained to you happy, then you are showing them that you aren't afraid of commitment.

When you include them in a dialogue to solve their complaint, you aren't scared of communication.

You become the hunk that they want to come back to constantly.

They will tell their friends about how they met this company that went out of their way to show them that they care.

Who do you think they will come back to when they are looking for something?

You.

That's who.

It takes between 5-25 times more money to get a new customer than keep your old customers.

As the old country song says, "It's cheaper to keep her."

Stay in that long term relationship with your clients.

If you want to know more about this, feel free to message me I would love to have a conversation about this with you. If you are looking to make a change on your customer service team to more of a relationship type of service, I can help!