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How Each Interaction Contributes To Relationship Building

Customer interaction points are your most valuable tool to building strong and profitable relationships. A customer interaction point is any event where your customer considers or comes in contact with your product or service.

1. Components of a customer interaction point. Positive interactions are built around assumptions, experiences, and desired results. Some of the questions to ask at each stage to insure positive relationship growth are,
• Assumptions
1. What assumptions do customers have about products or services? Are these assumptions correct? How can customers have a more accurate picture of what you offer?
2. What does the individual assume they will get out of the interaction in both solution and precedence set by other companies? How can these assumptions be more accurate?
3. What is the agenda of the customer and how does that influence the experience of this individual as they interact with us? How does their agenda differ from that of their company?
• Experiences
1. How does your customer want to be satisfied? What objectives are to be fulfilled at this interaction? What specific purpose does the customer have in mind when entered the interaction?
2. How do you verify the customers experience? Have you fulfilled what the customer assumed they would receive? Did you meet the objectives identified in the beginning of the interaction?
3. How can you extend the customers experience? Is there something you can sell them or educate them that improves what the customer gets? Could this customer refer new business to you?
• Desired Results
1. Is the customer ready for the results they expect? What else does the customer need before the desired results can be achieved? What is our next step to deliver what the customer expects?
2. Did the customer get what they expected? How do you know the customer got what they expected? What processes do you have in place to measure desired results?
3. Have you addressed all the customers assumptions? What else does the customer need to know to correct assumptions? What about their assumptions can be addressed in marketing?
2. Contributing factors to relationship building
• Your objective, their objective. Most companies what to sell more products and services, but is this what your customer wants too. Try to get what you want by giving the customer exactly what they want-- not just in the delivered product, but at each customer interaction point.
• Providing what is expected plus one. You can provide the best service in the world, but customers measure their satisfaction by how well you met their expectations. Develop customer expectations through your marketing materials, past performance, and provide measurements that quantify expectations.
• Consistency in message and outcome. Strong relationships are built on trust and commitment, both of these factors are defined by consistency. Standardize your processes to help customers know what to expect (even tell them what to expect), this reduces dissatisfaction and increases repeat sales.
• Medium independent message. Too many companies blind themselves with a single marketing medium, perhaps even create new materials for each campaign. Test copy across mediums, recycle what works in one medium in another, and appeal to various senses.

Collect information about your buyers that helps you understand where they are interacting with your company, and how you can improve their satisfaction at every point. Your customers want to know what to expect, your understanding of these expectations creates profitable long-term relationships.

Long-term relationships mean increased customer retention, a higher life-time value, and more effective marketing in any medium.

/ earning-trust | interaction-points /

By Justin Hitt at September 8, 2003 11:58 PM  Subscribe in a reader