Before we can build stronger emotional bonds with our customers, we must begin to recognize and understand emotions in ourselves and in others.  One great way to begin doing this is to study body language.  Search out a book such as How to Mind-Read Your Customers by David P. Snyder or You Say More Than You Think by Janine Driver.  It is only after you become keenly aware of all the emotions you and your customer may be feeling that you can begin to address them appropriately.

As Barlow and Maul state, the above finding by Cathay Pacific is an amazing one, and a potential game-changer for many businesses.  Ask yourself - what can your company (as a group) and you (as an individual) be doing to build stronger emotional bonds with your customers?  Stay tuned to for next week's tip to learn more.

After repeating the same task (such as making a hotel reservation) many times a day, it is easy to lose perspective and assume that everything you are doing is completely obvious.  But for your customer, this is the first time he's been through this type of encounter in a while, and it may be the first time ever.  Remind yourself of this fact and put yourself in your customer's shoes - your customer can't see what you're doing.  Ease the process by explaining what you are doing as you go (keep things general - no need to get into technicalities).  This has the added benefit of showing your sincere desire to be of assistance.

• A high chair and extra napkins already at the table when a family with small children sits down.

• Extra napkins to go with finger food.

• Two forks with a single dessert order.

On the lodging side, we see effective anticipation in the following ways:

• When an alert front desk assistant calls housekeeping for a delivery of extra towels to a room where a large family has just checked in.

• When the front desk service provider makes sure he or she is well stocked with a variety of personal toiletry items that guests often forget.

Skillful anticipation comes from being sensitive to such indicators as group size, customer age, how customers are dressed, what customers have said, as well as their body language and tone of voice.  Each of these possible indicators becomes an anticipation cue.  Reading them carefully and accurately allows service providers to remain one step ahead of their customers.

- William B. Martin, Providing Quality Service

Anticipation of needs is the most crucial component in taking an otherwise satisfactory service encounter and turning it into something truly remarkable and memorable.  While this anticipation should be customized to the unique indicators any one customer is showing you, you can still plan ahead by brainstorming common customer situations.  Try making a list of 30 common customer situations, then come up with at least 3 ways to be proactive and anticipate needs for each.  Repeat this process frequently to build up your toolbox and to also make you more able to notice anticipation cues and react to them instantly.

Your mission is to norm at least three completely different "types" of people.  Look for at least one of each of the following types: shy, powerful/confident, and arrogant/aggressive.  In a notebook, draw a stick figure of each of the people you are norming.  Now use a Head/Shoulders/Knees/Toes model to scan each.  Write a short observation next to the corresponding areas of the body (such as, "head back, nose slightly up, shoulders slumped forward, hip tilted to the left side, hands on hips, feet two feet apart").  Allow yourself to write with plenty of detail, but limit yourself to two to ten minute of observation for each person.  Once you've done this exercise on paper today, continue throughout the week without writing it down.  Practice this exercise often enough and you'll start doing it automatically-which is the goal.

- Janine Driver, You Say More Than You Think

There are two skills necessary for utilizing body language techniques in your work - being able to observe body language and being able to demonstrate positive body language.  Today's tip is an activity to help you with the former: you can become successful at observing body language only by practicing it as you would any other skill.  While you're completing your observations, ask yourself questions about what emotion/trait each particular piece of body language seems to be showing to you.

There are many sayings about the dangers of assumptions, and those proverbs are just as true in terms of customer service and sales as they are for any facet of our lives.  Sometimes, we make assumptions about our customers because we want to be proactive - we want to help quickly and efficiently.  But we have to weight that desire with the potential to make a mess of things with an incorrect assumption.  Instead, ask a question.  You can preface it with something like, "I want to make certain I fully understand..."  Doing so will also prevent you from using phrases like, "I'm not sure if you have seen our website...," or, "I don't know if you have stayed here before, but we offer..."  These phrases inadvertently highlight if we haven't taken the time to discover the customer's details.  Instead of using one of those phrases, pause, ask a question, then customize your response based on the customer's answer.  The minuscule extra amount of time you spent asking the question will be well worth it.

On the surface, customers may complain that their newly purchased blue jeans shrank or the color ran and ruined a load of white clothing.  At a deeper level, customers are giving the store where they bought the item the opportunity to respond so they will continue buying more clothing from that business.

On the surface, customers may complain to the grocer that the turkey they purchased did not contain any giblets, which they discovered only on Thanksgiving Day itself, when the store was closed.  At a deeper level, customers are wondering whether the grocer will take their word for it and how the store will compensate them for this disappointment.

On the surface, customers let their insurance agents know in no uncertain terms that when they call the insurance company to ask a simple question, their calls are not returned for days.  At a deeper level, customers are warning their agents that they may look at a competitor when their policy comes up for renewal.
What do you suppose most service representatives hear-the surface complaint or the deeper message?

- Janelle Barlow and Claus Møller, A Complaint is a Gift

It seems to be human nature that most of us hear complaints and become defensive, which means we never end up hearing the deeper message.  But if we prevent that reaction from happening (or overcome it) by thinking about complaints differently, we can make the most out of these complaints that come in to our company.  When we take the opportunity to turn a customer's experience around from a negative into a positive, we not only regain that customer, but usually that customer comes back to us more loyal than before.  This is why we think of complaints as gifts.

ProSolutions can help you and your team "unwrap" these gifts and build customer loyalty.  Click here to learn more about our services.

First, try practicing this concept: what other examples can you think of, like that of the candles, where an identical product (or one with a very small difference) can have a significantly greater value because of the impact the product is perceived to have?

Sample: A plain personal thermometer versus one with a picture of a cartoon character that is marketed to make children more relaxed while taking their temperature.  They both meet the same physical need, but the second one appeals to the emotional needs of parents.

Now, ask yourself: how does this apply to my business?  What could I be doing to either make my products/services have more value to my customers or to highlight the value they already have?

The message from Lee Cockerell is simple: don't just talk about being inclusive, then check it off the list.  Inclusion is so important and has such a powerful effect on your entire team that serious effort needs to be devoted to making each employee feel respected and valued as an individual.  The big question is the "how."  Ask yourself: how can we do this at our company?  How does everyone want to participate in the workings of the company and share opinions?  If you are a manager, consider that a management team determining an inclusion policy without consulting employees of all levels on what this policy should look like is the opposite of inclusion.  If you're not in a management position, ask yourself how you can make the most of the inclusion that is available to you.  Are you looking for areas of improvement for your company and making solid suggestions?

It seems that each week another article is coming out in the medical journals explaining the risks of stress - weight gain, heart attacks, shortened life span.  Managing and minimizing your stress levels is clearly a vital step towards living the healthiest life you can.

Stress also plays a huge role in how you interact with the people around you, whether you are at work or at home.  Stress can prevent you from feeling empathy, it can make you defensive, and it can make you rush through an interaction when you should be taking your time.  If you want to give better customer service and build better relationships, actively practice ways to keep stress at bay.