While communicating with our customers I came across many moments from Aha to Oh shit and learnt few things about customer interaction in the journey so far. Some of the learnings came from peer entrepreneurs and some came from my experiences. Here are my findings —

While communicating with our customers I came across many moments from Aha to Oh shit and learnt few things about customer interaction in the journey so far. Some of the learnings came from peer entrepreneurs and some came from my experiences. Here are my findings —

i) Be open and honest

It can be an awkward truth but your transparency will increase trust of customers towards you. Also how quickly or tactfully you address the situation will impact mindset of your customers. Companies like Buffer is doing an awesome job in this field.

Before we decide how to respond, it’s important that we have the right mindset. Instead of hiding the truth from customers to look good, customers will appreciate the transparency more.

ii) Be grateful for their effort

Regardless of the feedback, it makes sense to thank the customer for the time they took to share their thoughts with you.

According to Dave Chapman of Buffer, “Our customer knows what will help them best, and a feature request helps us stay in tune with what people want, need and expect from Buffer.” Hence, gratitude is the first thing Buffer express when they receive feature requests.

iii) Be courteous, not scripted

The next principle is to pay attention to your tone and language when replying to the customers.

This matters a lot because you don’t want customers to feel like their suggestions have triggered an automated reply and that their suggestions will be going into the void.

iv) Don’t make promises you can’t keep

It is better not to provide a exact a date unless you are certain. Say about product release or a feature add. We all know the impact of broken promises.

v) Don’t interrupt try to understanding your customers

Interrupting your customers will not only upset them, but will limit your ability to communicate effectively. Allow the customer to finish his/her thought before you respond. It not only shows respect, but it will also ensure you truly understand the point the customer is trying to make.

vi) Try to avoid technical jargon

Chances are, your customers have less technical knowledge than you do. Be careful, therefore, when explaining things to them. If you use acronyms, be sure you identify what the acronym means. The same acronym can mean different things. Ask them whether they understand what you’re saying, if necessary.

Like CTA(Call to Action),CTR(Click through rate)- these are technical terms. Make sure they are understanding these terms, otherwise explain.

vii) Find their real need

Many times users asks for many features, which for some reason you cant entertain in exact manner. To avoid miscommunication it is better to ask why do they need that feature, what did they intent to accomplish, and if possible it is wise to get to the use cases to understand the requirement.

viii) Offer workarounds

If you can understand a user’s need you can provide workarounds. Rather than saying it is not possible, we don’t have that it is better to provide workarounds if possible. It helps in getting things done.

ix) Use positive, not negative statements.

Customers want to hear what you can do to help them, rather than what you can’t do. Your customers are more interested in your capabilities than in your limitations. For example, instead of saying, “I can’t help you unless you log off,” consider saying, “Please log off so that I can help you.” By addressing your customers with positive rather than negative statements, you can greatly reduce the number of roadblocks you may encounter.

x) Keep customers updated

If a customer leaves you a request via voicemail or e-mail, let the customer know you received it, even if you are still in the process of handling it. Doing so gives the customer one less matter to worry about.

When a problem is resolved, let the customer know that, too. Nothing is more frustrating to customers than finding out that they could have been working sooner if they had only known.

Recently GitLab

 had tremendous data loss due to database crash, but they were transparent throughout the fixing process, tweeted, wrote articles and kept users updated and at the end of the day received lots of appreciation.

xi) Take feedback

Open feedback: In each of your e-mail newsletter campaigns, ask people to provide their feedback about the content in the newsletter itself or your business in general.

Transactional feedback: After any transaction, you should follow up with the customer to ensure they’ve had a good experience with your product and service.

xii) Listen Actively to your customers

Effective communication starts with being a good listener. Using body language or small phrases, such as nodding your head or saying, “I see” to demonstrates that you are paying attention. If you are with the customer, maintain eye contact. When the customer has finished talking, repeat what you think you heard to ensure you clearly understood their message before you respond. Focusing on what the customer is saying rather than formulating own response helps to understand customer better which in turn helps to provide good service.

Thank you,
Ranit Sanyal