are feelings profitable. . .

What is the most valuable gift you can give anyone? A gift that doesn’t require you opening your wallet or purse? A gift that makes them - and probably you - feel good?

It’s the gift of genuine interest. When you show interest by asking someone about them; their thoughts; their opinions; their interests; you make them feel important. And everyone likes to feel important.

Dale Carnegie’s world-famous book ‘How To Win Friends and Influence People’, published in 1915, clearly explained this principle.

• He told us people didn’t like being taken for granted.
• He told us people like to talk about themselves and their interests.
• He told us people like people who listen properly to what they’ve got to say.
• He told us people like to feel important - that what they say or do matters! (I think that is why social websites and forums are so popular; it gives people a chance to vent their feelings and share their opinions).

And what he said still holds true today.

It’s the foundation of any relationship - whether business or personal (remember people buy from people). And if you don’t have a strong relationship with your customers then you risk losing them.

And of course when a customer leaves, you lose the potential profit you would have gained from any future business with them.

How Many Customers Leave Because of Hurt Feelings?

I recall hearing at a motivational seminar that the greatest proportion of customers leaving a company do so because of indifference; effectively the company ‘hurt their feelings’ in some way. I daresay you’ve heard that as well.

I couldn’t remember the reasons and percentages for why customers change their supplier, so I Googled to see what came up:

Cease Trading / Die…………………………..1%
Move Away…………………………………….3%
Influenced by Others…………………………5%
Attracted to Competition…………………….9%
Dissatisfaction with Product/Service………14%
Indifference from Company………………….68%

I don’t know how accurate these figures are; they are supposedly the result of a survey held by the American Society for Quality Control back in the early 1980s. But even if the true figure is half of the 68% quoted that is way too much, isn’t it?

Good quality customer service goes some way towards minimising that feeling of indifference, but these days that really is not enough.

So, is your customer important enough to listen to? Do you value their opinion? Do you actually take the time to ask them?

Do you have a system in place that allows your customers to give you crucial feedback? And when you get the feedback do you acknowledge it and show your appreciation?

It’s all part of creating rapport isn’t it? But I wonder if sometimes we forget - or are too busy - to keep that connection going.

So, what do you do to make your customers and prospects feel good?

Share your ideas and thoughts - I’d love to discover tips on relationship building I haven’t thought of or come across before… click the comment link below and tell about good - and bad - experiences you have had with companies you’ve dealt with and how it impacted on you.

~ Carol Bentley