CLIENT SERVICE
In Business Too,
‘Love’ Is The Strategy
To Win
By Denis Mbau
O
ver the years, the way of conducting business and
marketing has constantly evolved. The opening up
of markets has ensured that competition for clients’
attention and breeding customer loyalty is the order of the day.
Companies have been spending heavily on Research and
Development, emotional appeal, PR and branding in efforts
to understand their clients and keep abreast with their ever-
changing needs. Nowadays, the average customer is exposed
to thousands of advertisements per day, with everyone
jostling for a market share. With the advent use and spread
of technology, business transactions have become more of
relationships. Brands have learned the need to be in constant
communication with clients while engaging in extensive
customer care around the clock. This is all to enhance the top
of mind brand awareness. An example is the banking industry,
which has been greatly disrupted by technology. Studies
show that what makes a client loyal to a certain brand is not
necessarily how good it is but how well the brand treats them.
communication in customer relationships. Get to find out the
customer needs, pains as well as how your product can be the solution.
If there is a problem, be proactive and communicate beforehand
to avoid reputation damage.Secondly, exceed expectations. Do not
just offer the basics. Add value to your products to impress clients
and keep them coming back. For example, deliver on time and
maybe for free if possible.Third, ask for feedback. Whether negative
or positive, respond promptly as it will help you improve on your
value offering. After this, ensure that you implement some of their
recommendations, which reinforces their trust in your brand.
Lastly, show appreciation to your clients. However, do not wait
for Customer Service Week in October to show this like some
lovers who only show appreciation on Valentines’ Day. Come up
with creative reward or loyalty programs, personalized gifts and
gift cards.
Employees too need love
It is therefore of utmost importance to ensure that your brand
connects with the customers. With these connections, you are
able to learn their needs while enjoying the benefits of referrals
and customer loyalty. This comes in handy mostly for SMEs
who with their smaller customer base can be able to create
rapport with the customer base at a very personal level. This is
the tactical advantage that they have over big businesses. The idea of showing compassion and elevating people does not
only work in the growing and maintaining a client base, but also
plays a key role in employee retention. Employees who are your
number one brand ambassadors want to work in a place where they
feel appreciated for what they do. Long ago, people would stay in a
position for many years because jobs were few and getting to know
of existing opportunities vacancies was hard.
In his book ‘Love is the Killer App’, former Yahoo CEO Tim
Sanders reiterates the importance of love in business as the
pivotal quality of winning business and influencing people. He
defines love as the sharing of three key business intangibles,
which are knowledge, networks and compassion. He says
that "Those of us who use love as a point of differentiation in
business will separate ourselves from our competitors just as
world-class distance runners separate themselves from the rest
of the pack trailing behind them." Milton Mayeroff defines
love as "the selfless promotion of the growth of the other." Currently, technology has made it easy to find jobs openings
whether at the touch of a button or the swipe of a finger. It is also
said that employees do not quit their jobs but their bosses, hence
bringing in the aspect of building work relationships with staff to
ensure that they deliver to their very best is crucial.
Mike Kappel, a serial entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO
of Patriot Software Company proposes four ways to develop
customer relationships and keep them engaged in the brand.
First is to ensure constant communication. Just the way it
is important to open channels of communication with your
spouse, it is also essential to open and maintain channels of
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Just like a spouse will only stay in a relationship if they are
celebrated and appreciated, customers and employees will only
stick around if they feel that the value they give is acknowledged,
there is room for growth and are engaged in the overall direction
of the organization.
Denis Mbau is Communications Consultant working with
Invest In Africa-Kenya. You can engage him on this or
related matters via mail at: [email protected].