Complicated people and what you should do

It is important we understand that, people are complicated and as such, you should make it work to your advantage. Every single one of your customers is an individual with their own backgrounds, experiences, issues and mindsets whether permanent or situation-based.

Whatever emotional or behavioral peculiarities these people come with, you can bet that something completely outside of your control is the cause you can only affect what comes next.

Sounds scary? It is.

Here’s what you can do to understand your customers better, nudge them in the right direction and make them feel good about themselves and your company.

Understand That Being Important Is Important

Esteem, right up there in the Maslow’s heirarchy of needs  theory pyramid, presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others.

A little ego boost has a myriad of positive psychological effects, and even simple compliments and a little bit of special treatment can go a long way in making someone feel good about themselves.

The easiest way to make your customers feel important and valued is to give your undivided attention to every one you communicate with, no matter how “important” the communication may be.

Putting in a little bit of effort to caress your customer’s ego can go a long way in regards to how they feel about your company.

Leave Aside Your Fight or Flight Mode

In angry customer situations (or any interpersonal exchange, really), the first reaction is usually the first thing that goes wrong. When someone attacks, we intuitively shoot into stress and defense mode — fight or flight.

It’s easy to get defensive, however that sort of mindset is not going to help calm you or your customer down under stressful circumstances.

The key to letting go of that completely natural, but dangerous first reaction is understanding what’s causing the stress in this case, it’s the fear of not being able to fix the situation.

Learn to Understand Anger

Instead of focusing on just the fact that someone is angry, try to figure out why they are angry.

People don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say, so it may take some work on your end to read between the lines and find the source of a customer’s anger. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What caused the anger?
• Were they ignored, insulted, or treated unfairly in any way?
• Do they have unmet expectations when it comes to your product or service?

Learning to put yourself in the other person’s shoes is a crucial skill to learn.

Use Names (Theirs and Yours)

Starting each email by addressing your customer by name (and for the love of everything, make sure you spell it correctly) doesn’t just make you sound more respectful and polite; it actually makes the customer happy to hear it:

A person’s name is to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in any language.

Besides using your customers’ names, using yours is just as important. By introducing yourself to the customer, you make things personal and begin to frame the interaction as one between people, versus one between a customer and a business.

Understand the Power of an Apology

There’s one single word that’s absolutely necessary for your entire team to use during a crisis.

That word is “sorry.”

But you have to mean it. No one likes to hear an empty “we apologize for the inconvenience” like you’re some kind of robot.

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