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About this lesson
We examine best practices when communicating general information to someone outside the organization when you are seen as a representative of the organization.
Exercise files
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Quick reference
Customer Communication Basics
What are some general principles to remember for customer-facing interactions?
When to use
This section covers basic principles for customer-facing communication which can be used to guide written communication with customers.
Main Points
Customers expect the following when they communicate with a business:
- relevant and useful information
- accurate information
- personal attention
- validation
Businesses want to communicate with customers for the following reasons:
- to respond to customers
- to increase their customer base
- to increase customer loyalty
- to request information
- to communicate changes
- to solicit payment
The usual customer service skills must be balanced with writing skills, making this type of communication particularly challenging.
Login to download- 00:04 If you're a business you have customers, and you want to keep them happy so
- 00:08 that they'll keep coming back and they'll become your advocates.
- 00:12 Customer endorsements are more effective and powerful than paid endorsements for
- 00:16 obvious reasons.
- 00:17 One way we try to keep our customers happy is by providing them with excellent
- 00:21 service.
- 00:23 There are many ways in which customers evaluate whether they received excellent
- 00:27 service from a company.
- 00:28 Most people think about the quality of the product, the price and
- 00:32 the company's policies.
- 00:34 But a big part of the customer's evaluation of whether they received
- 00:38 excellent service is how you communicate with them.
- 00:42 And that applies to both verbal and nonverbal communication.
- 00:46 So what does a customer or
- 00:47 potential customer expect when they're communicating with a company?
- 00:52 For one thing, they want to receive information that's relevant or
- 00:55 that they find beneficial.
- 00:57 They want accurate information.
- 00:59 They want the company to understand that their needs are unique to them.
- 01:03 And they want the company to acknowledge that as an individual,
- 01:06 they're important to the organization's existence.
- 01:09 They want to to feel validated.
- 01:12 Organizations should realize that if a customer feels they're not getting what
- 01:16 they need from their interaction with the company,
- 01:18 they'll seek to limit that interaction.
- 01:21 Organizations also have a desire to communicate with customers and
- 01:24 potential customers.
- 01:26 They realize that they need to respond to customer queries.
- 01:30 But the company also has a valid need.
- 01:33 They want to increase their customer base.
- 01:35 They want to increase customer loyalty, request information from customers.
- 01:40 They want to communicate changes, solicit payment, and so on.
- 01:44 In doing all these various types of communication, companies try to assume
- 01:49 a voice or tone that satisfies the customer's need for validation,
- 01:54 while conveying the organization's position or feeling on a matter.
- 01:58 And most importantly, they want to do it in a way that's clear and
- 02:02 that aligns with or represents the company's brand.
- 02:06 By doing this, they're hoping to create some kind of loyalty and
- 02:09 goodwill with customers.
- 02:13 Some of the key skills needed in communicating with
- 02:16 customers will be clarity, persuasion, empathy, and accuracy.
- 02:22 Now, looking at these four skills you might be thinking,
- 02:25 these aren't very different from the skills I'd need as an in person or
- 02:28 telephone customer service representative.
- 02:32 But what makes it special here is the need to convey these skills in writing.
- 02:37 To pull this off, we need to balance accuracy and
- 02:40 clarity with the conciseness that we need in business writing.
- 02:45 We also need to be able to show persuasiveness and writing while still
- 02:48 demonstrating that what we're offering isn't a cookie cutter solution, but
- 02:52 it's personalized to their needs.
- 02:55 And how do you convey empathy in a professional way in a letter?
- 02:59 Let's examine how we can fulfill these requirements.
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