Customer Communication Basics

Quick reference

• 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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