According to the Innovators Forum guest blogger Marilyn Suttle:
Since the start of mankind, self-help gurus have sought to define what makes human beings tick. I’m particularly struck with the list of “Six Human Needs” that Anthony Robbins discusses. Since customers are human beings too, I rewrote the six human needs specifically geared to customers. As you read each customer need, ask yourself – “Do I offer this to my customers?”
1. Certainty – Customers go where they are certain their expectations will be met. When a customer feels certain that your service is predictably fast or friendly, the products will work, or the order will be ready on time, every time, they experience a level of comfort that puts your business at the top of their list.
2. Variety – It might seem like a contradiction, but while customers want certainty, they also like variety. A certain amount of uncertainty or mystery adds excitement and adventure to the customer experience. Whether it’s wondering what the “soup of the day” might be, or selecting from an expanded variety of predictably excellent products, customers feel energized when their experience with you brings them a bit of unpredictable delight.
3. Significance – Customers are eager to do business with companies that value them. They know their power and are happy to take their money elsewhere if they don’t feel important. When today’s consumers experience indifference, they are quick to Google-search your competitors. Offer authentic appreciation for your customer’s business. Seek out customer feedback to show that their opinions matter to you. When you respond to their feedback, it makes an even bigger positive impression that will keep customers coming back.
4. Connection – Do your customers feel like they are part of the community of your business? In other words, do they have a sense of belonging? Emotional connection drives decisions. Making eye contact and offering a greeting the moment your client walks through the door makes an instant connection. Taking a person down the aisle to find a product is more connecting that simply telling them where to go. Develop a professional long-term relationship with your clients rather than an impersonal exchange. Customers want to feel cared for and cared about. People prefer to do business with people they like.
5. Growth – To improve and excel is an uplifting experience. Do you educate your customers and help them become better at using your products or services? Make it easy for your customers to gain competencies by offering an educational component to your business. Notice where it could be helpful to offer instruction or an in-depth special report. Encourage your sales and training staff to offer added information that will help customers gain insights. This is the age of the educated consumer, when you contribute to their growth, you become a trusted resource.
6. Contribution – Customers are people, and people have a natural desire to make a difference. Thank your customers for getting their paperwork in on time, or for responding quickly to your follow-up email or phone calls. Put their contributing behaviors into words. Acknowledge their part in the process of a job successfully done. Let them know how much it helped you to do a good job for them by experiencing their accuracy, friendliness, or follow through.
What do you think? What will you to this week to apply one of the six human needs of customers? How might doing so improve your business?
Jess Wells, Editorial Director of Innovators Forum, and her team her guest bloggers interview experts, entrepreneurs and authors on how to run a small business better. To learn more about small business best practices and the technologies behind them, visit www.CiscoInnovators.com.