According to every customer I've interviewed, this word is most important

30 Customers: This Word Makes All the Difference

One of the first steps in the research phase of my Strategy First Engagements are the customer interviews. I ask each client to provide me with a list of 5-10 customers of theirs and I conduct one-on-one interviews with each.

During the interviews I ask the customers a series of questions about my client. They range from "how did you learn about them?" to "would you refer them to friends and colleagues?" Many of the questions uncover vital information regarding their customer journey or the customer hourglass.

The information I learn becomes part of the learning and recommendations moving forward for each step of the Customer Journey. The actions to complete these tasks are outlined in an execution calendar which is broken down by month for the client. It's very detailed and very useful.

As I've conducted my first 30 interviews for my clients, which represent 4 different industries, I found it interesting that one-word shines through in nearly every interview. For many of the customers, this one word is one of the primary reasons they chose my client over a competitor. That's very powerful and if you're a small business owner, please take note.

The magic word for these customers is communication. Now I understand that's not an earth-shattering revelation, but it does highlight the importance of communication between your company or business and the people that you serve.

Any business that markets products or services will eventually have a customer that is not satisfied with what they received. On the service side, it could be a matter of staying in touch with your customer during every phase of a long project. On the product side, it could be working with the customer to overcome a product issue, a dealer issue or even just a matter of expectations not being met. The point is - communication with the customer AFTER the sale is absolutely critical. Customers seek companies that communicate.

To strive for a solid communication score with every customer you must consider all of the manners in which these communications can take place. They could be phone calls, texts, emails or even DMs on your social media channels. As a founder/leader/business owner, create as many channels for easy communication with you as you can. If you have field or in-house sales staff, demand that they respond early and often with customers as quickly as possible and for as long as it takes to make them happy.

Communication with customers is more important than ever. Build trust with them.

Unhappy customers will probably forgive you if you make a valiant effort to communicate with them and resolve the issue. However, if you "ghost" them, the level of betrayal your customer feels will likely fuel their resolve to flame your company on social media or in their social circles. That type of damage is very hard to repair, and it can take on a life of its own as it passes from the mouths and ears of others.

Another bit of advice,

be very honest with yourself about the quality of your organization's communication efforts. Are you good at it? Does everyone buy into the importance of it? Do an audit and if the answer is no, take the lead on reinforcing its importance throughout your organization. Afterall, as the owner of the company or leader of the company, your business simply reflects on you - what you establish as the standard should be followed by everyone.