Jon’s Journey Episode 2: The Importance of Building a Good Customer Relationship
Hey!
Here we go for ‘Jon’s Journey’ Episode 2.
Now, if you recall I’m going through a process of moving house, buying houses. I’m going to be using a lot of trades to help me along the way and I’m sharing what I learned about my experience as a customer of trade, and thinking about what we can do as a business coach and what you can do as a trade to improve your businesses by understanding what it’s like as a customer.
So this is where we’re at. Episode 2.
I’m going to talk about the ‘Removalist’.
Now, I’ve moved house a lot in the last few years after going through a divorce and things. So I’ve used the same removal company in Byron Bay here a number of times and we know each other a bit.
And one of the things that happen to us is I kind of help. I join in and I help the guys move the $#%! because I can see how hard work it is. And because I couldn’t really just stand there not lifting a finger while they did everything. Now, I know that not all of you tradies want your customers to help so I wanted to talk about helping.
What it made me think about was:
- How they appreciated it.
- How they appreciated me seeing things from their perspective a bit.
- And being a bit sympathetic to the how hard they’re working.
- And how in return they saw things from my perspective.
And they were quite keen to help, and do the right thing, and look after me in my busy, stressful, moving time.
So I wanted to take that thought to you and say:
In your trade business, try and look at it at situations from your customers perspective.
Much like I’m giving you a customer’s perspective now.
Recommended Reading: Jon’s Journey Episode 1: Improving Your Business Through Your Customer’s Perspective.
Let’s take that first lesson straight away.
It’s a good idea to look at a situation from the other person’s perspective not just when there’s a dispute but in every sense. When you are working with the customer before there’s a dispute. Look at things from their perspective. Maybe you should take time every time to go, “Oh how it would be for them?”
Ask yourself that question.
“I wonder what it’s like for that person right now?”
Now, you never know what’s going on in somebody else’s head. And even if you ask them, you probably don’t get the full picture. But it’s a good exercise to put yourself in their position. And have a little think about what might be going on for them. You know moving house is very stressful.
Hiring a tradie for a consumer is slightly intimidating. Hiring a tradie, if you’re a builder or in business, comes with risk and threat.
- You might f#%k up.
- You might get in trouble.
- You might overpay.
So let’s have a little think about what it might be from the other person’s perspective. And just see how that changes your experience of the engagement with the customer.
A lot of what I see and hear about from trade business owners is a rather antagonistic relationship with customers.
- Lots of mistrust.
- Lots of frustration.
- Lots of poor communication.
- And lots of disappointing experiences that perhaps could have been avoided if you’d all been a bit nicer to each other, and all been a bit more ready to look at it from the other person’s perspective in the first place and all the way through.
So that’s the point of episode 2.
Think about it from their perspective. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.
See you later.
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4. Book yourself a 10-minute chat with me. We’ll talk about whether coaching is right for you now and if it is, we’ll go further into the process before you have to make your mind up.
See you later.