When businesses measure success purely by the numbers, they can lose sight of their customers as living, breathing human beings. Customers don’t care about figures or datasets; they’re concerned with how your business interacts and engages with them.
The way customers are treated by your company, or even how they perceive that treatment, can be the difference between a loyal, long-time customer and a disgruntled, dissatisfied customer who won’t hesitate to walk away.
To help you avoid the latter situation, 14 Forbes Coaches Council members provided their best advice to make sure your customers feel that your company treats them as people rather than just numbers.
Forbes Coaches Council members discuss ways to treat customers as humans rather than numbers.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Listen To Your Customers
Take the time to understand them. Customer understanding is the cornerstone of customer-centricity, which means we put the best interests of the humans who are our customers at the heart of all we do. What we learn when we take the time to understand our customers must then be communicated with the entire organization so that it can be used to deliver a better experience. - Annette Franz, CX Journey Inc.
2. Focus On Individual Customer Stories
One thing a company can do to start treating its customers as humans and not numbers is to focus on individual customer stories. Whether that’s creating case studies or documenting how your product impacts one person, it’s so important for companies to include the human element behind what they’re doing. - Lacey Sites, A Lit Up Life
3. Never Take Your Customers For Granted
One thing all successful businesses have in common is that they know the power of well-maintained relationships. Taking your customer for granted is the quickest way to destroy your brand. Consistency is king. Appreciating the people who patronize your business is the key to long-term growth and profitability. Now, more than ever before, people have options. If you don’t treat them right, your competition will. - D Ivan Young, Dr. D Ivan Young
4. Educate Employees On How To Respect Your Customers
Find ways to educate employees on the nature of respect and how it is a key driver of performance, partnership and productivity. I would demonstrate how respect helps every interaction go more smoothly. I’d also help them understand that if they feel respected, our customers will too. I’d also need to “walk my talk” when it comes to respect and incentivize them to do the same. It’s not easy, but so worth it. - Gregg Ward, The Gregg Ward Group
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5. Make Customers Feel Heard, Seen And Understood
To feel human is to feel heard, seen and understood and to actualize our potential with meaning and purpose. Therefore, if a company wants to treat its customers as humans, it must hear, see and understand them, then help them connect with a deeper meaning in their journey as a client. This could mean checking in with them and showing them that their voice matters by sharing actual stories from clients. - Amy Nguyen, Happiness Infinity LLC
6. Ask Yourself How To Turn Customers Into Lifelong Clients
No one walks away from a transaction saying, “I love that company and will definitely buy from them again because they treated me like a number!” One thing companies can do is ask themselves, “What has to happen for our customers to become lifelong clients?” The first answer is that there can never be a bad customer experience. Never is a long time, but the loyalty gained is immeasurable. - Beth Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Coaching and Consulting
7. Evaluate Your Culture’s Customer-Centricity
Look at your culture and consider whether or not the culture, values and standards in place emphasize customer care and personalized interactions. Human connection is the most important aspect of a customer’s journey, but many organizations fail to hire the right people or enable and empower them to build connections. - Shane Green, SGEi
8. Detach Measurement From Your Customer Relationships
We know from a variety of research studies that when you put any human in a situation where they are being measured, or are a part of someone else’s measurement, you have just put limitations on that individual, the relationship you share and all of the extraordinary possibilities that could benefit you both. Detach measurement from your customer relationships and see what happens. - Jeanne Smith
9. Start At The Top With A Focus Group Or Workshop
Organizational culture starts at the top. To adopt a new approach, a mindset change must take place among the company executives. What would help make that happen is a focus group or workshop where actual clients are invited to meet and discuss their experiences with the leadership. This approach could lead to a positive shift and improved client-centricity. - Agata Dulnik, Ph.D.
10. Walk Through Your Customer Journey From Their Perspective
Walk through your customer journey. Look at things through their eyes, as though you were the customer. Would you enjoy the experience? Would you change anything? What friction points are there in the customer journey? If you don’t enjoy it, it’s likely that your customer won’t either. Be honest with yourself. Remember, it’s cheaper to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. - Dhru Beeharilal, Nayan Leadership, LLC
11. Teach Employees Standard Soft Skills Of Communication
Companies that truly care about returning customers are already great at treating customers as humans. Teaching employees soft skills can make a difference. Basic interpersonal communication skills are standard: Things such as making eye contact and saying, “Hello!” then asking a quick question will help customers feel seen and heard. However, these skills are often ignored and still need to be taught to employees. - Susan Madsen, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
12. Leverage Social Proof To Show You Care
Customers and employees support what they create. Capture testimonials and transformations and feature them in your marketing and advertising. Find ways to challenge them to use your products to create and show positive change. Give your customers a platform and present social proof that you care. - Mike Koenigs, The Superpower Accelerator
13. Invest In Quality Customer Service Processes
Customer service is both the backbone and the lifeline of any company, big or small. From the first point of contact and throughout the entire relationship, ensure that quality processes are in place where the client is met with professional communication, respect and follow-through. Always do what is promised and provide more than the customer expects, and they will always return. - Barbara Adams, CareerPro Global, Inc.
14. Uncover Internal Behavior And Messaging That Needs To Change
A company begins to treat its customers as numbers when there is rot at the top. It is a cultural issue, and the standards of this kind of culture were set by the senior management. The management team needs to look inward first, reflecting on their own behavior and messaging to see what needs to change. To demonstrate the change for employees, they must then set the example from the top. - Devika Das, CORE Executive Presence
