How to Maximize Your Dollar Through Good Communication in the Workplace

[CandisK]

Picture this; you walk into a local dry cleaner to pick up your cleaning. The conversation between the owner and another customer is beginning to heat up. The customer insists the smudge on his shirt was not there when he dropped the shirt off and wants the owner to replace it. But the owner vehemently refuses.

Not only does the owner refuse but, he insists his store would never make that kind of mistake. The customer stomps out with an angry “I will never be back” comment.

So, what’s in your business?
That owner did not realize the customer he denounced was not the only business he lost that day. I also have never been back.

I was amazed at the bad attitude from the owner. And, even the refusal to replace that shirt could have been handled with better diplomacy. His lack of positive communication lost two customers.

Good communication is essential: developing solid relationships, information about products and services, solid inner business functions. Well thought out messages are critical to good business.

Because good communication is so essential to the bottom line dollar figures, how and where you send your messages are also critical.

Know how your customer wants to buy
A customer may initially communicate through email, but know the personal contact closes the deal. People are still looking for relationships and they do business with people they like.

“Look at the trends,” John Hoogerwerf, with Ideal Network Solutions said, “About five years ago corporations thought the Internet would replace human contact and companies would turn into garages as order centers rather than traditional store-fronts. While the Internet is a great way to conduct business, there may be occasions where consumers mandate a human touch, which means they want a person, not a machine.”

Hoogerwerf went on to say his customers keep coming back because he cares. Did you know ninety percent of all communication is non-verbal? Communicated through actions begins with a positive attitude beginning first with the business owner and then employees.

Communicate via emotion
Marc Gobe, in his book Emotional Branding, talks about the necessity for companies to look at the human side in their marketing, “Very few decisions are made based on logic alone; at some point instinct supersedes facts and data—what feels right becomes the dominant driver of our choices.”

When I go into Starbucks and they call me by name, I feel valued. That kind of communication tells me I am important. Will I go back? You bet. And, I do not care how much I have to pay for that cup of coffee. I feel like a valued customer.

Well thought-out-messages focusing on the needs of a target audience maximizes advertising dollars. Because people purchase based on instinct, messages need to target emotion. After they buy, they back up their decision with facts. Make sure you give them reason to like what they just bought.

Providing value to customers creates loyal customers. It is cheaper to keep a customer then to create new.

Today it takes more than eleven times repeating a message to a potential customer before they purchase a product or service verses twenty years ago when it took seven or eight. Because of the incredible amount of information available, companies need to realize their customer is more important today than ever before.

Communicate with your staff and invest in their training“Keeping staff informed throughout our organization is essential,” Said Scott Bemis, President of the Denver Business Journal, “Our job is to communicate to them first before the outside world knows about anything happening within. For any of our staff to hear from the outside world first is demoralizing to the staff.”

New developments should first come from you. Then create a smooth flow of information within your company. Your success depends upon employees working together to achieve the same goals. It starts with you.

Pam Riddler, President of the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce said, “As a supervisor, I make sure the team members understand each other and communication flows. If we stop and confront issues and don’t let them build, it helps. Saving money is training staff and making sure they understand how to communicate. Learning about communication is an ongoing thing.”

What begins on the inside flows out to the world
Communication within that dry cleaner would have saved that business owner two clients and lost revenue. A welled oiled communication system that flows to the customer wins accolades of approval. Even if a mistake was made, I would have understood if that owner had replaced the shirt. And, I would still be frequenting their shop. Was it worth it?

Candis Kloverstrom is a communication specialist who takes her clients through a process of discovering how their unique value is their best asset in reaching potential clients. Clear, focused, powerful messages about their products and services are then sent into the marketplace in a creative fashion to reach those clients.

For more information on creating a powerful story that attracts clients, call Candis at 303-688-0649 or check out her website at www.essentialcommunique.com.