One of the most fundamental areas of business is customer education, especially when you want to keep and attract a more loyal customer base and profit for your business. Traditional customer education is necessary and key to keeping a good following and bridging customer-business relationships.
However, it is shortsighted for business growth in the long run. For its apparent limitations, it is only good at the beginning.
Chris Cardinal of Synapse Studios pointed out a better approach to the customer-business relationship where the customers/clients aren’t just relegated to the beginning of the business relationship. Build relationships with customers by approaching it through more of a coaching lens – a more collaborative model, making them trusted advisors for your business.
Customer education applied by most businesses is merely onboarding and engaging new and existing customers, helping customers of your business or product better understand the benefits that you can offer. But a coaching model encourages to not just be at the receiving end, they can also help add value and help provide insights via relationship-building.
Here are some of the best practices you can use:
Focus on Building Long-Term Business Relationships
Most sellers and vendors offer up their expertise regarding a product/service with the aim to build relationships expecting a conversion at the end of it. However, with a coaching mindset, you don’t offer your expertise for the sake of a benefit but to establish customer-client relationships that are founded on trust and generosity.
Take the time and share your talent with people most especially potential customers/partners. By doing this kindness, they will likely remember this generosity. They will keep you in mind when they have the resources and commitment in the future.
Chris’ story on how he had a meeting with a business owner that was interested in his business is the best example. He suggests that “it was an opportunity to showcase my value and build trust, which could lead to future business…”.
Chris then continued to talk about their business, covering everything about the industry and how he works with clients. The business owner ended up thanking him, with Chris leaving having found another business relationship forged solely by his generosity and, yes, kindness.
Many businesses miss the point of earning trust as a factor to build long-term patronage, most just explain the benefits of a product/service and go. Some business owners want you to think that scheduling meetings with clients who won’t pay you is a waste of time. Chris’ stipulated that while it is a common mindset, it is limiting.
Educate. Educate. Educate
Sellers have an advantage over customers with the knowledge and expertise they have which they can leverage just for lead generation. Customers can only hope they’d be given everything they need to know and trust that the salesperson provides it.
Chris said it best that there is an inherent power imbalance and this information asymmetry is often tolerated and even glorified, especially if companies value numbers more than relationships.
To be more customer/client-centered, empower your employees to be more involved by allowing them to “guide customer education, give feedback and provide ongoing strategic guidance”. This makes them focus more on the relationship and benefits that potential customers get.
You could help them do this by providing training materials that teach them to use a coaching approach. To further aid your employees and business, publish content that is specifically geared to explain your product, service, as well as your business philosophy. Be transparent as possible without withholding essential information, so that customers will have a full picture.
Sprinkle Coaching Mindset In Everything
In Synapse Studios, Chris’ brainchild, he stresses the importance of a coaching mindset. The company integrates this approach into everything they do, from demos down to the processes. The principle here is to reinforce the idea that educating customers isn’t only a one-time-at-the-beginning type of deal. This is exactly how I focus on my mentoring relationships in Alliance Masterminds and customer relationships in Cardinal Global Solutions.
Continuous education via a coaching mindset makes customers/clients more than just a “market”, they become partners instead. They help provide feedback and insights on your product on service, adding value to your business. They’re not just at the receiving end anymore.
This kind of relationship also helps you manage expectations better and fix things more smoothly along the way when mishaps happen. Instead of complaints, your customers can better understand the situation because they have a solid idea of the ins and outs of the product/service.
If many businesses would only foster a coaching mindset and build a culture that adds value to the company, especially one that builds business-customer relationships, they’ll be setting themselves up for success.
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