How Perceptions Shape Customer Relationships

My daughter and I were in the car listening to the radio and Madonna’s Vogue came on the station. I said “That’s Madonna singing.” She’s not my favorite singer but I do enjoy several of her songs. I admire her as a business woman and seeing as we are the same age, I do envy her, ah, fitness.

My daughter says “She sings through her nose.”
I said, “You don’t like Madonna?”

“Sure,” she said. “I just don’t like her singing.”

And with that, Madonna was dismissed.

One person’s mega-super star talent is another’s unpleasant sound.

It’s all in the perception. Our customers are the same way. They perceive things differently from us and from each other. Products, services and situations – can all be perceived differently.

Have you ever had someone say “Don’t talk to me like that.”

Like what? you think. That tone. What tone? I just asked what was for dinner.

Who knows how something may be perceived and so that is why we need to listen carefully to our customers.

We need to understand that something we expect to be perceived in a positive manner may not.

Further than that, we need to accept the fact that the only perception that matters is the customer’s.

We may think “but I was right!” when dealing with a challenging customer conversation, however, when it comes to building customer relationships the only reality that matters is the customer’s perception.

So how can we use that new knowledge to build customer relationships?

• DON’T ASSUME – making assumptions about how a customer will respond without taking the time to gather facts is an exercise that can potentially lead to failure
• ASK QUESTIONS – one of the greatest series of questions to ask to gain an understanding about the customer’s perception is to ask about their prior experiences.  Have they used the product before?  What did they like?  What didn’t they like?  What objective did they hope to accomplish?  What did they want to happen that didn’t?  What would they like to happen?
• LISTEN CAREFULLY – actively listen to a customer’s words and actions to truly gain an understanding about their perception

How have you seen a customer’s perceptions impact your relationship?  What tricks do you have to understand where the customer is coming from?